Thursday 7 February 2013

Pondering with a Purpose (1)

 
Welcome to Pondering with a Purpose -

The rules are really easy:

1. Grab the Pondering with a Purpose Badge
2. Look at the week's prompt
3. Post something on your blog that relates to the prompt - it can be a story, a poem, a picture -- anything you want it to be.
4.  Add the URL from your post to the linky list on her post.
5. Go check out the other bloggers who have added their links to the list.
6. AND most of all.... Have fun!
 
 
I have decided to join in with this hop. Some of you may know that I am an aspiring writer and I like to do little writing exercises to keep my brain fresh and see what I can come up with. So most of the time I will be responding to the prompts with a short story or paragraph.
Constructive feedback only please. These will all be written on the spot with little or no editing so please don't expect them to be perfect. 

This Week's prompt: Race

" Life is a race. We are always trying to get somewhere, be something, catch up with others around us. The only real question is what are we racing for? What lies at the finish line? Who are we really competing with?
Filled with moments of disappointment as someone overtakes you, reaches that top spot ahead of you and leaves you in the dust. Mixed with moments of elation as we finally pull ahead, run with the wind in our hair and feel the crowd cheering us on in our victory. But no matter how far and how fast we run in this race it seems like it never ends. As soon as we reach that top spot and finally get to where we want to be, we find ourselves craving more, moving onto the next race and starting it all over again.  Desperate to have something to aim for, to feel the adrenaline and challenge of getting there.
Does the race ever really end? That's for you to decide. "


As soon as I saw the word 'race' I got an image of runners on a track, cyclists with numbers on their backs, swimmers fighting against the clock. And I wondered why that came to mind first, after all the word race has a whole variety of meanings. Brenda mentions colour/discrimination as her first thought, but until I read that on her blog it hadn't crossed my mind. It seems so obvious now. It made me think about how our minds work, why certain things mean different things to each of us. It made me think about why I pictured a physical race and what that could possibly mean. Maybe I spent too much time watching the Olympics last summer, but that's not what came out in my writing above. It seemed to be 'deeper' than that. More thought provoking and philosophical. I didn't mean it to be, that's just what came out. I think I personally 'race' through life because I am desperate to see and experience as much as I can, I want to sit back when I'm old and say that I tried all I could. 
So what do you think of when you see the word race. And in reply to my paragraph - why do you race? 

 Happy Pondering.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Becky...
What a great post... and I'm glad you enjoyed my reference to Rat Race.... there are so many great moments in that movie!

Thanks for pondering with me! Hope to see you next week!

Beth said...

color/ethnicity was my first thought too.

barmybex said...

Thanks Brenda!
I've just got "you should...have bought... a squirrel" in my head. LOL!!! Awesome film.

Thanks for hosting.

LA Botchar said...

great post - and it is true that we tend to just keep racing ever onward. never truly satisfied with the victories....or perhaps, we are just greedy for more.

I don't like the feeling of running around like chicken with no head....but I can absolutely relate to wanting to experience life to the fullest...and sometimes charging ahead full steam.

barmybex said...

Thanks Rory! Glad I'm not the only one that feels that way. :D

Josie Two Shoes said...

This was a great reflection on running the race, Becky! I agree that folks most often make it to the top only to find another goal they want to chase after, it seems as though we are wired to avoid contentment with what we have, but I think when it comes to seeking experience and adventure as you describe, the race to find it can be a lot of fun!

You can find my thoughts on "race" at http://www.josie2shoes.com/2013/02/ponderingrace.html

barmybex said...

Thanks Josie, I appreciate it. :D