In a recent interview, I spoke about resilience being akin to walking through life on a trampoline world, as opposed to  each step sinking us deeper into quicksand.

I started thinking (while bouncing on my mini trampoline) about bounciness and joy.

Why is it that when we move through our lives feeling unsteady and out of balance, perhaps even falling down, it is scary and discouraging, while the same sensation in a bouncy house usually inspires giggles and delight?

One difference is that we EXPECT pleasure from one and not the other. Another difference is that we’ve equated falling down as the prize for one and the punishment for the other.

What if it were different? What if we could step through our lives expecting to fall down so that we could laugh about it, and experience the joy of picking ourselves up?

What if?

Every physical act has a non-physical equivalent. I bounce because it warms up my body, and assists my sluggish lymph system. I also bounce because I never get off the trampoline in a worse mood than when I started.

So when there is no ‘bounce’ under my feet, can I cultivate a ‘bounce’ in my heart? Can I experience buoyancy within, while there is gravity without? Can I chuckle at the silliness of it all?

Will you join me in the bouncy house?