Scott Rochat: A break in the action – Longmont Times-Call

Editors note: Scott Rochat is off this week, so we invite you to enjoy a gem from the archives.

Gil leaps into discovery like only an 8-year-old boy can. All the fields lie open space, sports, cryptography, music and he eagerly throws open the door to each new passion, exciting him and his parents alike.

Now my nephew is learning something new. Namely, the breaking point of a human wrist after falling from a moving scooter.

Yeah. Ow.

So, Gils left arm now sports a bright red cast. Its a minor bump on the road of a grade-school summer. After all, its hard to play tennis or piano with one hand down. But theres still robotics, camping, clubs, a steady flow of books just about everything that doesnt involve experimenting with how to pop a wheelie. (Ahem.)

This IS the injured kid, right?

Cast or no cast, Gils still moving. Its what he does.

But then, whatever the shocks, life keeps moving. Its what it does.

Sometimes whether were ready for it or not.

You know what I mean. Weve all been there. The broken places. The moments where life throws up a big stop sign for a moment and says THIS. THIS is what you will be paying attention to.

Sometimes were lucky. We get the temporary hurts: the broken foot that heals, the smashed-up car thats insured, the explosive argument that eventually slips into the past.

Sometimes not so much.

Sometimes its a tragedy, whether personal or national, that leaves a hole in the heart that will not go away.

Sometimes its the painful calls of your own mind and body, the illnesses that dont heal, the weights on the soul that just hang.

Sometimes its a break in the road. A realization that life is going to be different from this particular point forward, and theres no way to turn around and get the old journey back.

Time moves differently in the broken places, or it seems to. Outside, the world flashes past at high speed. But closer in, things just stop. Time has been condensed into one event that must be lived, one tale that must be told. Sometimes repeatedly.

Ive mentioned before how offensive it is to tell someone to move on after a loss of any kind, how you dont just discard grief or pain or emptiness like a worn-out T-shirt. But theres another side to it, too.

Namely, that you dont have to feel guilty for being happy.

Were good at that, you know. We find ourselves reentering time and letting ourselves forget for a moment to laugh, to enjoy, to marvel and then feel bad because we know the cause of the hurt hasnt gone away. As though were betraying a memory, or getting distracted from a crucial issue that needs our focus.

Ill say it simply. Its OK.

Its OK to not think about hurting all the time.

Its OK to enjoy things again.

Its OK to let other things into your life.

Youre not doing anything wrong.

Yes, we all need time apart. We all need time to heal. We all need to acknowledge the hurts, however that has to happen.

But its OK to look out from there if you feel like it. To see. To do. To live. To let light shine on the broken places.

As a friend observed, thats how you make mosaics.

Gils cast will be off before we know it. Soon, hell be more unstoppable than ever, full-speed ahead, charging into all that life has to offer.

But then, his motion never really stopped. It just changed direction for a while. Thats a useful thing to remember.

Along with being really, really careful about those wheelies.

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Scott Rochat: A break in the action - Longmont Times-Call