A uniquely American activity is the speed at which we encounter life.
Slow is not an American state of being. Being nimble and good at changing gears to meet the demands of life are skills that benefit us in a technological age. Most of the time I feel that I am digging a hole to fill a hole as the saying goes. True momentum can be difficult to develop and maintaining it can be impossible. Most of the time we feel like we are spinning in place trying to get traction to move our lives forward in a meaningful way. As soon as we get one thing taken care of there is another problem or situation that requires our immediate attention. Getting ahead of the challenges can be elusive if we approach them all at the same time.
I have started to engage challenges like driving a stick shift. Let me catch up the young folks, a manual transmission was a vehicle that required the driver to physically shift the gears of the transmission with a delicate dance move of clutch, gas and shift. I am fully aware that this is a lost art and might be anachronistic for most of us but stay with me. My first car was a three speed so when I needed to get through a difficult patch of road, I would maintain first gear with as much torque to pull or push the car through the resistance.
While we assume each road is going to be smooth and obstacle free, realistically the road is bumpy, potholed, and resistant. Third gear with a rough section of road would prove too difficult to keep the car from stalling. Fighting the challenging road without the right gear in place can render our momentum moot. We should be downshifting to a “slower” gear with a delicate clutch and gas cooperation that might provide the balance we need to keep some momentum while avoiding stalling. Shifting to a lower gear is a lost art but a necessary skill if we want to maintain traction and avoid stalling when we hit a rough patch of road.
Albert R. Hartley