This image has been in my mind since I first saw it a few days ago. Memes sometimes perfectly capture a profound message with just an image and a caption. This one, in less than dozen words, a single grainy image conveys a universal feeling, or damn close to one anyway.
We all feel overwhelmed in life at times. “What the hell is happening to me? Why the hell is it happening? What did I do to deserve this?” Then, we find out about soul planning. And, these people tell us not only does “God” have a plan for your life, which you may have been told in Sunday school, the Universe has a plan for you and you participated in this plan.
You didn’t start to exist the moment you were born. And, you don’t cease to exist the moment you die. You “pre-existed”. There was never a “time” when you didn’t exist. And, you chose to hop on this rollercoaster.
Rollercoasters are insane. You make climbs full of anticipation of the fall. You know the drop is coming. You know it’ll drop your stomach right out of your body. You know your heart will race. Your body will tell you that you are plummeting to your death. So, why do you get on a rollercoaster. If you woke up in the middle of a rollercoaster ride and had never seen a rollercoaster, you would surely think you were dying. If you could find the person who put you onto that death trap, you’d wring their neck.
But, we drive hours to amusement parks. We pay money for entry. We stand in line sometimes for hours to get onto a ride that is only on average about three minutes long. As much fun as a roller coaster is, we wouldn’t get on one that lasted hours or years. It’s only three minutes. This lifetime, the 70 years or so we live on average isn’t even three minutes from the perspective of our eternal selves. We hop on because we can see the entire length of the track from a perspective outside of the rollercoaster. We do it because thousands have been on the rollercoaster before and they survived and enjoyed the ride. We can see it’s just a loop. We’ll hop on, be thrilled for 180 seconds or so and it will drop us off right back at the platform where we got on. While we’re on the rollercoaster, we can pretend to be frightened and feel the rush and, at any time, glance back at the platform which will be here in no time. Our spirit guides, right here holding onto our clenched hands, are loving the ride. We are never alone, we are never in any real jeopardy.
Every once in a while, we forget it’s just a ride and the fear grips us. When this happens, sit down, take some deep breaths and listen to Jem.
One Comment
Yes, Brian, you captured the entire ride ~ on the roller coaster and in life. We sign up for both, and experience what we need. Crazy frightening emotions and all. And in time we hope, or even trust, that the whole ride was always meant to show us more about ourselves ~ and even way more than that.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Always.