A Never Ending Science Experiment Called “Life”

Sometimes, It’s About the Lesson

Each and every one of us is on a journey. Contrary to the typical description of a journey, this one isn’t filled with road trips, rest stops, scenic views, amusement parks, camp grounds, and fast food. Instead, this journey is one of self-discovery; one of endless science experiments where trial and error are the keys to moving past the current location, and embarking on a new journey to a fresh destination.

To put it another way, we’re continually faced with lessons to be learned. Perhaps they show up as a logic problem one time, a lesson in chemistry the next. We have to use what we’ve learned before to set up the next experiment before we can start working on the newest set of unknowns. Another time, those unknowns might show up as missing pieces of a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle, or a Rubik’s cube with some of the stickers removed. Regardless, it’s up to us to figure out how to rearrange the pieces, or concoct the missing compound to complete the puzzle…so we can start working on the next one life throws us.

Sometimes, we get frustrated, and want to throw in the towel…sometimes we actually do. Maybe that was actually the right answer a time or two because we needed to go back and learn something else before we could complete the puzzle and move forward. Maybe we just needed to step away until we were able to look at things from a different perspective…when our frustration at missing that key piece of information is no longer clouding our ability to see.

There are even times when we give up on a particular puzzle and the lesson it carries entirely and go in a different direction. Maybe that was the purpose of the puzzle all along… to show us it’s time to recognize a particular road is a dead end, but there are many others we could take instead once we stopped trying to solve something we weren’t actually meant to solve. The lesson at those times might just be learning to let go.

Let It Go

The more stubborn among us might struggle with letting go, and need to experience a lengthier bout of frustration before admitting the path we’re on is no longer worth the price we’re paying. Despite knowing that stubbornness and tenacity have gotten us through numerous, seemingly solutionless puzzles, there comes a point, and maybe several, when the puzzle really is unsolvable, and it is so for a reason.

Still, it may take failing an excessive number of times; finding no matter how much you tweak things, you never get any closer to the end of the maze because this particular puzzle was meant as a change of direction. By it’s very design, it shines a spotlight on the end of a particular path so you can get on with the life you’re meant to have rather than staying stuck in a lesser one you’ve convinced yourself you deserve.

Far too many of us believe we don’t deserve to reach for the moon, so we settle somewhere that doesn’t fill our joy meter, repeating the same experiments over and over without getting any closer to the solution, yet failing to realize it’s time to broaden our horizons and make some changes which will allow us to, once again, succeed. Sometimes, the solution is to leave the small, safe island we’ve parked our butts on. Maybe we need to build a raft and paddle off into the unknown waters, only to find they were no more than a moat in the first place.

The Less Obvious Solution

Maybe the solution is as simple as getting your feet wet and wading out a few feet where you’ll find the beginning of a brand, new road, and discover the island was a self-imposed illusion you used to maintain a fragile facade of safety. But one, good tidal wave would wash the island away. In my experience, the Universe (or whatever you want to call it) hates stagnation. At some point, if you don’t give up on the puzzle you can’t solve, and move on to something else, your hand will be forced, and the transition will be far bumpier than if you’d taken the leap on your own. I came up with the terms Universal head slaps, or drop kicks with good (and painful) reason.

Any good scientist knows there comes a time when you have to gather up the detritus from your latest round of experiments, toss it in the dumpster, and try a completely different approach. Continuing to add things to the already fetid mess will only compound the problem. There are simply times where you have to conclude “I can’t get there from here”. While you keep focusing on what’s not working, you’re missing endless possibilities; new opportunities well within your skill set which will yield results and take you to as yet unimaginable heights.

After all the successes you’ve had, there’s no shame in admitting there’s a puzzle you can’t solve. But there is shame and regret in refusing to allow yourself to admit the path you’ve taken simply isn’t meant to be so you can put your time and energy into one that is waiting to take you beyond your wildest dreams.

Never give up on the trial and error you experience on the road to untangling your life path. Just understand there will be times when the puzzle you’re working on is intentionally impossible. Those arrive when you’ve squeezed the last drop out of the tube of toothpaste. It’s time to toss it and open a new one, or in this case, a new horizon.

Grateful for Life’s Science Experiments

My gratitudes today are:

1. I’m grateful for my stubbornness, but also for learning there’s a time and a place to stop being stubborn and let go.
2. I’m grateful for all the science experiments I’ve solved up to now, and for the many which still await me.
3. I’m grateful for learning to find the joy in the journey; in the puzzles, rather than expecting to find it only when I reach my destination.
4. I’m grateful for writing lulls which allow me to collect my thoughts before embarking on the next writing journey.
5. I’m grateful for a house full of cats who distract me when I start becoming too hard on myself.

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful. In her spare time, she’s also an accountant with extensive experience in Government Contracting.