OK. We’re on the road again – you can even hear that song playing in the background. One step, two steps…walk backwards. Skip a little for fun and variation.
That’s not a bad idea: doing something fun once a day. Let your child come up for air. Skip. Blow bubbles in the pool, make faces in the mirror. Write backwards on a foggy window: “Help, I’m trapped in here.” Better yet how about a heart. Stuck for initials? Use mine: KMK. You know the Beatles song: “All you need is love?” Life is too short not to have some fun – now make it a daily occurrence. You and me against the machine.
Meanwhile, we’re walking again. We know that it’s not always smooth as we roll along. Damn if there aren’t potholes and bumps all over the place. Here in Wisconsin I’m beginning to think that there must be a lot of dead cows, or deer from road kill, that they’re just waiting to bury in those holes. That’s why we need to keep moving. But if we get stuck in some hole we need to reach out to our friends or call for road service when it’s serious business. We probably wouldn’t hesitate to call someone like AAA when we’re stuck and we shouldn’t hesitate to call a help line or similar resource when we’re stuck. Get it? Got it? GOOD! Let me repeat that: we’re not meant to struggle on alone.
So next challenge up – crossing bridges (ditto for tunnels) which can be a real phobia for some people. Let’s think of it figuratively. Come to a bridge – a major challenge – stop for a minute, sit down if you can. Take a couple of deep breaths. Close your eyes, a few more deep breaths.
Now let’s be creative. Make a cartoon picture of the bridge in your mind. Write out a few words describing the problem: Lost my wallet, yelled at my partner, was a jerk, I’m stuck. Now imagine you’ve printed them out on sign boards and nailed them to picket posts. I told you we need to have fun! Pass out the picket signs to some a-holes who now begin to march back and forth across the bridge so you can’t get across even if you weren’t stuck. Here’s the good part.
CLAYMATION to the rescue. Remember the Yellow Pages? Let your fingers do the walking. (OK. I’m that old I go back before the internet and we had these big yellow phone books listing commercial business in the area.) So now your middle finger and second finger are going to do the walking with your cartoon head on top to give them directions. Left, right, left right. Up to the pickets and whomp, a swift kick knocks them off the bridge, and you go marching merrily to the other side. End of problem. Yeh, would it be that easy. But the point is – you put the barricade up, kicked it aside and were able to go forward. And when you’re standing on the other side, do some retro-walking so you can see how far you’ve come.
I know it’s not that easy. Life isn’t. But if I’m out walking and smiling I’m making progress.
Know that you’re not alone. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, wrote about it centuries ago. Advice dug deeply out of Kabbalistic (mystical) books. Here’s what he said: “The whole world is like a narrow bridge.” And the verses are put into a melody to help us get across.
The whole world is like a narrow bridge. The whole world is like a narrow bridge.
But the essence, the very essence,
Is not to be afraid, not to be afraid.
Here’s a link to a You Tube version:
There are lots of recordings of this song on YouTube. This one is from a folk music festival in Pochoda, Slovensko in 2013. At the beginning there are some technical challenges. And then observe that the audience is not parochial, only Jews, so think about stage fright. All just bridges to cross. Focus, listen to the words. Be willing to learn lessons now matter who may be teaching or singing.
Let yourself go – whistle. You can whistle this or whatever else you want as you work or walk along. You’ll be able to cross those bridges when you come to them. Keep in mind, there are random acts of kindness waiting to be done when you get to the other side.
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Ken was a Professor of Mathematics, a ceramicist, a welder, and an IBMer until downsized in 2000. He taught yoga until COVID-19 decided otherwise. He continues writing, living with his wife and beagle in Shorewood, Wisconsin. He enjoys chamber music and mysteries. He’s a homebrewer and runs whitewater rivers. Ken is a writer and his literary works can be found at https://www.kmkbooks.com/
He welcomes feedback on his articles and can be reached at havokjournal@havokmedia.com.
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