There are a lot of ways to get to the top of the jungle gym.
-- Cynthia Copeland Lewis, “Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me”

You could see the top of the jungle gym, the culminating point of where you were trying to get. You bet the view from up there was incredible and the most rewarding view you’d ever laid your eyes on or set your mind to. As you stood leaning on the tree beside the jungle gym, you were anxious to reach the top because you were bored with the monotony of being down there at the bottom on the stinking playground. The trouble was you were stuck down there because you hadn’t figured out how to get up there.

Several times you’d started out toward that goal, but each time it seemed as though your plans somehow went awry. Sometimes you ran into people who stood in your way like boulders, leaving you with the monumental task of figuring out how to get around them, and, in some cases, get over them, without falling off, out, or behind. Sometimes your plans, your steps, were too large because you forgot to break them down rung by rung, so they ultimately got left behind whether they were good ideas or not. Sometimes you worked your way into a culdesac and ended up doubling back to travel the same route and do the same work you’d done before which meant you didn’t move any closer or higher to the top – you just stayed in one place. In trying to reach the top, you sometimes tripped over and stepped on your own feet and got all twisted up then sat down and pouted too long about the pain and unfairness of it all, so long that you just wanted to give up and go home. Covered with sweat and the eyes of others you knew were watching and laughing at you, you chucked the idea of getting to the top of this jungle gym and simply settled for the safety of swinging on the swing set. But oh how you longed for the top of that jungle gym.

Each day you visited the park, you realized there was always going to be some thing, big things perhaps, thrown in the way of your plans to get to the top of that jungle gym. But you also figured out that just because there was an obstacle didn’t mean you wouldn’t get to the top. You would just have to be clever enough to come up with a good plan. Maybe a few good plans.

On one trip, you thought you’d ask some of the bigger kids sitting at the top of the jungle gym to pull you up. That wasn’t such a bad idea. Only you had to be sure the person or people pulling you would take you all the way and support you once you reached the top. You could never be sure so you set that idea aside for later and went to slide down the slides instead.

On your next visit, you thought perhaps you’d ask someone to pick you up and place you on the top of the jungle gym. That’s a way, you thought. But then you figured that’s sort of like cheating. You wouldn’t be doing any of the work, no sweat off your brow, you’d just be carried and set there. Where’s the fun in that? That day you played on the merry-go-round.

The next day’s visit found you thinking about how you could get dropped off there, like from a helicopter, or, the big tree that sat beside the jungle gym! You’d really never paid that tree much attention except to lean against while making plans for climbing the jungle gym. But now you eyed the expanse of the tree, walked its circumference, touched it, and felt for juts and grooves. You’d sized it up pretty good before you realized that if you could climb that big oak, certainly you could climb that jungle gym. But then you thought if you could climb that tree which was much bigger and higher than the jungle gym, you wouldn’t even care about that old jungle gym anymore. So you decided to climb the tree instead! On that day you began to climb the tallest tree in the park without a hint of fear or hesitation. It took some time, but by nightfall, you had climbed that big oak, come back down, and reached your front porch just in time for the street lights to flicker on.

Why could you find the wherewithal to climb that tree and not the jungle gym? Who knows? Maybe because nobody else was climbing it, it was your great idea. Maybe because it was a mightier feat, a more attractive and rewarding goal and adventure than the rusty old jungle gym. Maybe climbing the jungle gym to get to the top to view the world below was too trite, predictable, and boring. Maybe you climbed the tree because you wanted a better view than what the jungle gym could ever offer. Who knows? All you know is there are a million ways to climb to the top of and beyond the jungle gym.

Sadiqqa © 2007