When my kids were younger and life was spinning them in all kinds of directions, I would share what we now call the “Pinball Effect” – Yes, welcome to my home where God knows, I love a good metaphor . . . much to the exhaustion of my family.
As reassurance that they were right where they were supposed to be, I would tell them, “ Life is like a pinball machine”. Right out of the gate, the ball is flung with the best of intentions to hit a specific mark but inevitably, it’s thwarted by various bumpers, walls and annoying disturbances. Soon, that straight trajectory to the mark feels like the ball is not just heading in a million directions but up, it may even be slipping back.
Here’s the thing, though – despite all those twists, turns, side trips, and backsliding, in the end, the ball can always move forward. My reminder to them was to trust that they too, are always heading forward no matter how stuck or diverted they feel or how much time and tries it takes to get there. Those “side trips” are often necessary to reach their intended goal and that they will be richer for them. If they give up, they will fall backwards BUT if they open to the diversions, they will always continue forward. That’s the game.
I’m sure that if you were to look back over your life at your various twists and turns, while you may not have been able to make meaning of them at the time, you may see that they informed, perhaps even enriched, where you are now. You may see that your ball was always moving forward.
Those “failures”, re-routings, and hard stops likely have paved a roadmap to a different and yet greater vision for yourself. One that you might not know existed if you hadn’t taken the scenic route.
We live in a world that highlights the wins, the overnight successes and the shiny bullet points but we rarely hear the exasperation and discouragement that likely accompanied them to those points. It’s so easy to look around and compare your journey to others; to feel utter frustration and sadness while watching your confidence shrink because you’re not where you think you’re supposed to be.
But all the best stories have the unexpected plot twists and I am here to remind you that all those side trips, pit stops, moments that felt like quicksand, have helped develop the magic that is you. And you, my friend, are magic. If your journey was straightforward, you would’ve missed out on learning and perhaps even appreciating your path and more importantly, yourself.
The moral of the story is that life is like a pinball machine and no matter all the obstacles, if you find yourself stuck, bouncing off the same damn bumper with a dream in sight but out of reach, trust that you’re right where you need to be and that your magic is simply unfolding in its own sweet time.
Onward and upward with love . . . and a timely metaphor.