Find Your Grounding

Today was the first time in a long time that I felt scared. Not the usual fear that comes with worry and overwhelm. I was fully and thoroughly frightened.

I had gone to drop my daughter to a friend’s home high on a hill. I reversed into the driveway at an angle as I figured that this was the best way to manoeuvre around a car parked right across the road. Clearly I miscalculated.

As I attempted to drive off, I felt the car skid a bit and begin to make tremendous noise. Flying gravel caught my eye and then my line of sight was filled with what appeared to be smoke. The smell of burning rubber was thick in the air. I was stuck.

My front left tire was suspended ever so slightly, touching the driveway just enough to burn the tire when it spun feverishly, but not enough to actually move the vehicle. A few attempts to realign the car proved futile. No matter how I reversed or drove forward, either the left or right wheels would lift and the car would stick.

A gentleman, hearing the commotion, came down the hill to see if he could assist. As he directed me to lock this way and that and to floor the acceleration, all I could hear was screeching. All I could smell was burning rubber. All I could think was that the vehicle was going to capsize and tumble down the hill. I got out of the car one more time to inspect my quandary. This time, the tire was a good 4 or 5 inches off of the ground. If I thought I was stuck before, I was double stuck now. 

You see, I gave the scenario my best effort (with my admittedly limited experience), I tried to make things move and I made a lot of noise in the process. But there was no grounding. And so, despite the outward appearance of effort and determination, despite the smoke, noise and flying gravel, no real progress could be made because my vehicle was not firmly affixed to the ground.

How many times does this happen to us in our lives? We push and we strive and we make a lot of noise in the process, yet we seemingly get nowhere. We are convinced that things must be happening because gravel is flying, rubber is burning and the smoke is thickening, yet, we seem to be stuck. Perhaps we need to come back to centre, to firmly ground ourselves, whether it be in our priorities, in our passions, in our faith, before we will be poised to move forward. 

I’m happy to report that I’m no longer stuck. My friend’s brother-in-law calmly came up the hill, assessed the position of the vehicle, hopped in and proceeded to make slow, small adjustments to its course. It only took him a few minutes to safely deliver the car to the roadway. He recognised the need for grounding and he did what was necessary in order to achieve it. 

Perhaps you feel a bit stuck at the moment. Perhaps, despite the appearance of progress, the sound of movement and the promise of advancement, you find yourself suspended, unable to proceed. Find your grounding. Make the small, seemingly insignificant adjustments necessary to return to your centre, and reposition yourself to move forward. If you need to enlist the help of a calming, methodical friend, then by all means do so. But find your grounding. And then move forward.