Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Elevators

Elevator riding is an act of faith, I've decided, no matter your religion or beliefs. Think about it.

An elevator is a box on a string, pulled up and let down by a motor. Pretty flimsy, really. Not much margin for error. Yet each day millions of people step into those boxes and trust that that string is going to stay strong and keep them safe while carrying them to their destination. Most of us step between those steel doors without paying any sort of attention, probably talking on our cell phones or texting, and just press a button. We never consider that, while in that little box stuffed with other people or not, we have given control of our lives to something insubstantial. Something that we never see, but keeps us from falling into the darkness. I occasionally wonder about that 'something', and I sometimes whisper a quick 'thank you' while I am riding.

What if the elevator deposited you where you needed to be instead of where you want to be? Would you demand to be let back on the elevator or let yourself wander around for a bit? Would you accept the elevator's decision regarding your needs or would you argue or fight about it? Would you expect the elevator to solve all your problems during the ride? What if you're afraid of the elevator and never have the faith needed to step into that box?

I probably think about things like this just a bit more than necessary.

And speaking of elevators, my friend Jillsmo over at Yeah. Good Times. is the awesome parent of a child with autism who likes trains and elevators, and since it is Autism Awareness Month, you should probably go and visit her blog. She has been guest posting on other blogs and answering questions and just being a wellspring of information. She might not like being called a 'wellspring', but there it is. Since Autism has been said to occur in 1:110 children, you probably know someone, or will know someone, who has autism. I think that is a darn good reason to read up on the topic!

8 comments:

  1. an elevator that deposited you where you needed to be rather than where you wanted to be - what an interesting idea.

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  2. Lovely. Thank you for highliting Autism.

    PS--I think Jillsmo would be OK if you called her a wellspring--just so long as you mentally throw in a bunch of bad words around the word wellspring. LOL

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  3. *giggles* Look at you spreading the fear... You inspired my cute genius child elevator story though: When my daughter (16 this month) was 2, I was working on my master's thesis. I had to go talk to my advisor one afternoon and had no childcare, so I packed her into the car and we went to Portland State. We parked and went to the building and stopped. Being an observant two year old she notices people waiting and does a little dance, squealing, "do we get to go in the alligator!?" (she was terribly cute)

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  4. Yes, I do know someone who has a child with autism. But I didn't know it was Autism Awareness month.

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  5. I haven't been called a Wellspring since I was pregnant!

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  6. I love your blog! I'm following you and I am also in the A-Z Challenge... visit my blog: RuthieTootieWishes

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  7. I am sometimes referred to as a "wellspring" after a night of eating wings and pizza.

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I welcome comments, but reserve the right to correct your spelling because I am OCD about it!