Getting Stuck in Quicksand & Life

When I was a kid growing up one of the things that would happen on the TV shows I watched was that someone would end up in quicksand.  It happened on Gilligan’s Island, Batman, Indiana Jones and countless other TV shows and movies.  As a kid we were literally led to believe that our greatest threat to life was being caught in quicksand.  It would be the horrible death we would all face as we drowned in mud and perished never to be seen again.

Now that I’m a little older I realize that quicksand is not quite the threat I saw as a child.  But, I think we may not get stuck in actual quicksand, we do get stuck at times in life.  What do we do when that happens in any area of our life?  How do we get unstuck?  I’m wondering if how I dreamed of escaping quicksand might just help us get unstuck in real life.  What do you think?  Let’s take a look at a few ideas I have to be unstuck in our regular life.

RECOGNIZE QUICKSAND WHEN YOU SEE IT

In the movies and on TV the people who ended up in quicksand seemed to be totally caught off guard when they step in the quicksand.  I mean dirt bubbling and soft should give you a clue you are near quicksand.  Quit arguing with me in your mind.  I know the biggest thing about quicksand is that it looks like regular dirt until you get stuck in it.  Sound a little like our lives?  We go day to day doing what we always do and then one day wake up and realize we are stuck in a pattern that has made us want to just sink and be done with the boredom.  We need to recognize that we are stuck in a pattern and then make changes that will help us get unstuck.

THE MORE YOU STRUGGLE, THE MORE YOU SINK

In all those scenes the more you struggled the more you sunk.  When they relaxed they did not sink as fast and could hang on to be rescued for a bit longer.  When we find ourselves in a holding pattern or stuck we usually think that if we make a huge change it will free us quickly.  What we find out is that it is the ability to take a breath and relax so that we can find our way out of the quicksand.  We need to stop and realize we are stuck and then make some small changes over a determined amount of time and we will free ourselves of being stuck.

LOOK FOR SOME HELP OUTSIDE THE QUICKSAND

In all the instances where someone got stuck in quicksand they usually freed themselves by grabbing something was rooted in the solid ground near the pit.  The thing about quicksand is that you can’t climb out of it on your own.  Indie needed a whip, batman used the bat hook and many a cowboy trusted his horse to drag him to freedom.  You had to trust the lifeline you were thrown to get out of the quicksand.  Someone can help you but you have to grab the rope or branch and let them help you get out.  Find a trusted friend or mentor to help you find your way out of the quicksand.

I know these three things sound pretty simple, but when you find yourself in quicksand you better believe it is not the most extravagant rope that you look for to be rescued.  It is the simple thing like a limb, a hand, a rope or a whip that you trust to get you free.  It is the same in life.  Many times our first answers are complicated, so we need to relax and find the simple answer that will help us get out the fastest and best way.