YOUNG VOICE
Rubber Bands
Rubber Bands or elastic bands are expandable loops made of rubber that some may see as trivial. Nothing so compelling, nothing so grand. A rubber band exists to do menial clerical work along with paper clips, fasteners and adhesive plastic tapes. And yet, the simple and plain stretchy twine in the hands of imaginative five-year-olds can pass their playtime such as a jump rope or hopscotch could. It took me quite some time in my pre-school days to get the hang of forming a star using a rubber band. I was a slow learner for I mastered it only when I reached second year high school. But through the course of forming stars, double stars and even Tarzan houses, the rubber band taught me a valuable lesson: know your limits.
There were hundreds of colorful flexible bands that have stretched their way from my little finger to my thumb. There had been hundreds that have slipped out like a slingshot or severed into a split. Every entity in this world has a limit; even the renewable energy resources that carry the promise of an eternal source, may cease. Every rubber band has a limit. Though it may give false hope of expanding as far as the user decides, there will come a point when it disunites.
I see each person as a rubber band. Viewing ourselves as simpletons, we have this desire to stand out, thus we stretch and show off our elasticity. Yet, we fail to recognize the boundary of our capability to stretch and form the most time-sparing double stars.
The training on personal development starts with being aware of what you can and can't do. With this in mind, it's easier to start achieving the goal. Knowing your limits as to how far your muscle groups could contract, as to how heavy the weights you could bear, as to how far you can run on the track; these set the boundaries that would encourage focus and specialization. Knowing your limits as to how much subjects you can study in one sitting, as to how many years more of school you could put up to, as to how distant your research would cover; these fence the perimeter that would put you in isolation but with the hope of mastery. If a rubber is aware of its limits, I'm sure it'll save itself from extending to the point of no return. If man is aware of his limits, I'm sure it'll save him from abusing his self and prevent undue stress.
Limitations contribute to the individuality of each person. What he may be a failure at may actually be your best sport. Some strive to reach beyond their limitations in order to stand out higher than the rest.
Yet, let's remember that when we go against nature or become too ambitious, chances are we wouldn't hone ourselves to near perfection. Limitation does not contradict the essence of hope and dreams; it actually complements them by setting the dimensions in order to make visions into reality. People give up in disappointment because they weren't able to actualize their plans. Maybe, just maybe, those plans were greater than what can they can concretize; those plans did not coincide with their strengths and weaknesses resulting to an overstretched severed rubber band.
I came to learn as a student nurse that in assisting patients to walk right after a surgery or prolonged bed rest, you must have to know the patient's current capabilities and any contraindications. You must plan the distance and duration of the walking exercises. You must also set limits in order to attain the outcome of letting your patient walk. Because if limitations aren't set, because if rubber bands are overstretched, chances are, all hell breaks lose and unwanted accidents may occur.
This is a simple lesson rubber bands teach us. It's a noble act to dream and explore all possibilities but it's a wise act to keep reality on your side and set the limits. If we overwork ourselves and divulge into the engulfing mist of overtime, we might risk our basic health or injure quality time with family. What more is the worth of overtime's pay when you'll spend it on hospitalization? What more is its worth when you go home to a sour wife after you jeopardized your wedding anniversary for work? Nature has blessed us with the ability to stretch like a rubber band. Let us first set the limits before carrying on with the stretching.
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