in response to Diane Ackerman's quote: "I don't want to be a passenger in my own life."Do I want to be the passenger in my own life? Seems the expected answer would be no, I want to be the driver, but I think I want to be the car.
Although I’m not crazy about the car metaphor, given the choice (and I have been), I want to be my life. Not a user of my life, not driver, not passenger, but actually be my life.
Maybe it’s the viewing point of my age…not yet the wise old woman (still collecting ingredients for that stew)…but experienced enough to have selected some seasoned perspectives.
If my life is a vehicle to be driven or ridden, I want to be the car. I want to be my life, not separate from it, not its trainer or tamer or observer.
The push to move forward from where we are, to take our destiny into our own hands, tensely clutching the steering wheel just adds more tightness to the movement of the world, and as it turns, our lives.
I’m leaning away from thinking of my life as something to be moved from one place to another. Life just is, wherever we are and whatever we’re doing. Experiences come to us and we live them. By doing so, we alter ourselves. We become more or less alive, we expand or contract.
No, I don’t want to be a passenger in my own life and I don’t want to be the driver either.
Is the answer to every question something about balance?
3 comments:
To answer your last question...yes :) Balance is key.
I loved this, especially "life just is...experiences come to us and we live them, and by doing so, we alter ourselves."
Great post!
Balance...
Yes. Hand the keys over to the One and plan your trip, pack your map and don't forget your cell phone.
thanks
bg
Ah, yes, it's always about balance. The ancient Greeks knew that well (although it took the Romans longer to grasp the concept).
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