By Stephanie Francom

I’m no scientist, but I’ve been taught my whole life that the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line. Well, I absolutely have to share what I learned a couple months ago when a mentor of mine introduced me to a video clip that challenged that assumption. It absolutely boggled my mind!

There was this man who set up two tracks side by side. They both started at the same point and ended at the same point. Track One was perfectly straight from one end to the other. Track Two had a dip in the middle that went down and came back up to the same height as Track One. He released a large marble on both tracks at the same time, and you can’t believe what happened!! The marble that ran on Track Two (with the dip) was faster!! I was amazed!

He then set up the track with a huge dip in the middle. Same result!

Three dips in the middle. Four dips in the middle. Every time Track Two beat Track One!

This experiment was super encouraging to me as soon as I put it in the context of real life.

When we set a goal that we are completely committed to attaining, things often pop up that make it seem that we are moving in the opposite...or at least the wrong...direction of our goal. It can be rather unsettling, but I promise it’s just part of the process!

The Law of Rhythm is simply the idea that there are ups and downs in life. When we are at a low, we can be at peace in knowing that an up is coming. This law can be seen all over in nature and in our lives.

For instance - we have four seasons that rotate through every year. (Sometimes there are only two where we live.) But things in nature are always changing. We can be sure of it.

Another example is a woman in labor. Her contractions are up and down and up and down, and the whole time her body is preparing itself for the birth of her child. She usually has a breather in between those contractions (thankfully!), and then it’s time for the baby’s debut.

Rhythm is important on our course of progression and growth.

I guess sometimes the ups and downs may feel like they’re slowing down our journey, or that we may even be off track, but from the Marble Run Experiment...it would seem that they actually propel us faster on our journey! That is a powerful concept!

For about ten months, my car was out of commission. We had four cars that should have been working in our large family, and we were down to three during that period of time. I was grumpy and frustrated about the situation, and I continued to say, “I can’t______, and I can’t_______, because I don’t have a car.” As I learned the Laws of Thought, I realized how I had kept myself in this place because of my frustrated thoughts and words. So I set my intention to get a car.

The very next day my son’s car broke down. Thankfully I had just learned about The Law of Rhythm, and I expressed gratitude that something was happening and good things were coming.

The next day my daughter’s car got a flat, and as we talked about fixing the tire, she suggested we not even fix the car because it was falling apart. In all honesty, I laughed. This whole process was so strange to me! But I again offered thanks, and I simply expected that it would work out.

Three days after the second car broke down, my dear friend (who knew nothing of our journey or my goal) texted and asked if we were looking for a car. I knew how well she and her husband take care of their cars, and we agreed to buy it sight unseen. (Who does that?) I still had cash on hand from my son not making an intended car purchase, and it was exactly the amount my friend was asking! We went and picked it up immediately, and we now have a beautifully running car. The other two cars were fixed right up as well! Unbelievable!

This is a great law to keep in our pocket when life happens! If we just etch the results of the Marble Run in the recesses of our mind, we can choose a more positive attitude along the way. Expect that the down will turn upward, and that we will gain momentum to attain our end goal more quickly!

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