Some weeks ago I had the pleasure of learning a new skill…or I should say, I tried to learn a new skill!
Skating had always been on my bucket-list and ticking it was such an achievement…small but quite exciting. On the rink, on the wheels, I have never felt so out of control. Apparently the movement of the wheels can be controlled by the skater, but to a beginner, they seem to have a mind of their own. As I toddled on, my teacher kept saying, “If you forget everything, just remember to reach for your knees when you feel yourself falling”. I took this to mean that ‘reaching for my knees’ meant finding stability. Something to hang onto when all else is out of your control. Simple, right? Reaching for the knees seemed like such an unnatural thing to do, because when you feel yourself falling, your arms flail around hoping to break the fall. At least mine do…
Let me get to my point. But before that, yes I fell.
I go back to what my teacher said….’reach for your knees when you feel yourself falling’. That phrase has stayed on my mind because it occurred to me how it can work in just about all scenarios we live through. Let me try to expound.
Sample scenario
You have gone to class because learning never stops. Right? In walks the teacher and all you hear is gibberish instead of the new language you hope to learn. You start to panic and question your existence on this planet. Once the panic subsides, you feel yourself becoming more receptive to the class.
How did the panic subside? I believe it’s because you ‘reached for your knees’. You realised that you could easily translate what was being taught to a language you could process until you are ready to converse without translation.
Making sense?
What do you do when you are ‘reaching for your knees’? How do you find stability in the chaos?