Susan Smith welcomes you to
JOURNEY INTO POWER
JOURNEY INTO POWER
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JOURNEY INTO POWER
MISSION STATEMENT
"I believe that is it my job to give my clients the tools and information they
need to help them make wise choices in their lives. It is not my job to
make those choices for them. I believe that when I help my clients to find
their best path in this lifetime then I am following my own best path."
Susan A. Smith
MISSION STATEMENT
"I believe that is it my job to give my clients the tools and information they
need to help them make wise choices in their lives. It is not my job to
make those choices for them. I believe that when I help my clients to find
their best path in this lifetime then I am following my own best path."
Susan A. Smith
| JULY, 2009 |
THE WHETHER REPORT
LIVING LIFE ON A FULCRUM
Huh?
You thought the expression was something like "living life on the edge" didn't
you? That may sound a bit more exciting but I suspect that most of us actually
experience our lives in a slightly different fashion.
First of all, let's be sure we're all in agreement about the subject. Life on a
fulcrum, to me, means that we're actually leveraging our way through our days.
Sometimes we're up; sometimes we're down. Sometimes, we're in control and,
guess what? Sometimes, we're not.
To get a little technical here, a fulcrum is located between the input effort
and the output load. A lever is the tool that expresses that effort. When a
force is applied to the lever it will move on the fulcrum. In other words, when
you're on the down side of the lever and you exert an effort (the force) you go
up. You move the lever on the fulcrum.
(I've arrived at the point in the discussion of fulcrums and levers where I
realize why I chose to teach kindergarten and not seventh grade science.
Yikes...I'm reaching beyond my technical expertise. Time for observation and
discussion! )
Does anything here sound familiar? Of course - we're talking about a see-saw.
Now, one of the important things to recognize is that you can't ride on a
see-saw by yourself. As you may know, you can push all day when you're on
the down side of the see-saw and you won't go anywhere if there is no
counterweight. And, alas, if you're on the upside of that see-saw and your
partner suddenly decamps, boom! Down you go. A little teamwork, though,
and suddenly you're on a ride. This is work? No, this is play!
Another important thing about levers and fulcrums - that is, see-saws - size
doesn't really matter. Placement does. Anyone who has ever played on a
see-saw knows that heavyweights and lightweights merely adjust where they sit
on the see-saw. A tiny little girl can send her big sister up in the air by moving
closer to the end of seat while her sister moves towards the middle. Oh!
Towards the fulcrum.
Sometimes, some adjustments are required. That doesn't mean it can't be
done. With a little cooperation, with some trial and error, everyone gets to go
up and everyone else gets to help them. Then, when we're on the downside of
the seesaw, if we do a little work, we get to go up.
Eventually, however, a moment arrives when we decide to get off the
see-saw. We gradually even out the up and down cycles till the seesaw is level
between us. No one soars up. No one crashes down. We're level. We're even.
After an exciting ride we balance the lever between us - on the fulcrum - and
move on to other tools to play with. Swings, maybe, or the sliding board.
Still, I love the see-saw. I love the idea of the cooperation it requires to play
properly. I love the science involved (even if I have trouble explaining it).
Finally, I love the fact that another name for the see-saw is the teeter-totter -
kind of like life itself. I suspect that whether we take a ride on a swing or face
the ups and downs of the see-saw isn't as important as the fact that we play
with something on the playground. We use the tools...we follow the rules...we
play the games...as I've said for a while now, it's not about arriving so much as
what we do on the journey to get there!
On the road again....Love, Susan
LIVING LIFE ON A FULCRUM
Huh?
You thought the expression was something like "living life on the edge" didn't
you? That may sound a bit more exciting but I suspect that most of us actually
experience our lives in a slightly different fashion.
First of all, let's be sure we're all in agreement about the subject. Life on a
fulcrum, to me, means that we're actually leveraging our way through our days.
Sometimes we're up; sometimes we're down. Sometimes, we're in control and,
guess what? Sometimes, we're not.
To get a little technical here, a fulcrum is located between the input effort
and the output load. A lever is the tool that expresses that effort. When a
force is applied to the lever it will move on the fulcrum. In other words, when
you're on the down side of the lever and you exert an effort (the force) you go
up. You move the lever on the fulcrum.
(I've arrived at the point in the discussion of fulcrums and levers where I
realize why I chose to teach kindergarten and not seventh grade science.
Yikes...I'm reaching beyond my technical expertise. Time for observation and
discussion! )
Does anything here sound familiar? Of course - we're talking about a see-saw.
Now, one of the important things to recognize is that you can't ride on a
see-saw by yourself. As you may know, you can push all day when you're on
the down side of the see-saw and you won't go anywhere if there is no
counterweight. And, alas, if you're on the upside of that see-saw and your
partner suddenly decamps, boom! Down you go. A little teamwork, though,
and suddenly you're on a ride. This is work? No, this is play!
Another important thing about levers and fulcrums - that is, see-saws - size
doesn't really matter. Placement does. Anyone who has ever played on a
see-saw knows that heavyweights and lightweights merely adjust where they sit
on the see-saw. A tiny little girl can send her big sister up in the air by moving
closer to the end of seat while her sister moves towards the middle. Oh!
Towards the fulcrum.
Sometimes, some adjustments are required. That doesn't mean it can't be
done. With a little cooperation, with some trial and error, everyone gets to go
up and everyone else gets to help them. Then, when we're on the downside of
the seesaw, if we do a little work, we get to go up.
Eventually, however, a moment arrives when we decide to get off the
see-saw. We gradually even out the up and down cycles till the seesaw is level
between us. No one soars up. No one crashes down. We're level. We're even.
After an exciting ride we balance the lever between us - on the fulcrum - and
move on to other tools to play with. Swings, maybe, or the sliding board.
Still, I love the see-saw. I love the idea of the cooperation it requires to play
properly. I love the science involved (even if I have trouble explaining it).
Finally, I love the fact that another name for the see-saw is the teeter-totter -
kind of like life itself. I suspect that whether we take a ride on a swing or face
the ups and downs of the see-saw isn't as important as the fact that we play
with something on the playground. We use the tools...we follow the rules...we
play the games...as I've said for a while now, it's not about arriving so much as
what we do on the journey to get there!
On the road again....Love, Susan
HERE'S THE LINK TO MY MOST RECENT COLUMN IN THE SUN GAZETTE...THE TITLE OF
THIS MONTH'S COLUMN IS "PORCHES AND BANISTERS"...HOPE YOU ENJOY IT.
BEGINNING THIS MONTH I'LL BE DOING THE "LIFELINES" COLUMN TWICE A MONTH AND
WILL PUT THE LINKS HERE:
http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/528502.html
THIS MONTH'S COLUMN IS "PORCHES AND BANISTERS"...HOPE YOU ENJOY IT.
BEGINNING THIS MONTH I'LL BE DOING THE "LIFELINES" COLUMN TWICE A MONTH AND
WILL PUT THE LINKS HERE:
http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/528502.html
This is the photo that accompanied the article in the paper. It was taken May, 1950 and is of Susie and Aunt Mim at the front porch. |