Tag Archives: steadiness

Man is flying too fast for a world that is round

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“Man is flying too fast for a world that is round.  Soon he will catch up with himself in a great rear end collision.”

—James Thurber, 20th Century American cartoonist and playwright

Image from Unsplash by Alessio Lin

For many of us the world is moving way too fast these days.

Visualize a dog chasing its tail and replace this image with yourself or others in your communities.

Wendy and I recently visited some friends in New York and found the highways filled with many speed racers, darting between lanes to shave a few extra minutes from their commutes.

We saw a number of accidents which ended up slowing things down anyway, and many police pulling these folks over to fill up their municipality’s cash reserves.

EXERCISE:

How fast is your world moving?

How often do you feel like you are chasing your tail and about to have a rear end collision with yourself?

The Road Up and The Road Down are one and the Same

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“The road up and the road down are one and the same.”

—Heraclitus, pre-Socratic Greek Philosopher

Image of Mayan Ruin

Image from Flickr by Ryan Jones

When was the last time you took a hike up a steep hill or even a mountain? If you can’t recall, imagine climbing the tallest set of stairs you have ever faced.

What was the journey like going up? What was your level of anticipation of reaching the top, and what amount of effort was required?

What was your experience of going down? What was the level of effort required, given the assist from good old gravity?

Avoiding the “what goes up must come down” effect requires far more effort and energy in virtually all areas of life. Knowing what is important in your personal and professional worlds helps you maintain the steady climb that can take you to new heights of excellence.

EXERCISE:

Examine where you are on the roads of life in areas such as health, relationships, career, family, and faith. How will you continue the climb upward and avoid the factors that can easily take you in the other direction?