Submitted by Atma Adani on
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So, how is your life’s “teeter-totter?” I’m guessing there’s not one of us that hasn’t found ourselves at some point in years past on a playground enjoying the up and down effects of the good ole teeter-totter, also known in more contemporary terms as the “see saw.” At one moment you feel safe with both feet on the ground while your playground partner is left dangling, both feet in the air on the other end. Then before you know it your partner pushes off and you find yourself in the air unsure as to when your feet will find their way back to terra firma. The pivotal element (no pun intended) that makes this exhilarating ride even mechanically possible is the fulcrum, that element of support in the middle of the board on which the teeter-totter pivots. This illustration has me wondering if there’s not a lesson to be gleaned from this that we could bring to life’s playground.
Doesn’t it make perfect sense if the presence of a fulcrum is so critical to the balance of the up’s and down’s of the teeter-totter then the presence of a “life fulcrum” is even more paramount to us maintaining our balance in life? After all, aren’t our lives chocked full of up’s and down’s? Just like on the playground, one minute we feel safe knowing that all is well and just like that in the next moment we feel out of control, left dangling in the air of uncertainty. For most of us this feeling of being out of control doesn’t afford us the same sense of exhilaration like that found on the playground. In fact, it tends to evoke more of a sense of fear in us. Thus the critical need to find our life’s fulcrum. What is that will provide us that indispensable balance? What are those things that will enable us to navigate the up’s and down’s of our life? What is our life’s pivot point? The mechanics of the fulcrum point us to one such answer…support. The fulcrum provides the support point at which the teeter-totter is free to pivot up and down. This illustrates vividly to me the need we all have to be in community one to another. We are that indispensable element of support for each other. Do you have the support of such a community?
Thinking on this a bit more I’ve realized there’s one more take away. This one though is probably the one that is most often overlooked. That is the need for a partner who will join you on the teeter-totter of life. For many this is no less an indispensable element to finding the elusive balance in life. The presence of someone to join you on the playground of life can be the pivot point between fear and exhilaration. Whether it be the need for community or the need for a partner maybe part of the answer is to let the little boy or little girl in you come out and play more often. Peace.
Jon Thurman