Rapid Cycles

I am watching clothes spin in rapid cycles now and I can't help but be lured into its hypnotic motion. Somehow, life's been like this. Years go by really fast and I've seen victories and defeat visit alternately. In retrospect, I can no longer tell which one I like better but certainly, each experience has taught me tons of lessons. Some, I've learned to apply. Others, I continue to ignore. It's a cycle of happy and sad, ups and downs, and successes and failures. Through it all, however, I know God's hand has been very gentle and kind. On circumstances that feel harsh, He guides with tender gestures making sure my steps go back to safety. On events that are light and happy, His still small voice become my conscience that keeps me grounded.

Still, time flies like a fleeting aircraft. On some occasions, I watch it glide swiftly in grace. Sometimes, it disappears beyond thick clouds like a bullet shot in the air never to be seen again. It leaves me feeling hoodwinked by the sudden turn of events - the speed of which makes me wonder how much has changed within a short span. And then I look at where I stand only to find myself stuck not too far from where I started and still uncertain of where I am going. I well up thinking how much chances were lost in the process and then wallows in the misfortune long enough until I get tired of self-pity. One good thing I learned about myself, however, is that everytime I fall deep, I just need to hit the bottom because in the absence of options, I get enough motivation to climb out of the sinkhole.

Then again, this grief and relief cycle of life never leaves. I realize that if we focus too much trying to comprehend its nature, it can become our waterloo, a potential final setback. Instead, what I focus now is mastering my understanding of what a cycle really is. You see, when I think about the notion "In life, sometimes you are at the top, and then, you are at the bottom", my mental drawing of it is simple. It is just upward and downward arrows, or forward and backward, progress - regress. And drawing life that way is quite exhausting, it seems that there will never really be true "progress" if it means falling back to point zero time and again. Dropping to the beginning seems limiting and uninspiring which sucks out energy from anyone.

The reason it is a cycle is because it is a journey. It is a continuous uniflow process which has no reversals. It keeps moving forward until it completes a milestone. Now each milestone does not mean we are already living perfect lives, however, the character developed in the process strengthens our grit to get to "relief" after bouncing back from "grief". The more familiar we become of this process the more resilient we are.

No reversals. When we are done with one, then we move on for a new conquest or defeat. In manufacturing, a small defect on one item does not sabotage the whole production. It will keep running because time does not relent. Defects, much like defeat, give us insights of where the weak links for improvements are. Mind you, we have deadlines to meet and a few loss must not suffer it.

No exemptions. This reality needs no spectators. You and I will have to play our part.

The clothes are all dry. I gotta start folding. There should be enough clean clothes to wear for the week ahead. And when Friday starts stomping closer, then, a new cycle will begin.