Change, Moving on, and "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"

This weekend was one of those with plenty of uphills but plenty of downhills. Tonight though, I am happy to say it has at least leveled off. This weekend was spent in various ways that ranged from taking my father to see one of the remaining P-38 Lightnings fly, learning more about its history to meeting new people to making dinner for my family, all of which have generated memories of their own kind.

Scrolling through blogs over the weekend has helped me remember memories that have otherwise been forgotten, for which I am very glad. Memories of what it is like to meet new people, wondering where they will lead to what it was like to one night long ago sit on a piano bench with a very close friend and watch his fingers as they played the piano's pearly white keys. I hope that life will never just be about the memories already created, that it will be more about living and creating new memories.

The journey so far has been an interesting one and this is just the current chapter in my life. As it progresses, I can't help but think about the concept of moving on. Wondering if somethings are just another "sinking ship" that you wonder presently and later, if you should have gotten off a long time ago. Though I am on my way to being at a good point in my life, I wonder at times when would have been the right time to jump over the rails to swim for shore, if that time was early on and I just chose to ignore the signs or if my timing is not late, but just right. I suppose there is never any one good time because there will always be the danger of sharks, shallow waters due to coral or the hidden stingray with its barbed stinger poised in defense, but what is life worth if you don't take that occasional leap of faith?

Sometimes life calls for testing limits in various way and capacities because why limit yourself by pulling up short when you don't know where those limits truly lay just because of fear or uncertainty? (Better said than done, I agree.) I've pondered this many times in the last few months, even years, in different ways; in addition, to wondering what is actually worth the time and energy when it is so clear that things are going down hill and are not likely to get any better. For each person, I would suppose the answer to this enigma would be different and would change during the different stages of their life. For a child it would certainly be worth the wait to just get a glimpse of Santa Claus to tell that jolly man "Merry Christmas" just once or catch the Tooth fairy as she trades out that lost tooth for a small token. For a young teenage girl, hope would hold out for just a little hint that her crush noticed her as she hides behind her book, shyly smiling at him. For struggling spouses, it might be worth it for a while to put as much time and energy into a sinking relationship, whether for the kids sake or for the hope that their differences can be ironed out.

Bottom line is that as people evolve, so will what their answer will be as it applies to their hopes, dreams, and expectations during that moment in time. While watching videos on YouTube.com tonight, I stumbled across a cover of John Mayer's "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" by Michael Henry and Justin Robinett, I personally love this rendition of the song, though the lyrics are exactly the same. I can see this as it applies to many things in the world like holding onto innocence or dreams/hopes/ideals or a relationship (friendship, professional, or romantic).

While at times the lyrics may seem dark and depressing, I remind myself that while situations do call for letting go and moving on, there is also hope that like a Phoenix, something better, greater, and stronger will rise from "the ashes of yesterday" to begin a new start today. I see endings and moving on from things as the author tying up the ends of one chapter, taking a breather, picking up a pen or the keyboard to begin the journey that will unfold in the following pages, a result of what was learned in those preceding chapter/pages.

While I hope for more than one change and to move on in more than one way this year, I am constantly aware of the things that I have learned and how I have learned them to become the person I am today. While sometimes "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" is painful, it is the event that must occur to lead to what lies ahead, just beyond the bend.