Boomeranging

This week I was watching one of those morning news shows. It said that due to our economic times today, up to 15 million young adults, most of them single, have become boomerang children. They've returned to live at home to save money. I found it amusing that Mr. Martin recommended parents setting some rules. I've been living with my mother, father, and grandmother since February 1st of this year. There are some rules of my own I'd like to set!

However in thinking about the program this week, I've become aware that my life sort of feels like a boomerang. Initially at 25 I intended to embark on a marital journey of bliss, a house and children. This did not work out, and here I am 3 years after being divorced, living with my family, and nothing feels solid. I tried to buy a house last year, a condominium this year, and that didn't work out. I've been trying to get my degree for 5 years. But life is messy, and it's no easy task for me to keep going and going like I'm the Energizer bunny. My friends lives have gotten messy and my normal worry about everyone tendency kicks in.

So I looked up Boomerang on Wikipedia today. I found that the literal boomerang can teach us some life lessons. There are different types of throwing contests: accuracy of return; Aussie round; trick catch; maximum time aloft; fast catch; and endurance. I looked these up, and here are some of my own comparisons:

Accuracy: points are awarded according to how close the boomerang lands to the centre of the rings. The thrower must not touch the boomerang after it has been thrown. Each thrower has five attempts. Life lesson: We get lots of chances to make the best decisions. And in lots of those times, we can't touch them after we throw them out. We have no control, and we need to give it our best shot and just let it go.

Endurance: points are awarded for the number of catches achieved in 5 minutes. No, we don't have to do everything in five minutes. What we decide takes time, what joy or pain we have takes time. We need patience. This is one of life's hardest lessons.

Fast Catch and Consecutive Catch: the time taken to throw and catch the boomerang five times. The winner has the fastest timed catches, and in consecutive, points are awarded for the number of catches achieved before the boomerang is dropped.. Lesson: we can't be afraid (as I always am!). The more we put ourselves out there, being brave and taking risks, the more we get in return.

Juggling: as with Consecutive Catch, only with two boomerangs. At any given time one boomerang must be in the air. TWO boomerangs? I can barely manage one life. Imagine the discipline involved in mastering two? In the same way, we must teach ourselves to be disciplined. Letting go of everything, no matter how bad it seems, is not disciplined. Letting go of goals is not disciplined. Sometimes we feel like we're going to go crazy. Our head swims with the stress and complications of everything around us. But it calms down every so often, so we need to keep disciplined and focused in our goals through the drama and the calm.

My last point of interest in having a boomerang life lately: Even if we do small, insignificant things, we can still make a mark in our own lives: The top non-discipline record is held by Sadir Kattan of Australia. In 1997 he flew the required 20 metres returning to the accuracy circles with a boomerang measuring only 48 mm [1.8 in] long and 45 mm [1.77 in] wide!

Citations:

"Boomerang." Wikipedia. 10 Jul 2009 .

Martin, Ray. "Boomerang." CBS NEWS. 07/09/2009. CBS. 10 Jul 2009 .