He Tore A Hamstring Dot Mee Dot UK

Cool Runnings, Peace be the Journey

The phrase, “Life is a Roller Coaster”, is one of the most oft used metaphors in describing contemporary life. However, with technology advancements seemingly reducing global dimensions, it sometimes appears that the roller coaster is actually more symbolic of a large bubble.

If you combine the two, you materialise something akin to the huge slide on the Visa Television Commercial, where complete privacy is a thing of the past, and you encounter life’s peaks and troughs in a state of naked exposure to those brave enough to look.

Of course, when you choose to embrace Social Media, you realise that this is one of the consequences. However, the simple fact is that users have the right to as much or as little privacy as they wish.

Taking Twitter as an example, every individual has close to total control of what is seen of them. Absolute privacy could simply mean not joining!! For those that do, there is an ability to protect tweets, remove photos, and block followers amongst other things. If you prefer not to bare your soul to the entire bubble, the choice is yours.

However, those that fully embrace find infinite opportunity to share thoughts, passions and opinion, as well as developing some fantastic relationships. My friends are everything to me, and I can happily say that I count some of the relationships that have evolved online to be amongst the most precious in my life.

On the flipside, some of my closer friends may take the ‘proverbial’ out of me for my incessant use of social media applications, and some may in fact worry about the fact that I might share my emotions with so many strangers.

My response would be that very few who take the time to read, are strangers, and also that I find nothing quite so invigorating as interacting with genuine and thoughtful people who share similar interests.

The irony was not lost on me that when I was ill earlier this week, it seemed that there were more people aware online than those closer to home. In fact, one of my best friends berated me with a phone call to ask why she had found out that I was ill via a Twitter post from another of my friends that she had never met!

It also transpires that Twitter, true to life, has the ability to exponentiate and make ‘minor’ amendments to fact! By the time that my friend spoke to me, she was unsure as to whether I was attached to various monitors in hospital, or suffering from a bout of manflu … or, as was fact, recuperating at home from a migraine.

However, if I ever needed proof of the genuine nature of my Twitter friendships, it was the mass of messages that awaited me when I next logged on a few days later. I am particularly thankful for them.

Going back to the ‘roller coaster’ theme, the online community has also been exposed to my recent mood swings. Pretence is not my forté, and as such, my heart is worn very clearly on my sleeve.

I very much consider this period of my life to be one of discovery. When all is done, it is less than 9 months since Dani passed away, and it has had a phenomenal impact on me. A very certain future has been replaced by a huge jigsaw puzzle being slowly pieced together.

The challenge encountered is that the picture on the front of the box changes daily, as previous aspirations have faded to be replaced with perpetually changing thoughts of constructive longer term goals.

I spoke at great length with my manager this week in consideration of this. There is a big part of me that longs to finally utilise the skills developed during my degree, and pursue a career in writing and the creative media. However, an equally significant part of me refuses to walk away from a successful career that I have forged within Recruitment.

I could definitely have been absolutely discrete about this, and my manager would have been none the wiser. However, he deserves much better than that (I can never forget his genuine, albeit spontaneous, reactions of care for me when Dani died) – and my emotions betrayed me.

That heart on the sleeve is very visible in my words, actions and body language, and anyone within a country mile of me at the moment would notice an exterior which exposes a tormented fusion of the contentment that accompanies self-awareness, and the turmoil that is the partner of indecision.

If you add to this a small element of anger – my deep rooted faith allows me to be philosophical about bereavement for most of the time – I would confess that those around me have most recently had to deal with a friend who would appear unpredictable and ill at ease.

Life, however, is nothing without challenge. I continue to return to a quote from BC Forbes:

“History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats”

In those moments where light seems to be eclipsed, I simply remember how fortunate I am to have the opportunities and the friendships that I do.

Those friends continue to remind me what a blessing life truly is, and whilst I have them, I genuinely never walk alone. I am embarking on an adventure to find the cover of the jigsaw box, and when it is found, the pieces will have fallen together in its reflection.

It will no doubt be a roller coaster, but every thrill ride has its conclusion. Besides, even a merry-go-round rotates and undulates. Figuratively speaking, it’s time to jump on the ‘Visa Slide’ with a generous pair of trunks, smiling with the passing world at every bump.

The reality is equally enthralling, and that is the cherishing of every inspiring moment and challenge that life throws at me. As one of my favourite quotes says:

“Cool Runnings. Peace Be The Journey”