The Ferris Wheel of Life

By Monica Zollinger

Have you ever ridden on a Ferris wheel? It seems like you get seated and then wait forever to get to the top. If you look across there is always another seat on the opposite side. When you reach the top, you know there is someone at the bottom. Then we’re off. Around we go. Up and down. Up, then down. Up, down. It’s like experiencing joy in the journey of life with all the highs and lows.

The Law of Polarity states that everything in life has its own polar opposite. We choose what side of this pole to experience.

During training when I staffed for Woodbadge, we had a team activity and I was assigned to be the leader. I had specific instructions to be a type A leader who told the team exactly what to do. I really got into the role. Even though some of my team thought they could do better doing something different, I told them we were doing it my way. I kept cheering them on to do their best. We lost terribly and everyone was mad at me. Had I listened to others and allowed them to choose where they felt like they could best serve the team, we would have done much better. The lesson I learned was that I can lead like Satan where no one has their agency or I could lead like Christ and help others choose what is best for them and the team. I had both ways inside of me. Which way I turned and to what degree I allowed others to choose, affected the results of my team and my leadership.

Napoleon Hill says, “Every adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.” In other words, whatever challenge, or adversity we face, there is an equal or greater benefit that can come from it. He gives an example of his son who was born without any physical sign of ears and was told that he would probably be deaf and mute for life. He refused to believe it. He chose to plant in his child’s mind the thought that his affliction was not a liability, but an asset of great value. During his last week of college, Blair was sent an electrical hearing device that enabled him to hear as well as any person with normal hearing. He ended up working with the manufacturer of his hearing aid and devoting his life to serving the hard of hearing. He had turned his handicaps into stepping stones to fulfill his goals.

Inside each of us is good and bad, dark and light, naughty and nice, rich and poor, leader and follower. We can use the law of polarity as a tool when we are faced with our own adversities by choosing to focus on the positive and potential of what can develop because of that opposition.

Even when we experience the pains and heartaches of this life, we can choose to be happy or unhappy. We will be tested and tried in many different situations so that we may prove ourselves worthy to return to live with our Father in Heaven again. We know that when we make mistakes, we can repent and be forgiven. This allows us to learn from our mistakes and grow in our eternal progression to be the best we can be.

Is it easy to believe? Not always. When there are wars, hunger, dishonesty, hardships, deaths, injustices, and cruelty, we may ask ourselves why would I believe in a God that allows such things. But we can also look around us and see beauty, love, bounty, service, life, and kindness. The most precious gift we have been given is our agency, our right to choose. So, whether we are experiencing the ups or downs of life, we can choose to enjoy the ride!

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