The Chicanes Of Life
Last weekend, I went home to Virginia to see family. It was great to catch up with family and long time friends, not to mention experience that comfort that comes from being in the friendly confines of one's home. One other highlight of last weekend was going to the NASCAR race on Saturday night with my Dad. Over the years, we've enjoyed going to races in both Richmond and Charlotte. It's only fitting that after racing at Richmond last weekend, NASCAR is racing at Charlotte this weekend. While Richmond was short-track racing (the track is 0.75 miles long), Charlotte presents a different challenge for the drivers in the form of a "roval" (Road Course + Oval) with 17 turns and 2 chicanes.
Last year, when I watched the Charlotte roval race, I kept hearing the TV announcers say the word "chicane," not knowing what they were referring to. If anything, it kept sounding like they were about to say something else. Now, the term "chicane" is derived from the word "chicanery", which refers to using deceit or trickery for one's gain, but that's another story. In racing, a "chicane" is a serpentine curve in a road that' adds extra turns for drivers. In the context of roadways and neighborhood, chicanes slow down traffic with the additional turns. In the context of racing, chicanes are added to courses not only to slow down drivers, but also to add an additional challenge for the drivers, not to mention an opportunity for them to pass fellow drivers.
Chicanes may be used in neighborhoods for traffic safety or in road courses for excitement and challenges, but life has a way of throwing its own "chicanes" at us. We may be cruising along with all going well, only to find ourselves having to slow way down and navigate these twists and turns that life throws at us. It can be frustrating when we find ourselves navigating them. After all, everything was going smoothly and now we have to slow down for something that's unnatural by design. Unfortunately, these chicanes aren't always as easy (or quick) to navigate as they are on a neighborhood street or on a racetrack.
When I think of my own "chicanes" that I've had to navigate over the past year, some that come to mind are relatively minor, like forgetting my laptop and having to go back home to get it or trying to navigate through an oddly designed parking garage in the Galleria (almost a literal chicane in this case!). There's other chicanes that may be in-between minor and major, like cutting a tire on one's way to the grocery store and ultimately getting two tires replaced or navigating the streets of Houston after a tropical storm. Then, of course, there's major chicanes like dealing with burnout or dealing with a flooded apartment. All of this is to say, going through life's chicanes are often fraught with frustrations, stress, and take longer to navigate than we'd like. Then again, considering that we don't want to navigate them to begin with, any time is too long.
Just as chicanes are added to a road course to provide drivers with a challenge, a case could be made that life's chicanes provide us with a challenge as well, albeit more difficult ones. There are lessons that can be learned from navigating them, too. One of them is that sometimes it takes a chicane -- literally and figuratively -- for us to slow down. And that's a good thing. In the midst of all life's busyness, sometimes we need to take that time to slow down and proceed with caution and care. Slowing down can provide us with a means of rest and re-evaluating are priorities. Is what we're worrying or stressing about worth losing sleep over? We can't undo what got us to where we are, but we can focus on doing the next right thing to get us out of our chicane.
Another lesson that I've learned through navigating these chicanes is that you have to be flexible and you have to be okay with that. Traveling has been a chicane in that sense where it's forced to be flexible with flying and getting to where I want to go. Heck, just getting home to Virginia last week meant having to reschedule my flight a day later after Tropical Storm Imelda flooded Houston and East Texas. In other instances, I've found myself spending five hours in the San Diego airport, flying to and through Pensacola, or spending the night in New Hampshire with my sister before coming home from college. No matter where life takes you on your journey to your destination, you have to be flexible with the twists and turns along the way.
As life throws chicanes at us, there are a few reasons why we can take heart in the midst of them. One, the chicanes that we find ourselves going through will help prepare us for future chicanes that we may find ourselves going through - and we'll be better equipped to navigate them, too. Another reason we can take heart is because going through a chicane still means that we're on the way to our destination and where we want to go. Going through a chicane doesn't mean we're on the wrong road, it merely means we've hit a snag in the road along our journey. Lastly, I'm reminded that although chicanes may be hard, they are merely a part of life. We were never promised that life would be easy. If anything, we're promised that life will be hard. Now, that's not said as a scare tactic or to force others to live on the edge, it is more so said as a matter of fact. Jesus warned His disciples that this life would be hard and told them what the cost of following Him meant (losing one's life for His sake and facing persecution from the world). Still, Jesus told His disciples to take heart, for He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
To close, if you find yourself navigating one of life's chicanes right now, stay the course (no pun intended). Chicanes are a part of life and can help put things into perspective along our journeys. They also can teach us a few lessons along the way and prepare us for future chicanes we may endure. Life's a race. And to get to that finish line, we first have to go through some chicanes to get there - especially if you're a racecar driver. Let's go racing, y'all!
