Potholes and Ruts

Its pothole season here in Minnesota. As Spring reluctantly comes to the north land the roads become the battle ground of warm weather and cold. Warming during the day followed by freezing at night causes fissures and cracks in road surfaces. These in turn cause holes which grow up to become full-fledged potholes. The seemingly-endless freeze-thaw cycle endemic to our weather, in combination with the snow-melting salt we use to make our streets passable each winter, breaks apart pavement. Often, deep craters are formed- some rival those on the surface of the moon for size!

A rut on the other hand is a depression or groove worn into a road or path by the travel of wheels or skis or by erosion from flowing water. In cold climate areas, such as Minnesota, studded or chained tires can cause significant road surface wear in terms of rutting. Ruts can be removed by grading a road surface. A vehicle with wheels or skis, travelling on a rutted road, if its wheels or skis enter an existing rut will have difficulty steering out of the rut. If it proves impossible to steer out of a rut, though forward and backward progress can be made by the vehicle, it is referred to as being "stuck in the rut". The term "stuck in a rut" can be used figuratively to refer to a situation in which, as time progresses, the situation is unable to be changed or steered in a desired way.

So, generally speaking potholes and ruts are things to be avoided. Sure they might serve as landmarks or to help us find our way to a particular destination, but more often than not they impede our progress. And yet, choosing avoidance as our life's strategy seems to be incomplete. Choosing a lifestyle that merely dodges the inconveniences placed in our way by others is certainly safe, prudent, and appropriate much of the time, but its also kind of boring and reactionary. Telling ourselves that we've successfully avoided all negative ruts and potholes is much like saying we avoided eating too much sugar. Yes, it's probably a good thing not to eat too many Snickers candy bars but that practice alone says very little about what healthy, invigorating or pleasurable food we sought out and actively chose to eat.

Saying that we've successfully avoided the potholes and ruts created by others says nothing about whether we played any role in either creating or removing potholes or ruts. Sure we've missed hitting the bad things that lie in our path- that's good. But if all we're doing is trying to steer clear of the bad things that may come our way it seems we might be missing out. There seems to be so much more to living- finding, seeking, learning, chancing, experimenting, yearning, creating, and yes, even risking. All proactive, all aimed at moving well beyond known boundaries. All with the potential of finding new roads and paths to travel...and then pointing the way for others to experience that which is unique, new, novel and delicious.

So while it's a good thing to be safe and avoid crater-like potholes and deep, ornery ruts which prevent us from going where we want to go, perhaps these should be done in balance with other more overt acts of choice. As the church hymn asks, "Have I done any good in the world today, have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad? If not, I have failed indeed." A nice way of saying its good not to get stuck in a rut.