Consider knowledge, or intelligence. This seems to change on a daily basis. We start at a given point, and if we are lucky and pay attention, we have the opportunity to learn something. Through this activity, we move along the continuum toward the "more knowledgeable" end of the spectrum. However, if we don't watch very carefully, we relax and the rest of the world sneaks up behind us, slowly moving us back down the continuum away from the place we struggled to achieve. This can happen over an entire lifetime. We struggle to move forward, then slowly but surely, if we aren't watching, the world overtakes us again. Staying ahead is really hard work.
I have another example. As children, we fought and struggled to become adults. As parents of children, we watch that same struggle happen and it can be really difficult to watch our own children through awkward ages and the trials that young life throws at them. Slowly they fight their way, moving the equilibrium from child to adult. Then as adults, we find out something amazing. We discover that if there is enough pressure put on us, all we want to do is to run home to our parents and be treated as children again. My father died in 1965 and my mother in 1978, and there are still times that all I want is one of them to take care of everything I face. This happens when my equilibrium is pushed all of the way to the child side. As adults, we do the thing that we have been taught to do; we start clawing our way back to the adult side, because that is what is expected of us.
Maybe you have spent time processing on all of this, but it was a new thought for me, and has been really helpful in the last several weeks. It has helped me come to understand that there are times when everyone, myself included, are more ready to take on the challenges of the world and there are times when everyone just wants to lie down and be done. When we see that in those around us, that we know and love, it is up to us to help them move back to a place that is better for them. To move across the continuum to find a new equilibrium that is a better, healthier place. And when we are in a bad place, it is important that we recognize it and let those who are willing to help, do so. We can rarely do it by ourselves.
How many of you remember the game Plinko, from the TV show "The Price is Right"?
I had a request from YESS (Youth and Emergency Shelter Services) to build a Plinko board as part of their marketing for the Duck Derby on May 5. I wasn't really sure what I was getting into when I started, but I have to tell you that I am proud of the way that it came together. And the feedback is that the kids absolutely love using this at their events.
The Duck Derby is a great event and a really good place to spend a spring day. It is also a really good place to spend a little money. All of the funds go toward programs for children who could really use the help. There will be a flock of ducks in the running that represent my family and I hope that some of your ducks will be running with them. And, if you are at a YESS event in the next couple of weeks and you see a Plinko board with big yellow duck sticker, tell them that you know the guy who built it. You'll find my name on the back.
