I’m looking out my window right now. A Clarion resident has been on a quest as of late. He’s walking for his health, day in and day out – rain or shine. He doesn’t know it, but he is motivating a lot of people … and we are cheering him on. There are so many unsung heroes out there. People who unknowingly motivate and inspire are angels in disguise.
So the crew is getting ready for Ragbrai. Last year on my first Ragbrai, I was unconsciously incompetent. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. (Ragbrai is kind of hard; I don’t think I realized this fact …) However, a bunch of angels in disguise helped me out – they fed me pork and beer, cheered me on to new heights, and encouraged me when the going was rough. In other adventures in life, when I ran a marathon or opened a restaurant – I did so without experience but always, when the road was tough, someone encouraged me to go another step, another block, another mile.
We need to appreciate our angels. A lot of times I make the wrong decision to get all hinky and freaked about something. All up in the air and I’m making assumptions left and right, and I’m usually way more emotional than appropriate … but … what gets lost in this equation are those who come to my rescue. Everyone is trying to climb their own mountains and run their own races, and when they are forced to deviate from their charted course to correct mine, I need to recognize and be grateful. (… it’d be nice to cut out the “hinky and freaked” but that’s asking a lot …) To be aware of the angels, whether he is walking outside my window or selling Gatorade (or pork) alongside the road or helping me up after I’ve fallen off my bike, is a nice place to be in life. Fully conscious and awake to love offerings; awesome.
