So I was very surprised when our family stopped over in the Spokane River Park and decided to ride the carousel to satisfy the little girl in me, that this particular historic carousel offered a chance at the brass ring. I really had no idea how it worked. You go round and round trying to catch a ring, and if you happened to catch the brass ring, you got a free ride. Sweet! That was enough incentive to me and it looked easy enough.
Looks can be deceiving. My family all raced to our mighty steeds. Tracy wanted to horned goat. Omi wanted the one that reminded her the most of her horse Sage. And the rest of us, just wanted to ride and a chance at the brass ring. We wrapped the leather belts around our waist and the carousel started going round and round and by the 3rd time around, the wooden arm that held the magic rings was waiting for us to capture our rings. The carousel was going round and round rather quickly. My horse was going up and down. How the heck was this supposed to work?! I tried once. I tried twice. I tried 3 times and I still couldn't grab a ring, brass or other wise. But each time we went around, the past ring-less go-round didn't stop me from reaching out and dong my best to get the ring that was at the end of the wooden arm. Sure, I had to take some risks. I had to stand up a little bit out of my saddle. I had to hook my left arm around the brass poll and lean further out. I had to feel unsteady and out of my comfort zone and I had to focus on that blasted ring. But sure enough, I finally grabbed one. I didn't grab just one, but by the end of our first ride, I had gathered about 4 or 5. (None of them the brass ring).
We had 3 more tickets, so Omi, Tricia and I went out again. Three times around, the bell went off alerting us that the arm was now out to capture rings. Once again, 1 time around, no ring. 2 times around no rings. I was screaming/grunting with frustration. The 3rd time around, still no ring. But I kept trying. The past was the past and didn't dictate my future. What could I learn from it. How could I adjust myself a bit here or a bit there in order to capture the rings? Finally, I had adjusted myself and I captured a couple of rings. I didn't get one every time. But that didn't deter me. I kept trying. I never saw the brass ring. I have no idea who might have grabbed it. I have no idea if it ever came out. But that didn't stop me from reaching for those rings.
Okay, so I know at this point this metaphor must be rather obvious and many of you are probably saying, "Duh, Martha! That is where the saying 'reach for the brass ring' comes from! It means to never give up on life and keep on doing your best and reaching for success!" Thanks, for sharing the obvious, NOW. Seriously, I had never put the two together. I had NO IDEA that "Reach for the brass ring" came from riding a carousel. So after riding my 2nd ride, I had this epiphany. Reaching for the brass ring was a metaphor for my life. But it went beyond the brass ring. It was all about stepping outside of my comfort zone, learning from my mistakes and celebrating every little victory on the way to the brass ring.. in my case, this purple ring (that I sheepishly kept as a reminder..instead of returning it like I was supposed to).
It was about living life at its fullest. It was about not caring what other people thought about the 46 year old woman riding the carousel like she had never ridden one before and making a silly fool of herself reaching for that ring over and over and over again. It was about laughing and trying new things. It was about laughing at my attempts and failing, and not letting it get the best of me.
I was once told that people go about their lives the way that they play games. If they are sore losers while playing games, they likely walk around life with a pretty rotten attitude expecting life to always hand over the rewards. But if they played a game with laughter and enjoyed the game regardless of how it ended, then they were probably happier people to be around and likely more successful. So the other day,while riding that carousel, what did this game say about me?
There was a time in my life where I didn't know how to play a game. I was scared to look different. I was scared to call attention to myself. I was scared to laugh out loud. I was scared to reach outside of my comfort zone and try something risky. I was scared to fail. But today....I step on a scale at a weight watchers meeting and I don't let the ups and downs of a scale define who I am. I do marathons or half marathons and don't let timing/speed define who I am. I fall (quite literally) but I always get back up and try again. I laugh at my mistakes an have fun learning. Yes, sometimes I get frustrated, but I make adjustments and keep moving. Life is one big game to me, and it is meant to be lived to its fullest. It doesn't matter if you are the best or the fastest; it only matters that you are LIVING and DOING.
Every day we have a choice to make in this life. We can choose to play full on, keep reaching for that brass ring. Sometimes we are going to miss them all together. Sometimes we are gong to get hold of it and then drop it. Sometimes it will all by colored plastic rings and we never get site of that brass ring. But we keep on playing. We keep on trying. OR, we can make the other choice which is to get on the horse on the inside and just ride the ride round and round never making any gains, never taking any chances aways knowing exactly how life will begin and end. We just play it safe. There may be some enjoyment, but soon it will become routine and there is no growth or change in this choice.
Which choices are you making in your life????
One more thought, while looking up "brass ring"on google, I came across the Barenaked Ladies song Get Back Up. It is brilliant! It is perfect for my life.... maybe it is perfect for you too. Here you go...
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