Speed bumps…
Have you ever been driving in an unfamiliar city, come around a corner and discovered an unexpected speed bump? What do you do? If you’re able, you slam on your brakes and slow down and if it catches you completely unaware, your car drives over it, and you hope it hasn’t broken anything. When I decided to write about speed bumps, I went online to find out more about the road devices and learned what I am sharing here from Wikipedia. The term used to describe their intent is “traffic calming”. I found that interesting as I expected to see the words “slow down”. After all, we all know that the point of a speed bump is to slow down traffic to improve safety. But “calming” was a surprise, especially given my purpose for writing about them.
Since I was a child, I have had migraines. For the majority of my life they have been hormonal in nature and therefore, fairly easy to anticipate. A second trigger was often stress. I really noticed those particular events when I was in university. I would complete a gruelling week of exams and “boom!” I would be checking into the ER because of the intensity. I didn’t regularly have pain to that extent. The migraines were manageable, and I mostly went about my life. This past week I got hit with the type of migraine that only affects me on rare occasions. I figured out the last time I had one of “those types” was three or four years ago, so very rare indeed. It impacted my whole being and made me violently ill.
I realized it was a speed bump in life. I’ve had a number of them, as I’m sure everyone has. Some I probably barely notice, and some are akin to a slap in the face. This year has been full of them and I’m recognizing that there is a point to them and that it’s up to me to do something about it.
Impacts to our health are the most readily available examples of speed bumps that I can think of. When you get a negative diagnosis or worse, your health care professionals have to do numerous tests to find any diagnosis, it’s a reminder of your mortality. I think of it as a sign that it’s time to slow down and enjoy life, rather than rush through it.
Some speed bumps are meant to slow us down and force us to pay attention to what is around us. I think of the speed bumps in parking lots as this kind. Don’t just slow down your car; make sure you’re aware of what’s happening around you. And yes, you should always be aware of your surroundings while driving. But a parking lot requires a little more. There will be cars, stationary and moving, and people, especially a chance of children who may get away from their parents. So, slow down and really look around. And that’s what can happen with a health impact. It can be a wakeup call that reminds you to slow down and take care of yourself. It might be a limitation that is placed on your life, or it might be that, at least for awhile, you have to put yourself in others’ hands.
I’ve had a difficult calendar year (and yes, I realize it’s far from over which means there is still lots of time for improvement). Taking four weeks off in the spring to concentrate on mental health was followed by some distressing health news. The combination of those two events was the equivalent of one of those harsh, high speed bumps. It required me to slam on the brakes. And that’s okay. But that’s a negative speed bump. I think there are plenty of positive speed bumps, as well.
One of the types of speed bumps is called a speed hump. They typically cover the full width of the road, there may be a series of them, and they are longer than the short, vertical speed bump you find in a parking lot. I mention these because their purpose is to force a slow down, allow a bit more speed traversing and then an ease in speed before returning to the main roadway. Last weekend I attended an immersive art exhibit of Claude Monet with my mom. I considered it like a speed hump. There was an immediate slowing down of life when we entered. Educational information about the painter and his works was presented in a dark hall with sparse lighting over panels of explanation. I found my pulse slowing as I took it all in. Then there was a slight speeding up as we entered the main hall where his work was on display in fluid motion. Here was the centre of the speed hump, still a slowing of life but more interactive. It was truly an immersive experience. His paintings flowed by while music played, and people wandered or sat on benches. By allowing myself to not rush through my weekend by doing only yard work and housework, I was able to practice reflection and calming through the exhibit. It was a powerful time, both relaxing and invigorating.
I think there are lots of opportunities like this available to me if I’m willing to be open to them. I even think sometimes new technology offers us speed bumps. I’ve mentioned before that I cherish my pool. Swimming has always been a favourite pastime in the summer, and I look forward to it each spring. Unfortunately, it’s also a cause of stress, especially for a solo person. At the end of each week I scrub and shock the pool in the evening and vacuum the next morning. The scrub and shock is easy. The vacuum is awful. In order for me to vacuum, I have to get all the parts out of my storage box, then I have to get the skimmer area set up, and I have to have my yard hose ready to pump water into the vacuum hose. Once I’m set up, I have to fill the hose until it’s overflowing, turn off the pump and connect the vacuum hose, switch the filter over to waste (to allow the “dirt/debris” to wash out), turn the pump back on, and jump in the pool to vacuum. [There are two reasons for jumping in the pool: if you’re walked around with the hose it does a better job and I still don’t have a pool deck so if I don’t get in, I’m trying to maneuver from the outside which is very difficult.] Basically, it’s a lot of rushing around and trying to get it all done without losing too much water (and water is very expensive in this village). I decided to use some savings to buy a robot vacuum for my pool. Now, I’m not a big purchaser of tech gadgets and I don’t buy a lot of toys, but this is a combination of both and it’s brilliant. You drop it in, and it does the work for you. This piece of technology has given me a speed bump for my weekends allowing me to eliminate a stressful weekly task. It is a huge help!
Isn’t “calming” a wonderful word? It invokes a sense of peace, reflection, relaxation, and gentleness. I love that the information I took from Wikipedia on speed bumps uses “calming” as the definition. When I decided to go forward with this blog, I took a look around my yard. While the gardens are not yet complete (and when are gardens ever complete?) they are developing and I’m continuing to sketch out what I hope to achieve, and I see in them a calming effect for the whole yard. I see my pool which provides a refreshing break on a hot summer day and a relaxing swim at the end of a long work day. And I see some great (in my eyes) spaces that are calming speed bumps. I have a wonderful area that is surrounded by solar lights (I’ve shared pictures in the past) that feels like a fairy nook at night, and I have a porch with twinkling lights and comfortable seating that makes it easy to enjoy tea in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening. I also have a blank space that is begging to be “done”. So, that’s my next outside project. I’m going to work on creating a grilling area that aligns with my idea of calm: a place to put dinner on and sit with a drink while it’s cooking.
Sometimes speed bumps are sharp reminders of what we need to do or what we might be in need of and sometimes they are opportunities to relax and enjoy life a bit more. I think however they show up in my life, I want to embrace them. Taking the good and the bad and making something better out of it gives me a positive approach to the daily journey of life.
At the Monet immersive exhibit, photos were allowed. I am sharing this one, well aware that I cannot reflect its true majesty with a cell phone camera.
A regular summertime speed bump - my pool. I often slow down and with book in hand, relax in a floating lounge chair.
My new robot pool vacuum climbing up the side - a great example of technology giving my life a speed bump opportunity to slow down!
Relaxing porch seating - worthy of a speed bump moment or two!
Before pictures of the area to be worked on next. This is going to be a great speed bump - must slow down - area!