Choices

Every day we make choices. Many are important, some are not, and all create a winding path through life on which we journey. We can spend too much time on the hard ones and too little time on the ones envisioned as easy. We watch and think and act. We rejoice and regret and reconsider. We allow winds of change to swirl among the seasons of time passing through and by each of us.

We stand amidst some choices falling gentle and pure as snowflakes. Tranquilized by beauty, it goes unnoticed that drifts obstruct the view, ice forms underfoot, and we are lost. Fearing a repeat event, we next stay inside, paralyzed before warm fireplaces, never venturing out again. We cling to other choices like trees, rooted in strength, hanging tight to unfurled leaves waving strong against a vivid sky. We celebrate other choices and revel in the explosive glory crimsoned in autumn colors. And then there are the choices seeded in ancient seasons. Budding in spring and tenderly pushing through vestiges of winter’s snow, their results bloom and surprise.

We can choose more than what to wear, when to eat and whether or not to exercise. We can alter and shape destinies. With our thoughts and actions building upon days and forming years, friends, and families, we create a life built upon our choices. We create a life that one day will be left as a legacy and remembered in captured moments.

So let us choose to be kinder today than yesterday and offer help to the hopeless. Let us choose to love those who live in the past and show them how to live in the present. Let us choose to laugh at ourselves, share of ourselves, and care for others. Let us choose who we want to be and how to become that person.

Let us choose wisely.

Battlefields

Even as an ardent Star Trek fan, I never followed the immortal words “to go where no man has gone before.” When faced with danger, adversity, or the vast unknown, I am more prone to scream, “Beam me up, Scotty.” Beam me up NOW.

Do some of us have damaged DNA chains? Are we missing key brain functions that indicate it’s natural to hurtle down mountains on waxed skis or throw your body in a bobsled and rush over 90mph to the finish line? I represent an entire segment of the population that has never sported an athletic injury. Just last week, I demonstrated my prowess in a restaurant stumbling over an uneven floor. My pride and I smashed on concrete. I’m still pampering the twisted knee and ankle and putting heating pads on shin bruises. Hand over the pain killers and call it a day.

Even if it’s not challenging physical confrontation, I rarely stop long enough to ponder flee or fight. Fleeing is my natural instinct and I’m too busy running away from that which I cannot see to determine how to face it. Is there skill to reaching deep in the soul to find the strength to move forward? To face the future. To be all we can be. And how do you find your future when you’re trying to find yourself? How do you chase dreams when you’re still chasing demons? But such is my destiny – my challenge. To stop running and stare down the universe. To put a face on its complexities. To contain fear and push aside pride and walk with humility. My victories will not be on skating rinks or at the bottom of mountains. My victories will be found in quests to find my path and kindred spirits. To live in love. To search among the clutter and pick up hope and leave its legacy for the next traveler.

Fighting the unknown; facing an uncertain future – these are my battlefields. I will stop running and look in the mirror for strength, look above for guidance, and look to others for support. And then, at some point, I will have to take action. I will have to move if only to clumsily put one foot in front of the other and simply walk. When the transporter is broken and Mr. Scott says in his thick brogue, “There’s only enough power for one. We only have time for one, Captain.” Maybe then I will have found the strength to reply, “Take Mr. Spock.”

Olympians

Athletes soar in the air, float in space, perform other seemingly miraculous feats, and we gaze in wonder at their accomplishments. We cry with the winners and losers and mourn over young loss. Their greatness, their sacrifice, their moments in this time in these Olympics moves us.

The inspiration of the elite champions captures our collective heart and awakens lost dreams. We believe that we too can overcome, rise above, and conquer. With fresh eyes, we gaze in mirrors and reflect on our images and days. With bold hearts, we embrace life and take faltering steps toward almost forgotten goals.

As we move forward, only then do we see winners in ourselves and others. We feed the poor so they can rise above poverty. We help the sick so they can recapture life. We touch hands so no one is alone. We love without looking back or looking ahead. We live without regret. We lift each other to soar above obstacles and flow through time with only dreams as safety nets. We move in unison as ice dancers in beautiful harmony. We breathe the same air and nurture the same hopes for peace.

We see strength in the mother who rises at a similar hour to the athlete practicing on an isolated practice field so she can find private time before feeding and dressing her children. We see greatness in the father who works all weekend so he can leave the office early and attend his son’s baseball game. We see victory in the addict who overcame unknown pain and suffering and sits next to us at the coffee shop. We see tenacity in the older woman working still to put food on her family’s table –the family who moved in with her when they lost their jobs.

As we go through another 16 Olympic days, we will rise to our feet with wonder, cry when flags are raised and laugh when youthful and heroic exuberance excels. As we go through life, we will feel the Olympic passion burning bright and fueling everyday winners who give their best, sacrifice in secret, work hard, live freely, and love deeply. As we share our unique talents, pursue dreams and help others find theirs; we will find our greatness and capture a lifetime of gold.

While our bodies may not soar as high as ski jumpers, our spirits do. Our strength is found in the shoulders that others lean on and our achievements are measured in the pieces of our hearts which have been given away.

We are all Olympians.

Butterfly Net

Sometimes I wonder about unfulfilled dreams floating in the air as elusive as butterflies never caught in a net. I look back at life on scarred feet, running through soft green carpets and amidst sharp rocks, chasing an unseen future.

I want to live in the space between the past and the future. It is a present space defined in joy. It’s a place where anticipation belongs in an undefined dimension and regret belongs in another reality. It is a place where feelings soft as an old broken-in goose down comforter cocoons me in warmth. I would live in this space listening in silence to the tick of the clock reminding me that time does exist and I live within its boundaries.

I wouldn’t want to travel anywhere, but instead visit the places in my heart. It is there I clearly see the dreams as bright as endangered orange monarchs, dotted with irregular black spots, which somehow flew magically into my net. It is there I see the colors of my life flying on cobalt blue wings captured in a lifetime of dreams that I no longer have to chase. In this space, I would no longer search for unfilled destinies. In this moment, I would share and enjoy the beauty lying in my net.