The Importance of the Slinky

Many of us had a toy called the Slinky when we were kids. In my day, which probably preceded your day, it was a flat, thin metal strip formed into a coil. It made an amazing noise when you held an end in either hand and shifted the weight from one side to the other. Kind of a ringing sound. Later versions were plastic and this feature was sadly lacking.

Likewise, the curious among us have either crawled under a vehicle or cracked open a ballpoint pen. People smarter than I am intended to fix something on the vehicle. I just wanted to see what was there. In either case, what was there was a spring. Grab that imaginary spring, if you will, and come back with me to the Slinky.

Alright. (If you have the spring from the vehicle I hope you didn't pinch yourself getting it out. I can't seem to do anything mechanical without giving a blood sacrifice.) Put the two springs side-by-side. Stand back and look at them. See where they touch?

If we imagine life--yours or mine--as a coil or a spiral, then what you're looking at illustrates how two lives interconnect. We meet. We part. Then we meet again. This is most clearly seen in friendships where we go long periods without communicating, then seemingly effortlessly pick up where we left off. It is also true of relationships in which we may not get along so well. In the times between meeting--those parts of the springs coiling around until they touch again--one or both parties may mature, enriching and significantly changing the next interconnection. In other encounters, the interconnections may be superficial, yet years later the two parties will fondly reminisce of a shared experience. (When was your last class reunion?)

Although people regret the loss of contact with others throughout their lives, there is a natural ebb and flow to this cycle. Accepted, the rhythm reassures us that "good-bye" is a temporary state that will conclude with a "hello" again and the temporary resumption of interconnection. After a season, we'll part again for a while.

If you believe in an afterlife, these periods of togetherness may span our existence beyond this temporal plane. This is even more reason to enjoy the people we meet now and to relish the anticipation of meeting again --- and also to accept one another as we are, with the expectation that we may be more, or better, at the next conjunction of our paths in the spiral of life.