Last year, when I watched the Charlotte roval race, I kept hearing the TV announcers say the word "chicane," not knowing what they were referring to. If anything, it kept sounding like they were about to say something else. Now, the term "chicane" is derived from the word "chicanery", which refers to using deceit or trickery for one's gain, but that's another story. In racing, a "chicane" is a serpentine curve in a road that' adds extra turns for drivers. In the context of roadways and neighborhood, chicanes slow down traffic with the additional turns. In the context of racing, chicanes are added to courses not only to slow down drivers, but also to add an additional challenge for the drivers, not to mention an opportunity for them to pass fellow drivers.
Chicanes may be used in neighborhoods for traffic safety or in road courses for excitement and challenges, but life has a way of throwing its own "chicanes" at us. We may be cruising along with all going well, only to find ourselves having to slow way down and navigate these twists and turns that life throws at us. It can be frustrating when we find ourselves navigating them. After all, everything was going smoothly and now we have to slow down for something that's unnatural by design. Unfortunately, these chicanes aren't always as easy (or quick) to navigate as they are on a neighborhood street or on a racetrack.
When I think of my own "chicanes" that I've had to navigate over the past year, some that come to mind are relatively minor, like forgetting my laptop and having to go back home to get it or trying to navigate through an oddly designed parking garage in the Galleria (almost a literal chicane in this case!). There's other chicanes that may be in-between minor and major, like cutting a tire on one's way to the grocery store and ultimately getting two tires replaced or navigating the streets of Houston after a tropical storm. Then, of course, there's major chicanes like dealing with burnout or dealing with a flooded apartment. All of this is to say, going through life's chicanes are often fraught with frustrations, stress, and take longer to navigate than we'd like. Then again, considering that we don't want to navigate them to begin with, any time is too long.
Just as chicanes are added to a road course to provide drivers with a challenge, a case could be made that life's chicanes provide us with a challenge as well, albeit more difficult ones. There are lessons that can be learned from navigating them, too. One of them is that sometimes it takes a chicane -- literally and figuratively -- for us to slow down. And that's a good thing. In the midst of all life's busyness, sometimes we need to take that time to slow down and proceed with caution and care. Slowing down can provide us with a means of rest and re-evaluating are priorities. Is what we're worrying or stressing about worth losing sleep over? We can't undo what got us to where we are, but we can focus on doing the next right thing to get us out of our chicane.
Another lesson that I've learned through navigating these chicanes is that you have to be flexible and you have to be okay with that. Traveling has been a chicane in that sense where it's forced to be flexible with flying and getting to where I want to go. Heck, just getting home to Virginia last week meant having to reschedule my flight a day later after Tropical Storm Imelda flooded Houston and East Texas. In other instances, I've found myself spending five hours in the San Diego airport, flying to and through Pensacola, or spending the night in New Hampshire with my sister before coming home from college. No matter where life takes you on your journey to your destination, you have to be flexible with the twists and turns along the way.
As life throws chicanes at us, there are a few reasons why we can take heart in the midst of them. One, the chicanes that we find ourselves going through will help prepare us for future chicanes that we may find ourselves going through - and we'll be better equipped to navigate them, too. Another reason we can take heart is because going through a chicane still means that we're on the way to our destination and where we want to go. Going through a chicane doesn't mean we're on the wrong road, it merely means we've hit a snag in the road along our journey. Lastly, I'm reminded that although chicanes may be hard, they are merely a part of life. We were never promised that life would be easy. If anything, we're promised that life will be hard. Now, that's not said as a scare tactic or to force others to live on the edge, it is more so said as a matter of fact. Jesus warned His disciples that this life would be hard and told them what the cost of following Him meant (losing one's life for His sake and facing persecution from the world). Still, Jesus told His disciples to take heart, for He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
To close, if you find yourself navigating one of life's chicanes right now, stay the course (no pun intended). Chicanes are a part of life and can help put things into perspective along our journeys. They also can teach us a few lessons along the way and prepare us for future chicanes we may endure. Life's a race. And to get to that finish line, we first have to go through some chicanes to get there - especially if you're a racecar driver. Let's go racing, y'all!
 |
| Virginia is for Lovers |
Comments
Post a Comment