Enjoy The Ride

 “There was a scene where they wanted me to run down these steps. It was outside on these cement steps. After I did this, the director said, “Can you come down faster with more of a sense of urgency?”  I was like, “No. I can’t. Listen. I know I still look like Axel Foley (Beverly Hills Cop) but don’t ask me to do nothing you won’t ask Morgan Freeman to do!”  Eddie Murphy: interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel.

 

It's good to laugh. It’s even good to laugh at ourselves! In more ways than I care to admit, the underlined part of the Eddie Murphy quote above literally made me laugh out loud. I keep thinking, “I know, right?”

We get older – it happens. Things we could do without thought become things we cannot do with complete concentration. Well, we can try, but we’re probably gonna’ hurt ourselves! No humor there.

We can live in the idea of being closer to Morgan Freeman than Axel Foley and just acquiesce. That’s all there is: Once I could, now I cannot. Case closed.

There are, of course, physical limitations when we bring age into the conversation. I can say for certain that even if I were to buckle down, eat right, and exercise until the cows come home, I’m not going to be a Certified Ski Instructor again. I’m not going to play a round of golf with a 7 handicap either.

Additionally, there are other roadblocks to unlimited choice. These could be economical, geographical, or educational. Some obstructions, with careful thought and planning, can be overcome. Perhaps others cannot.

But the door of living need not be closed. Choices are available. In his article, "Many Doors", Sasha Dichter offers a simple analogy and several statements to help us consider potential improvement. 

A one-way door. “I am (or am not) the type of person who is good at _______. End of story.”

A door that swings both ways.   "I have learned that I am (or am not) currently the kind of person who is good at _____, and I’m going to use that information to do _____ so that this will change over time.

Two doors:   "I have learned that this is (is not) my strength, and I’m worse at (better at) this other thing. So, I’m going to choose to do more of this and less of that.”

Multiple doors: “I have learned this new thing about myself, so I’m going to walk through this other door for a while, and maybe come back here later. And, lo and behold, at the other side of this door there’s a whole new series of doors, and…”

I would like to seriously consider these four who-am-I descriptions for a time. Not that I feel in any way negative toward aging, but I would like to use them as a basis to look at the situation in a more option-positive light. 

And just in case you happen to feel left out because you’re young, don’t. This is a productive exercise that can be life-changing at any age. Keep reading, please.

I have another use for these reflective narratives as well. You might have heard sermons about hope last week. Our teachers might well be guiding us in Christian love today. But I think I want to skip ahead – not much, just a week.  I would like to review these thought provokers in light of the third week in Advent, Joy. I just can't follow the plan, I guess. 

When reflecting on those door-statement aids, what we find on the other side of that portal is joy. It's a way of life that speaks to a deep spiritual connection and feelings of pleasure, appreciation, and gratitude. We realize who we are in the eyes of God. We experience the awe of our existence and the awesomeness of our Creator.

To me, this concept is wrapped up in the following video presentation. It's a current holiday commercial offered by, of all places, Amazon. It's just one minute but it's packed with lessons of joy found and joy shared. 

They've called it, "Joy Ride"