Out of the tunnel

I squeeze my eyes shut. My whole body braces for what's coming. I seriously feel like I'm about to be swallowed up. That the whole thing will go haywire while I'm in the middle of it and then spit me out the other side as a mini parcel. Clean, at least there's that.

I'm talking about the car wash. Seriously? I can hear you thinking. Yes. I find it truly terrifying. That's why I prefer to put off the visit as long as possible. But when my bright red voiture starts turning a rusty brown, even for me there comes a moment when I think it's a shame. Then I gather up all my courage and drive to the tunnel of horrors.

Like yesterday. Just before leaving, I had a lovely phone conversation with X. That was a nice distraction. About the challenges of life, the intensity with which you experience them. How you deal with them and then give them a place on your timeline. Once I arrived at the car wash, I had to choose the desired wash program. Preferably the cheapest, because: the fastest. But this time I chose the most expensive one: the longest. It was high time, after all. The car wash man kindly guided me onto the track. The rails took over my car and off we went. And what happened then?

Well.. Absolutely nothing. Except that, inside the tunnel, I was still thinking about the conversation with X. And it occurred to me that you can approach life like a car wash. Huh? Let me explain. How do you deal with complicated subjects? Do you want to get past them quickly? Then wash program 1 will do. Rinse, dry, and onward. Fine for appearances, but don't expect any lasting result from it. For instance, a quick chat with someone, a little venting, and offff you go. Nothing wrong with that, by the way.

Or do you go for option 2 after all: the rims are included then. Just that bit of extra attention for what's going on. Maybe you want to read something about your subject? A bit more research, then. We also still have option 3: Lava intensive (whatever that may mean). Something like: daring to honestly look at what's the matter and exploring what the right intervention for you is, determining the next step.

And as the showstopper, option 4: all of the above plus an underbody wash and a wax armor. All the way with your subject, with targeted support and/or advice thrown in, and go for it. The process may take a little while, it's hard work, but results guaranteed and after the whole ride you've become durably more resilient and stronger.

Until the next subject presents itself. Because that's a certainty. Then you get to choose again how to deal with it. It doesn't matter what you choose, there's no right or wrong. But still: how thoroughly do you want to tackle it this time? And now for the beauty of that car wash? At the end, the light turns green for everyone. And you get to drive off. Gleaming and all.