Breakdown
Go ahead and give it to me
Breakdown, it’s all right
Tom Petty – Breakdown

When we think of the word breakdown we often think of something going wrong. Once my car broke down in the middle of the night and I had to walk a few miles to get help. It turned out my car’s alternator failed and was no longer producing electrical current needed to keep the various electrical systems working. Since the car was not making needed electricity without the alternator, the car’s battery was eventually drained leaving me stranded, literally in the dark.

A breakdown can also describe a mental state in which we “lose it.”   According to the Mayo Clinic,  a nervous breakdown refers to a “stressful situation in which someone becomes temporarily unable to function normally in day-to-day life[i].” The clinic further states that these  breakdowns tend to occur when life’s demands become physically and emotionally overwhelming. Humans. just like cars, need their electrical systems working properly to avoid malfunctioning.

Materials can be described by how well they allow an electric current to flow through them. The opposition to the flow of electrons is a measure of the material’s resistance. Materials can be classified into two broad categories: a) conductors – those materials with relatively low resistance values, and b) insulators – those materials with relatively high resistance values. It is important to note that all materials will eventually conduct electricity if subjected to a large enough potential difference or voltage. This critical voltage level for a material, it’s breakdown voltage, above which when it is exposed the material will conduct electricity is called the material’s voltage threshold. Electrical current can flow in any material, even those that typically act as insulators, if that material is exposed to a high enough voltage – it’s breakdown voltage. A breakdown of the material’s insulating properties occurs when the material is exposed to a voltage that exceeds the material’s dielectric strength and as a result, the material begins to conduct electrical energy. A common occurrence of breakdown voltage is a lightning strike where electrical current flows from the clouds to the earth.

A brief primer on what causes lightning to strike the earth is as follows: The clouds in the sky become heavily charged relative to the earth and more and more voltage (potential difference) builds up between the clouds and the earth, resulting in a giant battery being formed. This process continues until the voltage differential between the earth and sky exceeds the dielectric strength of the air;  resulting in the air no longer being an insulator but rather becomes a conductor. The air is exposed to its breakdown voltage and as a result electrical current, known as a lighting bolt, travels from cloud to ground in a tremendous flash. Please see the following link if you would like more information from NASA  – What Causes Lightning

https://vimeo.com/178739646

Like all materials, I have a breaking point as well and had a break down as I became middle-aged. After experiencing several challenging life circumstances which included a divorce, 3-job changes and most importantly from my family members experiencing life-threatening illnesses, I slowly turned to God to help me weather the storm. Luckily for me, I connected with my higher power and this infinite potential broke down any resistance that I had previously offered. I eventually let go of my Ego and let God begin to flow through my life. After this breakdown, I would no longer persist to resist the flow of life. As I let go and let God direct me and trust in his wisdom and guidance, I went from primarily being resistant to the Flow to trying to live as an open conductor of the Flow.

Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you – Job 22:21

Please let me know if you have had any breakthroughs after what otherwise seemed to be breakdowns.

so let go
And jump in
Oh well whatcha waiting for
It’s all right
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown

Frou Frou – Let Go

Meanwhile,  wishing that you can break on through to the other side.

Soundtracks

Breakdown – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 
Let Go – Frou Frou
Break On Through (to the other side) – The Doors

[i] Flavin, Daniel Hall. “What Does It Mean to Have a Nervous Breakdown?” What Does It Mean to Have a Nervous Breakdown? Mayo Clinic, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2016.