What happens when the oar breaks?
Imagine you’re out on your canoe, in a calm river, enjoying life
All of a sudden your oar breaks…
(The oar is a pole with a flat blade used to steer boats through water. It’s how the people in the boat can make the boat go faster or slow or change course)
Maybe you feel pissed off, sad, you start to worry
Your hands sweat, what are you going to do?
If you’re in a team of rowers, well everyone just rows back to shore and you can get a new one
But what if you’re by yourself?
In a river, you may be able to get to a side, fingers crossed no rapids are coming up
What if you’re in the middle of the ocean?
Might be feeling pretty screwed now…
And with life,
How do we react when life feels like we’re in a boat by ourselves in the middle of the ocean and our oars just broke?
Maybe we cry and pout, hoping and wishing something would change
Or we accept reality, and even though it sucks and we didn’t ask for it, we keep it cool and start to devise a plan. What’s the most important next step I could take right to get out of this situation?
That’s a lot different than “OMG, what the fuck am I going to do? I have no idea what I am going to do, OMG OMG OMG”
When we get caught in a pickle, we can choose how to respond to that situation, and that’s why it’s important to not get complacent and continue to strive towards better because when things come up (and they always do) we’ll be able to deal with them in a way that makes us satisfied, proud, and not filled with any regret.
Remember, this too shall pass.
Joe DiAndrea 