5. Reset

I'm sitting at the wheel
I got a green light
I'm not afraid of nothin'
'Cause heart and soul
I'm built for life
So let the engine roar
Push the pedal down
I want the white lines on the highway
To lead me out of town
I'm rolling on and on and on
Who knows where I'm goin'?
Life is an open road, it's the best story never told
It's an endless sky, it's the deepest sea
Life is an open road to me

(Bryan Adams - Open Road – listen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VqqCYO3xyE

Reset

what happens to all of us over decades ist that the life experience we gain is somehow compensated by an at least equal loss of options.

True, life was once an open road to most of us, however with continued living we face more and more driving restriction, practically we loose options, i.e. to start a new profession, to start a new family, to do things very different from how we’ve done them over the years. Instead we face obligations, we have to live up to responsibilities we accrued and we are expected to match the expectations of our friends, colleagues and the society around us.

So what if you realise that the open road becomes more and more narrow and winding covered with potholes and clustered with obstacles? Push the pedal down, even if you know your car will crash more sooner than later? Would a horrible ending not be preferable to a horror without end?  Or rather adjust the speed of your life, consider carefully turning left or right and watch out for obstacles?

The wish to let it go like once again and the reality of having to reign in the power you may still possess tears you literally apart and you may wish you could push a reset button and you’d find yourself back before the highway entrance you’ve chosen so many years before. Maybe you’d select a different direction?

Alas, there is no such button for human lives and the consequence from the above is resignation and or resentment. What best may be left is joining the joy-ride of someone who still sees the horizon over the highway, blissfully ignores traffic regulations and enjoys the centrifugal force in curves.

Again, this only provides a very temporary relief coupled with envy...