A Tilt-a-Whirl World

Earlier this summer we had some vacation time with our grandkids.  They come in a variety of sizes, ages, colors and backgrounds.  They are a pretty diverse lot.  But despite that, they are cousins--and they really enjoy getting together.  Our time was spent on the Jersey shore, and two of the nights we went to the boardwalk.

Boardwalks on the shore are full of honky-tonk.  Rides, games, foods that no human being should ever eat (deep-fried Oreos anyone?)  Fortune tellers and skee ball.  None of it very substantive.  But all of it a lot of fun.

One of the rides the kids went on was the tilt-a-whirl--you know, the ride that turns you on your side and spins you around at gravity-defying speeds. When I saw this photo of the two youngest grandkids, heading hand-in-hand towards the tilt-a-whirl,  I couldn't help but think of our world today.  In so many ways it has been turned on its side.  In so many ways it is spinning so fast that we are being lifted off our feet.  Indeed, if you are like me (and the Anthony Newley character in the old musical) sometimes you just want to shout "Stop the World! I Want to get Off!"

But the world's not going to stop.  Things aren't going to slow down.  Things are going to continue to change at break neck speeds. And short of death itself, we aren't going to get off.   So what are we to do?  Just what my granddaughters did.  We need to be willing  take one another by the hand, regardless of our differences, and forge ahead. Giving each other the courage we need to live life in this tilt-a-whirl world. Because, after all, aren't we all cousins?