At a recent gathering of friends, an intuitive told me that she saw me on a Ferris wheel -- always moving forward. That image has been taking up space in my head which is usually a sign that I should explore the vision by writing about it.
My life is very much like a Ferris wheel ride, taking me to the heights while moving up and forward. I feel positive and optimistic, and the view in front of me is spectacular. I’m on top of the world and the sky’s the limit. The lights twinkle brightly, the stars in the sky offer a vision of possibilities.
My creativity and belief in life's infinite promise come alive. The top is where I find purpose and experience the promise of my potential. This is the view of life I yearn to hold onto.
My creativity and belief in life's infinite promise come alive. The top is where I find purpose and experience the promise of my potential. This is the view of life I yearn to hold onto.
As they say, ‘what goes up must come down.’ As the Ferris wheel slowly descends, the lights inside me start to dim and I have a difficult time holding onto the expansive vision that motivated my spirit. It’s the downward spiral that feels so depressing. I know this part of the ride is meant to ground me; when the wheel (life?) takes me back to my roots with a gentle reminder to stand firm, stand tall. And then, because in order to go forward, the Ferris wheel has to go backwards, I go there. Staying present is important to me; but perhaps backwards is also important – to give me a different point of view, a broader perspective.
Life is filled with ups and downs. As I move forward and have a view from the top, life feels good. The inevitable trip downward is distracting and, at times, bleak. I want to stay at the top of the ride, but a heavy force pushes me to the bottom. And so it goes, round and round, until I inevitably start the climb once again.
It seems to me that there are people who continuously move forward, get to the top, reach the heights and jump off (metaphorically) in order to reach their dreams. The question I have for the Universe is how do I keep moving forward to discover and fulfill my soul's purpose?
I decided to take a break from writing this piece (wondering about how to weave an ending to it), and walked into another room in the house. A book, which has been on a counter for a long, long time, caught my eye. On the cover of this book, written by Pema Chodron, in big BOLD print, the title was ... wait for it .... drum roll ..... Start Where You Are!
Below is an excerpt of Pema Chodron's book that gives a unique perspective about life's ups and downs:
“Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction.
On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. When you are feeling a lot of grief, you can look right into somebody's eyes because you feel you haven't got anything to lose--you're just there.
The wretchedness humbles us and softens us, but if we were only wretched, we would all just go down the tubes. We'd be so depressed, discouraged, and hopeless that we wouldn't have enough energy to eat an apple.
Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together!"
What an intriguing concept. Start where you are! Just keep going; challenges, life lessons and victories will greet you along the way, "they go together." Yes, the answer was in the question ...
So let's embrace the ride of life,
With all its ups and downs and strife,
For just like the ferris wheel we know,
It's in the journey that we grow.
Laurel Diane Rund