Cantilevers and Such

Do you ever find yourself feeling something, but not being quite able to know it clearly enough to name it? That was a part of my recent experience until yesterday. A friend of mine is an exquisite blogger who wrote about the engineering concept of a cantilever. A definition related to the building trades is, "any rigid construction extending horizontally well beyond its vertical support, used as a structural element of a bridge (cantilever bridge), building foundation, etc." The nub of it is that a cantilevered structure has one end anchored and the other end apparently hangs in mid air. Cantilevers are stunning architectural elements, but the engineering behind them must carefully balance the load, the amount of the structure that is extended beyond the support, and the extent to which the cantilevered element is anchored at the non-extended end.

A cantilevered structure can appear to be weightlessly suspended above the ground, but if the engineering was not quite right, it can all come crashing down. To a non-engineer, it appears that there are three aspects of a cantilevered element that can be managed: the load that the elements bears; the strength of the anchoring into something solid and stable; and the amount of the element that is extended beyond a support.

Needless to say, life has been a bit of a zoo this summer. One wedding, a graduation open house, then a graduation, then another wedding, then the reception for the first wedding, and finally taking one off to college. (A Dad almost feels like he could use a nap.) Oh, and in the midst of all of this, leaving a large and established company to launch a new law firm. I feel a bit like the beam that is cantilevered about to its limit. I cannot do anything about the amount of life that feels like it is hanging out beyond any meaningful support. And I really cannot do anything about the load that comes along with life. But I can (and must) make sure that I am remaining firmly grounded in the things that give life substance and support. For me, those things are solitude, faith, and running. And fortunately running and solitude often go together.

Running puts me in a bubble of re-energizing solitude and reflection. Some people recharge by being with other people, but not me. I recharge by being by myself. I like people, but interaction is a net energy outflow in my world. The tension comes when the cantilevered aspects of life conspire to try to fill my solitude with constant activity--like all of the things listed above. Lately I feel my moorings getting mushy and the result is not pretty. Not outward, and not inward.

But at least now I can identify what has been going on (thanks Robin) and can try to figure out how to get my cantilever engineering back in shape. I do know that the place where I need to begin is my moorings--by setting aside time to run enough (but not too much) and to nurture my faith. Keeping those parts of life in balance should allow my cantilevers to soar above the ground in a dynamic and dramatic adventure.

Pressing On!
-Ken