Down Is Up - Grasshopper

I believe we’ve all heard the expression, “What goes up must come down.” But I’m not sure we’re all tuned in to the following: “What goes down takes longer to come back up.”

Think hurricanes. The damage they do happens in an instant, but the building back up can take years. When there’s a sharp decline of stocks on Wall Street, the stock price plunge takes longer to come back up. There are countless other examples, but I’m sure you get the point.

So what’s the point of this recording?

Before I attempt an answer let me tell you a story . . .

About 20 years ago I was doing seminars in Calais, Maine. It’s a small border town that abuts Canada. The man who was our contact in the area took us out to eat at a truck stop just north of town and told us this tale. A brilliant, young lady who was a high school senior, was the valedictorian of her graduating class. By all accounts, she was the All American girl. She excelled in class and on the soccer field and was a bright light in the community. Her speech dazzled her classmates and the crowd. She was headed off that fall on a scholarship to a prestigious college.

Apparently, at the time, Calais, Maine was a major entry point for smuggled drugs from across the border. Chief among them was Oxycodone. It, according to our host, was everywhere and easily available.

Our young valedictorian was at a party with her friends celebrating graduation and “Oxy” was at the party. She didn’t use drugs, but this night was an exception. Someone offered her this “fun” high and she reluctantly took it. If that’s where this story ends, it would be a nothing burger. But, Oxycodone is not only a powerful pain relieving drug, it’s quite addictive.

She liked the feeling she got from it and started to take it on a regular basis. Before the end of the summer she was strung out, addicted to Oxy, and sent to mandatory rehab. She didn’t start college that fall because of her fall from grace. Her decline was rapid and her comeback had fits and starts, and her scholarship was rescinded. I don’t know how this story ended, I only know that down takes longer to come back up.

If there is a moral to this story, it’s this: There aren’t many, if any, quick fixes. 

We are a quick fix society, conditioned to the notion that there must be an easier way. We spend most of our time looking for the shortcut which short circuits our trip from down to up. The only quick fix advice that works is: Don’t fall down!