Picture the Hamster Wheel

Picture the hamster wheel.

The poor dude runs and runs in a perpetual state of forward immobility.

I see many of us today in this same cycle.  And we almost believe it’s fulfilling, fun and in line with our dreams.

· We are engulfed in a career.  We work late at the office, or plug in shortly after getting home, taking little time for hobbies or friends.

· We are parents of young or teenage children.  Balancing family and work is a full-time thing.  Keeping our own health as a top priority is a pipe dream.  There is laundry to do, after all.

· We are connected with friends, family and work peers, but are not connected deeply enough to our true essential selves… our souls.

· We have forgotten how to listen to that small voice inside for self support and guidance.  Because we’re running, we don’t allot time for this.

· Our trust in our own internal wisdom has been lost.  We look outside for answers.  We’ve lost trust in ourselves.

· We can take care of everyone and everything else.  We are a HUGE success outside of our own bodies.  Our body, however, we’ve forgotten.

Picture the hamster wheel stopping.

The top separates and one side slowly floats to the ground making a walkway for a stroll.
The whole world is in front of you.
The perpetual state of forward immobility is at rest.

Reality

This actually happened a few weeks ago.  I exited the ‘Corporate’ world to follow a calling to become a weight loss and life coach.  I was ready for that stroll off the hamster wheel.  The fascinating thing is that almost every ounce of my being wanted to run back to the safety of the wheel.  I heard our pastor say one day in a sermon:  “We often choose known hells over unknown heavens.”  The man had a point.  I can do perpetual stress.  It might kill me… but it’s safe.  (Yes, the irony is apparent.)  Bliss, on the other hand, is not something with which I have that much experience.  Martha Beck’s counterpoint (which has become my mantra) is:  “Run toward joy, not away from fear.”

As I start up the Lite Thoughts blog, I ponder all of the reasons why our spirits crave adventure, joy and freedom, while our minds find a fictional safety net in social conformity and structure.  Light thoughts and the pursuit of unknown heavens shall prevail over the stress and structured chaos of the known hell.  Thus, I don’t plan to return to the ‘Corporate’ world.  While the road ahead appears to be the less beaten path, I stroll toward it with the confidence, and occasional frightening realization, that it will be an adventure.

If your perpetual state of forward immobility were at rest, where would you want to go?

I hope our less beaten paths cross.

Jennifer