“Can someone please help me?” In the distance a call rang out, someone had not attacked the zipline and were paying the price by hanging in the middle, waiting for a guide to come pull them to the platform. Ha! Silly person. All you had to do was make sure to give a good push and anyone could make it to the other side. Less than two minutes later I sat, 10 feet away from the platform, waiting for my own guide to come help me. As they say, pride goweth before a fall, but fortunately it was only my ego that was damaged. The treetop course was more challenging than I had assumed, and over the next two hours I would have plenty more opportunities to look silly, struggle to reach my goal, and find new depths of humility. I would also laugh more than I had in a long time, help my friends and allow myself to be helped, watch our kids tackle amazing heights and be surrounded by the beauty that is Tahoe. The very best overhear of all, after we had finished our time and were getting ready to leave, was when the littlest kid in our group turned to her mom and said, “What are we doing tomorrow? Can we come back and do it again.” I am pretty sure we all felt the same way.
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“Mo-o-m, why can’t I get a cookie too? It’s not fair.”
No… it’s not fair; a lesson that I struggle to learn even as I try to teach my daughter. Being an only child, this is a particularly difficult concept for her to understand. We have worked hard to expose her, from an early age, to as many social sharing situations as we can. But still…when she walks into her playroom she picks the toy she plays with. Life isn’t fair! How often have we heard our own parents tell us this? In a general way we can relate to it, but when faced with the supreme unfairness of life it is hard to swallow… existential even. My world has recently been shaken by a number of unfair situations imposed on those I care about. A sister-in-law with breast cancer and two friends fighting other forms of cancer. Another friend who unexpectedly lost her husband probably threw me for the biggest loop. And this doesn’t even consider the multitudes of people still struggling to find shelter after Hurricane Sandy. In the midst of so much chaotic unfairness, it is easy for me to lose true North. It is only when I see the amazing courage on my friend’s face at the funeral, or read the daily log of gratitude my sister-in-law posts to Facebook, that I am reminded that while life isn’t fair and frequently isn’t fun, it can still be beautiful. |
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June 2020
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