Day 1: 20.2 miles/1:14 Living for the Promise of the Future
“No matter how dark the present appears, I choose to live for the promise of the future and to celebrate the opportunities created through my passion and my gifts.”
This morning’s ride was filled with a lot of thoughts and emotions relating to my son. I have been feeling a great deal of loss and failure about the choices he has made and about the place that he is in right now. It was difficult to simply sweep them aside as I was out there riding. I am particularly saddened because I feel like I have lost him and I am frustrated because there is nothing I can do to save him. As a parent, I am totally committed to my children. It is impossible to feel comfortable or at peace about walking away from him and leaving him to deal with his issues.
I shifted between multiple thoughts on this ride. I was thinking about my son, this 100-ride commitment, how it felt to get reacquainted with my bike, and working on discovering something to celebrate on this ride. Most of my thoughts were geared toward my life and how I feel about it at this point.
Each one of us has been blessed with a unique set of special skills, abilities, talents, and gifts. We have been given these gifts for a specific reason – to share them with others to make a difference in their world.
It is these abilities that give and gets us energy. It is what makes us unique and special. Our passion and energy toward these gifts enables us to accomplish what we were placed here to accomplish. Not trusting or believing in these gifts, denies us our very ability to be great – to make a difference. Despite our challenges, our failures, and the perceived obstacles, we need to trust and believe in these gifts. If nothing else, this is what needs to drives us every day. Merely being aware of them is not enough. We need to truly embrace and believe in these gifts and let them be known and shared.
As I finished my bike ride, my backside was a little sore from a longer than necessary layoff, I felt a sense of purpose from the ride. I cannot change the course of my son’s life. His choices are his. I could curl up in the pain and frustration of the state of affairs in my life and “quit.” Or, I can get busy with my gifts and my passion to be the person I have been placed here to be. I choose to live the promise of the future even if the place I am in today is dark and painful. I do not have the right to withhold these gifts from others or not use them to make a difference. They have been given to me to use and commit to developing them to their fullest to the benefit of others.
