Roadblocks & Rules

We are all, so the old saying goes, works in progress. Some of us have progressed further and faster and others have been set aside for a time, but the real joy is that none of us are finished. Life, as AA proclaims, is a journey, not a destination. And it's true. You can get there from here.

But.....I hear myself say, All those roadblocks.....

Drive around! I hear myself answer, There's always another way!

I never had much use for Norman Vincent Peale, thought he was preachy and held too high an opinion of himself and his theories. I like to discover things for myself, as if it were my own idea, but the world is full of wisdom there for the taking. Listen and learn, as Nana used to say, Odds are you ain't near as smart as you think. She was, as usual, right in her assessment. She had a way of being curiously jaded and new penny optimistic at the same time, wavering between the two like a dandelion in the wind, never seeing the conflict. Even as a child, I seemed to be the one step forward, two steps back kind - a little forward progress, a little backsliding. In the end, you come out where you're supposed to be despite the roadblocks.

Within the context of free will, I'm partial to the theory or predestination, the concept that there's a plan in place put together by forces far older and wiser than we can imagine. One way or another, I think we more or less adhere to it although not consciously. I like to think that when it's right, it happens - be it falling in love or finding a job or buying a house. Not that we're denied choices or the right to change our minds or make mistakes - it's just that I find comfort in the idea of some cosmic blueprint at work, a guiding force that watches over us but attaches no conditions and pulls no strings. It doesn't interfere or judge, doesn't keep score and never says I told you so.

I think my grandmother thought the same way, that we live within a framework of something powerful and maybe even all-seeing, that we work, live and play within it but are still free to change direction as we please. The roadblocks we encounter are there for a reason - and there are rules for getting around them.

Rule One: Real: You'll need a map and possibly an alternative approach.

Rule Two: Imaginary: If your mind built it, your mind can dismantle it.

Rule Three: Man Made: If man assembled it, man can take it apart in less time.

If life were easy, we'd all be good at it, I think to myself.