The Force Is Strong..

At a certain point in our lives we experience a portion of the journey that seems mundane. We get up, go to work, work, go home, go to bed.. Hit reset, do the same tomorrow. The world becomes routine and the people are always the same. There is certain blandness to the entire deal.

But every once in a great while we have something happen that gets the juices flowing. It can be something that starts another leg of the journey or it could be a split second of adventure.

Yesterday I was driving to work in my 2005 Blazer. I had gotten a late start due to a dust up between my youngest daughter's dog, newly named Knucklehead, and a donkey. Of course as I write that last sentence I realize that may be the better blog post. Focus is going to be an issue today. So the drive was a little different because I took a route that I normally avoid due to traffic. But today, because of my late start, I was clanking  along at 50mph minding my own business and drinking my Starbucks. I was in the left hand lane as the highway was about to merge with another main highway. Suddenly I realized that out of nowhere someone's hubcap had come off and was spinning in my direction.

Now this hubcap was normal hubcap size, but I could see the little clips that are supposed to lock it onto the wheel spinning at highway speeds. And this is where my imagination kicks in. As I registered the enormous and seemingly unavoidable spinning wheel of death heading towards me at supersonic speeds, I found myself channeling an odd mix of Neo and Luke. The Blazer and I had only micro-seconds to bend ourselves (remember that now all this is in slow motion) away from the whirling blades of destruction. A dodge to the left onto the shoulder, a readjustment to the right to miss the barrier, a snap of a glance at the projectile as it spun past the copilot window, and then safely past the ominous danger. I looked ahead to find the enemy vehicle and spotted a beat up, small, white sedan. It was the moment of coming back to earth. It was simply a ride to work. Sigh.

In reality I probably looked a lot more like Po, and less like Neo. But the great things about imagination is that you can look any way you want. You can channel whatever you want. You can live in a world of danger and intrigue and wonder. For a moment your adrenals get this great workout, leaving the little guys in your adrenal glands clasping their hamstrings from the sudden effort. For a few minutes longer you get to enjoy the rush of adrenaline and be the star in your own movie.  Perhaps we should have a little moment like this every day. Maybe it would alert us to the fact that life should be lived with a good load of adrenaline.

So I survived the attack. But I still had to park in my spot at work. Heft my backpack into my office. And begin the day dealing with unimaginative people and situations I had dealt with for years. Neo and Luke and even Po had to come inside and finish the paperwork.

But for one split second...the Force was with me...

Godspeed, to those who still live an exciting life, even if it is only in their head.
Don