My Life is a Snow Globe

You know how when you look at a snow globe everything is still and quiet? And then you shake the hell out of it, and chaos rains in the form of all the "snow" falling everywhere? I often feel that way about life.
One of my biggest projects since I got home Sunday night has been to go through all of the things in each of my parent's houses in efforts to be completely moved out by April on my next trip back. At mom's I came across my old snow globe collection, tucked and buried away in my closet--a happy collection of memories throughout my life.

I received my first snow globe as a gift from my dad on a trip to Yellowstone National Park some time in elementary school. It was a lone bison set in a meadow, with yellowed rocks surrounding the outer base. I had fallen in love with those majestic animals and thought this ceramic trinket with it's swirling glitter would be the perfect souvenir to take home with me to remember this trip. Each of my sisters and I were able to pick out one item from the gift shop on our two-week National Parks trip and I couldn't imagine anything better than this.

I was fascinated with turning the globe upside down and shaking it, watching the glitter-snow fall upon the beast while I examined the intricate detail in his hair and fur. I had examined every one on the shelf--choosing the one that did not have an air bubble in the top, the one without any paint chipped off. Once we were back home, I would look at it as a magical world that I wished I could step inside of (this was at the beginning of my love for National Parks), and this was how my love of snow globes and my collection began.

Over the years, my collection has expanded to include around thirty snow globes. Some of them I purchased at different momentous occasions in my life, but most of them were given to me as a gift from a friend or family member who knew about my collection. With some dating all the way back to elementary school, not only do the snow globes themselves tell a story, but they also remind me of a person or time period in my life. One was brought back to me as a birthday present from my best friend who traveled to Europe on a family vacation--showing how strong a friendship it was for someone to use their precious baggage space on a usually seemingly-silly trinket. Another was given to me as a souvenir from Disney World, marking the trip that was the very last time I ever saw my grandmother. It is moments and events like those that will live on forever through that snow globe. For these reasons, I want to make sure I always take care of my col lection properly to preserve them.

As I continued to look through the neglected globes on my shelf, I noticed the water in some of them turning from clear to yellow. Others have bubbles forming inside and a few appear to be leaking. The majority though are still in mint condition. As I noticed these changes, I started making mental notes to make repairs. It was then I realized, not only do I have no idea how to make these repairs by myself--I like the reality of the imperfections.

My life feels like a snow globe right about now. On a slightly less-than-my-usual-optomistic-self side, I'm one of those little figures trapped in a little world. Occasionally I wander up, tap on the glass, and proclaim, "It's time to get the heck out of here!"

I've been doing better with my new Colorado life. I created a little routine and have been doing better with handling the transition, and now someone picked up the snow globe and shook it. Perhaps it was because of the anticipation of going home...who knows. Either way, when life changes are new and exciting, they are also stressful and complicated.

Any big choices in life are supposed to be with confidence in whatever huge leaps of faith you are taking, and instead I find myself hanging out in my snow globe where occasionally someone picks me up and shakes me. Snow globes are volatile. You put yourself on a shelf--available for the shaking or the rattling of the cage, if you will.

So I guess here's what I'm learning about life in the snow globe. It's largely about Faith. Faith in the prayers you've said that haven't been answered. Faith in the people who surround you in your little world. Faith that at some point, you'll get yourself out of the globe and everything and everyone will stop shaking. Life will be peaceful again. Until then though, and here's the hard part, you have to have Faith that you'r e in the right hands.

Shake your life, often and vigorously. Don't let the snowflakes hit the bottom of your globe. Life is far too short to settle.