Just Play Along

Boy, it's been awhile.
But I guess "Merry Christmas" is an okay way to leave things. It's never a bad thing to wish someone merriment.

Enough with the negligence, however. It's about time I started things back up. So here goes:

Last night, I took a brief evening walk. I sat down on the nearby swing set and began to ponder my life (as I often do). I must admit, I was not pleased with my locale on this metaphorical journey of living. The vibrancy and vividness that was supposed to be a part of my makeshift existence has been dulled, it seemed. So I started to swing. And there, as I swayed like a pendulum, a jolt spritzed through my stomach each time I swung forward. It tickled. I couldn't help but laugh; the sensation was so awkwardly pleasing. And as I laughed, and as the sun set, and as the evening cooled, and as the tree before me grew closer, then farther, then closer, then farther, a picture of life sprung into my mind.
We're all on the swing set.
We move forward. And we move backward.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
And it's easy to focus on the grays of the setbacks, but you can't swing only backward.
And we're always hoping to achieve the next great feat in life, but you can't only swing forward.
It's back...
...and forth.
Both.
And maybe life isn't about moving forward or falling back. Maybe it's about the tickling sensation you get in your tummy each time you swing forward. The sensations that make you giggle--and they do make you giggle. Uncontrollably. You can't help but laugh. It's the automatic reaction.
Besides, if life is a swing set, it's not really about getting anywhere, anyway. It's about enjoying where you are, wherever that may be.
So here I am again. And I'm trying to swing to a new rhythm, put simply in what I claim as my new motto:

Just play along.