Roller Coasters

I have never been a fan of Roller Coasters. A bad experience on a ride when I was eight years old left me highly anxious about stepping anywhere near them for the next thirty years. And not surprisingly, each year that passed only served to heighten my sense of dread until it reached, quite frankly, an abnormal level of fear. So, you can probably imagine my reaction when during a visit to Disney World a few years back, my son and daughter begged me to take a Roller Coaster ride with them. I was absolutely convinced that I was either going to puke my guts out, pass out, or quite possibly do both simultaneously. Not exactly happy thoughts for “The Happiest Place on Earth!”

But reality set in and I realized I didn’t want to let my petty worries get in the way of what could be a magical family moment. I also figured it would be an opportunity to face my fear of Roller Coasters and leave it in the past, once and for all. So I climbed aboard with my wife and our children, smiled nervously, faked enthusiasm, hung on for dear life and …

Well, I survived. I didn’t puke, I didn’t pass out, and in my mind that was success. But what I didn’t know was that there was a point in the ride where pictures were routinely taken. And in our picture, my kids pointed out that my eyes were closed. To my horror, they insisted on taking the ride again, and again, until a picture captured us all with our eyes open. The upside to this story is that by the end of that day, I had truly conquered my fear of Roller Coasters, with their trademark highs and lows.

I thought about my experience with Roller Coasters after reflecting on the following quote: “Self love and self-loathing are constant, bickering bed-fellows. If utilized correctly, both keep you moving forward” (Author Unknown) This quote reminded me of my experience with Roller Coasters albeit in the metaphorical sense of the emotional highs and lows we often experience in our lives. And for me, this resonates in terms of the world of writing and publishing. I have come to accept that the highs and lows, the accomplishments and setbacks, the steps forward and backward, are all part of the journey of becoming a published writer. The key, as I see it, is to ensure that the overall direction is forward.