Yesterday I had the priviledge of attending Bay Beach for the first time in my life! Basically, I rode amusement park rides all day with little kids and it was a great time. There is one ride in particular that I want to reflect on and the name of the ride is Zippin Pippin. Zippin Pippin is owned by the mayor of Green Bay and probably one of the highlights of Bay Beach. At first, it looks like an old school rickity roller coaster that should not compare to the high tech coasters of today, but looks can be deceiving. It was actually quite thrilling and I found myself wanting to go on it again. The reason I want to write about the Zippin Pippin is to try to connect it to life in some way. We will see how this goes.
As I was approaching the coaster initially I already had preconceived assumptions about it. I had judged my experience with it without even riding it. Even when people told me it was a fun ride, I really did not believe them until I had to experience it. My expectations were changed, however, and like I said before, I enjoyed the ride very much. As I reflect on my daily experience sometimes, I feel that I label my day as being 'this or that' kind of a day before it starts, and I doubt its vast unexpectedness. I dont know if that makes sense so let me put it more simply: if you ask for your life to be an adventure, you better be ready for it cause its coming! Because when you are in the middle of it- strapped into the seat, enduring the up and down momentum, twist and turns, nerves and joys, laughs and potential cries turned into laughs- you will come out with a different perspective about the coaster or about life. At one point one of the girls said there was one part in the ride that 'hurt', and my anticipation for this was high. I was waiting for this moment and waiting for it to happen, and all of a sudden it came like a flash of lightning, very unexpected. It hurt (just a quick jerk up and then down) for a split second, but then the coaster kept going and I didnt look back. I was even laughing about it with the girls afterward. I believe in life we can see that hurt coming, we wait for it, and if we treat it like the coaster, it will just come and go, and we can move on. We can forget about it.
This basic gist of this was to say that we must lock ourselves into the adventure of life and allow things to happen in order for that great experience to shine through. A lot of times we judge our day, then plan accordingly, so precise and detailed and thought out, and when unexpected things happen we are not ready for them. I'm not trying to be loosey goosey with choices and right/wrong, or being lazy about our day. Because its not like the coaster doesnt have boundaries and rules to obey, but it is within those parameters that I feel free. I think if we were more relaxed in what we did in our day, things would be more natural and free as opposed to strained and forced. We were loved by God into existence and we should feel relaxed by that because ultimately many things are not under our control. We would become better people because we would not resent and regret, and would just enjoy the unexpected things God brings into our life. The unexpected roller coaster is what actually controls us, not our perceived expected control of our day. So let go and let Him live in you!
I dont know if this connected at all, but oh well, that is probably the point of the coaster, to let things flow how they may. The challenge then is to see how you are trying to live the adventure of life, how you perceive it, and then how you embrace it.
How are you living an adventurous life?
No comments:
Post a Comment