Oh, Roller Coaster. What lessons you teach beginning with your slow start. Sharp turns. Brilliantly executed stops. Your clang, clang, clang as your wheels meet the rails. Slow, jerky ride as your cars climbed high. Teetering at the top. Then, with a vertical drop, the cars plunged down. All the while my muscles tensed at what unknown was to come. The 90-second ride seemed to last an eternity.
When I was a teenager, I remember being at an amusement park so excited to ride the roller coaster. It was a dream — the excitement of being held to the seat by a thin belt and thrashing about at speeds yet untried. Well, I took that rides and discovered something very important about myself. I. do. not. like. roller. coasters. Do you?
Decades later, during mindfulness training, I learned the key to roller coaster riding — living in the moment. Enjoying the rushing wind, the safety of being belted in, and the unknown of what comes next. That roller coaster taught me a lesson that I was to learn so many years later — to live in the moment, give up control, and relax into the ride.
Because that is what mindfulness encourages us to do. When we are mindfully aware, we recognize that we are not in control of the externals. We can only be in control of our self — our thoughts, words, and actions. We choose to react or respond to the fits and starts, plunges and ascents. Our life. Our choice.
Mindfulness breeds an objectivity that empowers us to make choices that shift us from reaction to response. When mindful, we see through the illusion perpetrated by our fears. We are powered by our courage. Instead of the roller coasters in our life being fearsome, they become opportunities to be curious, daring as we courageously ride the wind of life’s uncertainty.
To be mindful is not to cure all that seeks to unsettle us. Mindfulness provides the means to relax into our life and see the possibilities amid the commotion. No matter what barriers we confront, mindfulness is the key to moving more smoothly through life.
Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is a life coach using the Neural Synchrony™ process, professional speaker, and author who weaves her inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are Imperfect in an Uncertain World, A Constellation of Connections: Contemplative Relationships, and Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action. Vanessa intuitively assists clients in navigating their life paths. Contact Vanessa @ vanessa@intentandaction.com for keynotes, programs, and consultations.
Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019
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