Why I Love Tension

You can learn a lot from a bubble.

When I was a kid, blowing bubbles was one of my favorite things to do. My sister and I would buy the brightly-colored bottles of bubble fluid, unscrew the tops, and hurriedly dip our fingers into soapy liquid to find the plastic wand that waited inside. The wands had two circles on each end, a larger, smooth circle and a smaller, ridged circle.  The small circle was fun, because you could blow through it really hard and roughly one-million, small bubbles would come spraying out.   But I liked blowing through the larger circle so I could create big bubbles - the biggest bubbles I could.

There's beauty in watching a large, perfectly-formed bubble as it slowly expands and then gently tears away into effortless flight - water, soap, and air in harmonious tension floating hypnotically away. Light shimmers off these crystalline globes as they dance off into the distance with whatever breeze they court.  Simply magnificent.

How long the bubble "lived" depended on the pressure of the air both inside and outside of its elastic skin. Too much pressure on the inside and the bubble would expand beyond its capacity and explode. Too much pressure outside and the bubble would collapse upon itself, crushed by the weight of the air around it. Bubbles are created and take flight only when they exist in a perfect state of tension between opposing pressures.  Too much pressure from within or from the outside world and there's nothing left but a soapy globule on the ground.

In a state of balanced tension, people, businesses, and organizations can take flight and soar.

Properly countered tension can create all kinds of good things in our lives:  Tension can make us move.  Tension strengthens our muscles.  Tension allows us to build bridges.  Tension brings dramas to life.  Tension can add spice to a relationship.  Tension can call us to perform at levels we never dreamed we could.

I believe that because tension is a fundamental property of the Universe, it was created by God.

I think a simple life is not a "tension-free" life.  I do not seek a life free from tension.  Without it, the story of my life would be a pretty boring read.   But if I am to truly take flight, to have an expansive life, I must counteract the pressure of the outside world by allowing myself to be filled within.

Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

photo credit: Jeff Kubina via photopin cc