Life is like a roller coaster: You start by going up, and there's so much anxious anticipation, as you wait and wonder when the excitement will begin. Then suddenly a clanging metallic sound is heard and you feel being released, and you go down, and it makes you scream like hell. Then the fall is saved by another loop going up, and down, sideways, then you go up and down again.
The dizzying, disorienting sensation makes you forget how you started, how you tried to hold on to the safety brace, how you blurted out those random curses into the air.
You pretend to be brave by raising your arms, hoping that the strap is strong enough to keep you seated. And nothing else matters. Not even the jingling noise of the train car as it speeds along a track suspended a high up in the air.
After one lap, it all starts over again. Come to think of it, all roller coasters I have known just give you two rounds per ticket. Just one chance for a second thrill. Another round of ups-and-downs-and-loops-and-twists-and-turns.
And just when you think you are starting to get the hang of it, the ride just ends.
And you get off your seat, trying to reorient yourself, fixing your hair, laughing at yourself for making yourself look silly during the ride, as you childishly climb down and join your friends waiting at the exit.
And you wonder if you will ever take a ride again.
If you really look closely, life is indeed a roller coaster.
You start by going up, waiting and wondering when the excitement will begin. Not knowing that the excitement actually began just before you went in line to get the tickets.
As you ride your roller coaster life, it is suggested that you just enjoy it. Don't fight it, let the law of gravity and the principle of inertia have their way. You won't get lost anyway. You will always find the exit in the end.
- John Emmanuel T. Manalo, MD
November 7, 2010
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