Falling in Every Direction

Lately I've been working as a teaching assistant helping a professor teach about land surveying (for those who don't know I worked as a surveyor for a summer).  I work teaching labs where students learn how equipment is used in the real world (or as close as we can simulate). One such lab discusses the use of a level and level rod; let it be enough to know that these are used to measure vertical distances.

The level rod, a long measuring stick, is the topic of today's post because of something I tell the students to do while holding the rod steady.  What I explain to them is, they will know when the rod is level/straight up when they feel it "falling in every direction."  Jokingly one of my students pointed out that it sounded like one of those motivational statements, "Life only gets higher when you climb" or something like that.  But actually, they have a good point, it makes a good life statement.

Initially it might sound negative; falling usually doesn't sound nice.  However think about it in the view of the level rod.  A measurement reading from the rod can only be taken when it is in complete balance or "falling in every direction."

This can be a statement about our lives.  We can only be in complete balance if we are falling in every direction.  It's the balancing act of life; getting the right balance of personal life, family life, and religion.  If we fall over too much in one direction then any reading/measurement we take of our life could be inaccurate, just like the level rod when taking vertical measurements.  Only when we fall in every direction are we in complete balance; with balance in all directions of our life.

Not bad for a land surveying tool eh?  Thanks for the idea Jaren.