The Centripetal Road

Centripetal energy is energy directed toward the center. When one swings a ball on a string around in a circle, centrifugal force is the weight or force of the ball wanting to fly out and away; centripetal force is the tension on the string holding the ball from flying off. Flying away is centrifugal / going toward the center is centripetal.

Much of the energy in my daily experience is centrifugal: it is energy directed away from my center. Most news is centrifugal, whether it be on an earth scale (global warming), regional scale (the war in Iraq), or local/intimate scale (a friend with cancer down the street). Many daily tasks are tugs on that string (cooking food is centrifugal, but eating food is centripetal). A rich conversation with a stranger, an unexpected moment where some aspect of life reminds me of beauty: these are centripetal. They move me toward my center. Like footprints in the snow, centripetal tracks reveal where I have been on my journey; I am hoping the stories here will remind us of the richness of each person's journey.