Puppeteering Life

How many things do you do a day?  How many things do you do for you, and how many do you do for others?  How many of those things do you actually have control over?  


If you're like me your answers are something like:  

"Um, a ton" 

"it all depends on the day"

"Ha! control?  what's that?"

It can often feel like instead of being the boss of our lives, we're often left to the whims of others.  We don't always set our own schedules.  Sometimes we relinquish ourselves to do things that are necessary instead of pleasurable.  And, truthfully, that's part of life.  Life isn't a fairy tale lived through rose-colored glasses.  However, it is important to remember that we need a coping mechanism throughout life's craziness, because we don't always get to be the puppeteer.  Sometimes we are left dangling by strings, our life turning in response to someone else's command.


Today, for example, I felt as though my life changed hourly.  This whole week is filled with events controlled by others.  My schedule is based on students, directors, dance instructors, and I exist merely to serve them.  While I love everything that I do, at times like these the strings holding me become stressed, frayed, and thin.  I wait for the one movement to agitate the carefully held together puppet strings enough to make one snap.  And today at 7:05 one did.  


It's hard, falling - the crashing down of a, up to that point, very carefully held together you.  Granted, you don't fall completely because the other strings hold you in place.  But nonetheless, you are left slightly discombobulated and irregularly composed.  Tired and frustrated, it seems easier to quit at that moment, blowing things fully out of proportion, than slowing down and reassessing the situation.  However, it is a reassessment - a readjustment of life's strings if you will - that should happen instead.  A deep breath and moment of quiet holds miraculous healing power.  It refocuses you, centers you, and can set things back in perspective.


Do we ultimately have full control of our lives?  Of course not.  Life is a game of balance - of keeping your strings secure and your weight as evenly distributed as possible.  A momentary fall is inevitable, but rather than severing the connection of the other parts of your life and creating a greater, fuller fall, stop.  Breathe.  Take a moment to reevaluate what you're doing, where you're headed, and the purpose of the things that you do.  Reattach your string, and dance confidently as life moves you.  You may never become a master puppeteer, and that's okay.  Just do your part to keep yourself from falling:  keep your needs light and minimal, be flexible to life's constantly changing directions, and stay focused on the big picture instead of the one broken string.  You'll be back up and dancing sooner than you think.