Here's to you, Coyote!

I hope Pea doesn't let life's walls stop her from living.

I had the opportunity to witness something spectacular recently.  It may have been the most embarrassing thing I have ever seen in my life and while I laugh when I think about it, I probably shouldn't because the outcome could have been very bad. 

I was recently in a building with a lot of see-through fibreglass walls... not just windows, but walls.  There were meeting rooms, offices, and so on that are entirely encased in glass. 

It was a very beautiful set-up, one that gives the environment a very modern feel, but it is (as you will see) also a dangerous environment.

Our embarrassing story starts with a young woman walking down a hallway, parallel to one of these glass offices.  She was deep in thought, and as I came around a corner I startled her out of her daze.  She was clearly embarrassed and turned to walk down another hallway. 

The problem with this turn is that there was no hallway.  She turned and walked headlong into one of the glass walls. 

The impact was quite spectacular.  There was a loud thud and she bounced back about a foot before realizing what she had done. 

You know in the Roadrunner cartoons, when the Coyote slams into an anvil and then vibrates backwards a few feet?  It was like that.

Now, she didn't appear to be injured.  In fact, she said she was fine when I scampered over to ask her if she was alright.  But in an embarrassing situation like that, would anyone really admit to an injury?

Now, every time I think about it, I laugh.  A hearty LOL kind of laugh.

But why?  Why do I/we laugh in situations like these?

Here's another example. 

In high school, I remember being in a car with the Pod and a few friends of mine and we were stopped at a red light.  Two moms were crossing the street with their kids in tow, riding in a wagon behind them. 

As they left the curb to cross the street, one of the wagons tipped over and the kids fell out of the wagon.  Unaware, the mom kept walking, dragging the kids behind her for a few steps before realizing and picking them up.

As the light turned green and we drove off, the car was in hysterics.  Kids falling off a wagon in the middle of a busy intersection?  Well, that's absolutely hilarious!

When faced with something embarrassing, I think we laugh because we have to; because the alternative is just too unbearable.  Imagine if we dwelled on each of life's missteps and allowed them to overcome us.  We'd be a society of unadventurous and overly-careful people, and change would never come.  We wouldn't be learning from our mistakes, we'd be letting them rule us. 

I've given you several embarrassing anecdotes about myself.  Click here for one example, and depending on whether you believe I was roofied or not, click here for another. 

I can laugh at these events in my life because I have learned from them.  I believe the mom who dumped her kids on the road learned from her mistake also, as will our glass hugger... in good time.

Because the alternative is just too unbearable.   

I may not know what I want my Pea to become, but I hope she doesn't let life's walls stop her from living.