05 Feb The Truth About Speed Bumps

Lately my life seems to be filled with lots of twists, turns, and obstacles.

It’s natural that with our busy and often non-stop routines we are bombarded with a multitude of daily challenges – some of which can be compared to tiny pebbles and others which feels like enormous boulders.  As I have mentioned before, as a mother, I spend a great deal of my life behind the wheel of my car.  While in the car this week, I found myself having to drive over many speed bumps, and lots of things became very clear to me…

Ever driven over a speed bump at full speed and felt as though your car was soaring in the air….then the bumpy landing shakes you back into reality and the realization that perhaps the car was not meant for driving quickly over the speed bump.  There are also times when we roll slowly over the speed bump – we feel every up and down movement and sometimes even wonder why we are going so slowly.

The reality is that life is filled with speed bumps and pot holes, most of which we maneuver outside of the car.

The challenges we all face, big or small, can be seen as speed bumps or detours in our personal paths of life.  Sometimes detours are a good thing.  They provide us with a few extra moments or months to reflect upon what lies ahead and possibly change our pre-chosen course.  They allow for time to consult, soul search and breathe.  We are all always in such a rush, and with today’s technology we often expect to get answers and results in the blink of an eye or at the touch of a keyboard.  Perhaps this is why for some of us detours and speed bumps are so hard to navigate.  They require patience and time and often these are virtues that are hard to build into our daily lives.

Why is it that most of us place time limits upon absolutely everything?  Sometimes we go through hard days, weeks or longer periods and I am always amazed by the fact that these moments are gaged by how quickly we can get through them rather than upon how we actually use our personal resources to get through them.

Why has everything become so tied up with time rather than process???

The way I look at it, there is a huge difference between a detour/speed bump and a roadblock.  To be perfectly honest, I think that speed bumps are great.  They slow us down just a bit and give us that extra moment to decide if we are choosing to go full speed ahead or if we are going to slow down.  They allow for us to BREATHE – which in my opinion is one of the most important skills that any of us can learn.  They allow us to truly FEEL and SEE what is happening around us rather than blindly going through the motions.

So, the next time that you find yourself faced with an unplanned speed bump or detour, take a deep breath, open your eyes and ears, and allow yourself to go through the process of choosing how to navigate the bump.

Will you fly over it and not look back or will you give yourself the chance to feel each and every pebble.  The ultimate choice is yours!

Xox,

Susan