I’ve always found swings to be simple and yet so freeing.
I talk a lot about rediscovering simplicity here on This Old Soul, and as I look back at my life, I realize that it was a swing that first taught me the meaning of simplicity.
The back and forth movement, like a pendulum clock (think grandfather clock), always in rhythm, the back and forth movement always steady, never changing.
In college, I would visit a little park near my dorm and go on the swings to try and relieve the tension I was feeling with people, classes, and deadlines. I would pump my legs, forward and backward, until I could swing no higher and then I would revel in the feeling of just being as the swing lifted me up and I felt the wind whipping past my face.
I’ve often wondered why I’ve been so drawn to swings in my life.
Some of it might be biological. The comfort of being rocked is something that we carry with us from the time we are babies (thank you to all the parents who spend hours bouncing their babies). Pumping my legs also burns energy which most definitely helps with stress.
Swings often remind me that in order to go forward, I must first go backward.
If you think about it, it’s impossible to get enough traction to swing higher unless you are willing to work as you swing backwards. To go higher up, you must mirror how far you go back.
In my life I’ve had several what I would call “setbacks.” Haven’t we all?
But what if we look at them less as setbacks and more as simply swinging backwards?
Easier said than done I know. Especially when you’ve lost your job or had to move for the umpteenth time. It can be confusing, frustrating, even devastating when you finally have forward movement, only to be pulled back, but this time even farther back than before.
But it’s just like a swing.
If we could see the simplicity in the movement as a representation of our lives, we might discover that we can climb higher if we’re willing to keep pumping our legs even as we’re falling back. It’s when we stop trying that the pendulum mirror stops.
Swinging is a letting go, a surrendering. The only way to truly feel the freedom of the swing is to stop pumping your legs and let it just carry you.
Swings parallel life in so many ways.
The rush you feel as you swing forward mirrors a feeling of accomplishment. The pull of gravity bringing you back down is grounding, and yet the feeling of swinging backwards is counterintuitive.
What I like most about swings is the feeling of wonder and freedom.
Keep in mind, you still go forward and backward even as you let go and coast. Don’t forget to enjoy those moments too. When you let go of doing the work, you let the momentum carry you.
Are you tired of being pulled backwards? Maybe all you need to do is let go of control realize the ups and downs are simply a part of life.
Maybe the pendulum of the swing is trying to tell us something.
Reaching the top might be joyful, but letting momentum do the work is exhilarating. The rush you feel, the slowing of your body, mind, and soul. That is what is truly freeing.
Maybe, just maybe, if we chose to let go instead of pushing so hard, we would find more simplicity.
So, find yourself a swing and let it teach you the meaning of simplicity.
Not by working harder, but by letting go.
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