The roller coaster

Roller coasters have always been symbolic to some. You start off at the station. It's pretty mild at the start with a few curves and bumps. Then there starts to have little ups and downs. Then they get bigger and bigger. And finally, there is the huge ass one that goes all the way to the top and the drop looks scary as hell. Then you survive it. You went through everything. You're a little weak and frightened. The ride continues on much milder. No more slopes and drops. Just a few twist, turns, and then you're back. Back at the station. Where it all started.

To me, that sounds a lot like life. You start as an infant. Nothing really matters at the start. You're still learning your way. You will have a few falls and mishaps. You may cry once in awhile. You think its a little too much because you didn't know what to expect when you hopped on. You notice how people view your problems as minor and small compared to theirs.

Then you go into childhood. You start having problems like school and exams. You still have the ever frequent cry and weep. Something has changed. These problems feel bigger now. They are scarier and harder to solve. But you also have a little more fun. No more mere curves and bumps. You start to experience little giddy climbs in your life. You find friends. You go on imaginary adventures. You pretend to be superheroes. You dream of being an adult.

Then along comes teen/youth hood. Where the climbs and falls suddenly seem to get so much bigger. It is no longer cute when you go through these like you used to so people aren't as willing to help you. Your problems are still not as big as the adults, but they are too big to bear. There may be a corkscrew here and there. You may think this is the worst you are ever going through, yet you are close enough to the big hill to be able to see it. Which makes you even more frightened.

Then you venture into adult hood. You went through all the stages. Now you're climbing up. It's getting scary because it is slow and you can see how far you have left to go. You also look down and something inside you wishes you could be back down there. But there is no going back. You have to reach the top. You start to see how those little bumps and turns at the start were preparing you for this. You start to realize that this is the biggest you will ever face. You almost reach the top. It's almost the end of the journey already. You then feel a pinch of regret. You can't believe this is already the highest you are ever going to get. And then before it hits you,

You plunge down. Everything you work for has set the foundation for this. There really isn't anything else to do. You just have to go through this. There are no more climbs you can experience, no more ambitions you can chase. You are where you are and you have to stick with it. Then you come back near to the ground. You are in retirement. Things become mild again. You first start to enjoy how you are back to lower ground. Life is a little easier. No work, no debts, kids have grown up. Then it get's a little boring. You face health problems and your senses start to fade. Then you start to find peace. You are satisfied with what you've been through. You can see the station again. You can see eager people waiting for their turn to do what you have done. The cart strolls slowly towards the station. And then it stops.

Life is a lot like a roller coaster. When you see it from a far, you focus on the biggest hill and that is what attracts you to it. All throughout the start you wanted to just get to that hill. That was the main aim. To reach adulthood. To reach your ambition. What i was trying to do with this symbolism was to say that as hard as people try to plan life and to work out how we are suppose to live it. It really is kind of impossible. It is impossible to cut out the problems as it is to make your cart not go through a particular twist or hill. It is impossible to work out a way to feel happy at some parts and sad at the others. 

Life happens. It just does. And no matter what you do or try, you reach the end the same way. What you can do however, what you can control, is how you feel throughout the ride. It is how you feel on the way up to the top, and how you feel when you ride it back down. It's how you treat every twist and every bump. Life is going to happen. The problems and the joys are all going to happen. The inevitable arrival to the station. However, as fixed as life may be, how you treat everything that it brings you through is up to you. And i feel that that freedom, that freedom to feel however you want about things in life, can sometimes be liberating. Just imagine this, life is going to happen, it's going to bring you to the same conclusion, so why not live it the way you want it. Treat things the way you want to and be happy about the things that come and go. You are going to end up back at that crummy station anyway, might as well enjoy the wind or something on the ride. :)