Monday afternoon, Barry asked me if I wouldn’t mind helping him organize the upstairs office or at least be there for moral support. Boy, was I excited! One of my hardest parts of work so far this summer has been knowing that I only work with Barry one day a week. His insight on different topics and ideas just triggers my brain and I love being around that mental stimulation, so when he asked me to go with him to help organize…double bonus!
When we got upstairs, he had me sit down and we just talked for a loooooong time. We talked about our winters and what new philosophical ideas we had, and he told me that when he saw the schedule and realized the same things I had that he was going to make a point for us to get together and be intentional about Fridays.
While we were talking about our winters, we started making an analogy between life and a roller coaster. Last summer he told me about the two different ways to ride a roller coaster: gripping the handle bar and screaming for your life or throwing your hands in the air and screaming for fun. Either way, both groups of people get on and off at the same stop so it’s up to you to decide which way to travel. Up until March I had never really been on a roller coaster so I couldn’t completely understand the point he was trying to make.
When I finally did ride one, I was that kind of person who gripped the bar until my knuckles were white and screamed the whole way. As we flew around the track though, I started thinking about his thoughts from months before and slowly let my death grip go. By the time we were hanging upside down, I was definitely still screaming, but I was able to throw my hands in the air right before the picture was taken.
It got me thinking about the key to that whole situation—the track. Sure, it seems like the roller coaster (or life) is flying by in every direction. You feel out of control and unable to see through the tied up mess of the course laid out. Upside down, round and round, over, under, and through—it seems like at any given second you could just fall right out to your death. That’s when you need to realize that you are completely attached to the track the entire time. As much as you might not like it, you don’t have the total control of where you are ending up. You’re on a track and your only job is to trust that you will end up exactly where you need to be.
It’s hard to do that in life. I have a lot of trouble just trusting that things will work out and I’ll end up where I need to be. As I think about it though, why spend time worrying about it all? Worrying doesn’t get people anywhere. Sure, it’s healthy to be concerned a bit or at least thinking about the directions you want to be heading, but in the end it’s about putting your faith in the outcome and flying through life with your hands in the air despite however much you may still be screaming.
My roller coaster right now is taking me through job interviews and towards my present future. I’m trying not to let it stress me out and worry me though. I’ve been getting out into the backcountry more, including a 16-mile hike with Tom and Conor yesterday and a 4-mile hike the day before with K, Conor, and Rebecca. I’ve been enjoying the mountains as much as I can because those can always be counted on to give me a good dose of serenity.
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