Tension gets a bad rap. They constantly tell us, we need to eliminate tension. But tension isn’t evil, in fact it is useful. Maybe imperative. We borrow the word tension from the Latin tensiōn-, tensiō “the process of drawing tight”. Tension is a pull in a cable, a cord, a string, a chain… or a tendon. There is an old saying: “You can’t push a rope.”

Body builders practice a “Time Under Tension” technique to help build big, strong muscles. When you are building muscle, tension is key. Structural Engineers use a measure called tensile strength to calculate the amount of force a material can withstand without tearing apart. Bundles of steel cables have huge tensile strength and are used to construct suspension bridges. Simple instruments are stringed. They produce delightful sounds with tensioned strings which vibrate when plucked, strummed or hammered. Storytellers rely on tension to keep their audience engaged in the tale. Tension makes the world beautiful.

How does tension make your life sing?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer