Getting back on that bike....

Those of us who are parents have all run into a few things in pretty much the same way.

One of those things has to do with teaching our children courage. Unfortunately, usually we are teaching a lesson that we are not sure we even know. I know that I am not usually willing to do something that i think could hurt me. How in the world am I supposed to teach my child to get past that feeling? It is to me the definition of courage.

Tonight I was privileged to participate in just such a lesson.

My neighbors have a daughter, whom we will call the little cutie. She is very upset that both of my boys ride a two wheeler, and does want to learn to do so. Her parents have been working very hard to teach her for the last few days, but with only limited success.

So tonight was another lesson.

Oddly, we represented all of the varieties of the task. We had a person who was willing to try, but also willing to give up. We had one who was trying as hard as could be done, but had a hard time controlling frustration. And we had one who had the unconditional love, but unfortunately, very poor aim. ( pine tree)

In short, Cutie will learn to ride a two wheeler very soon.

The more important element at work today is courage. Courage is to me that element of personality that provokes us to go on despite some obstruction, some force, that seems to be driving against us. It is that which does not allow us to give up in the face of the insurmountable.
It is that that helps us to try even though we face embarrassment, pain, sometimes even death. Courage is what keeps pow's alive. Courage is what makes a woman sit in the front of the bus. Courage, really, is that which creates any important change in our world.

That's right, i just compared training wheels to changing the world. And i meant it.

Think for a second what it must be like to realize that the very structure that kept you from scrapes and bruises on the certain death of the sidewalk were just removed by your father. It takes a shitload of courage to even try to ride the bike. To a little one, it is the emotional equivalent of taking on a Nazi squadron with a bow and arrow.

Which brings me to the central point of tonights thought.

Cutie kept on trying through the tears. She knew that she did not want any part of her to touch the ground during the course of trying to ride, she also could envision riding on the big girl bike. Bravo. She showed real courage. Even though her words did not indicate the sentiment, she kept getting back on.

In any show of courage, the person will make some sort of a plan, and then follow through in the face of uncertain odds.

This is exactly what our country needs to do right now. We suffer under the reign of the media. Good news does not sell. SO most of us are led to believe that we face a very uncertain future, cast in the light of alligators at our doors, and terrorists just over the horizon. So we cower in fear lately. We do not spend money. We work at our jobs just hard enough to keep them. I believe that most employed americans are working less hard at their jobs right now than they did when we were being told things were good. I believe this is so because I think that people are just waiting to be laid off, fired, etc.

This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we believe that our economy is in the tubes, it will be. If we believe that there is no reason to show interest because we are going to lose our jobs any second, we will lose our jobs. Not because the economy is bad, but rather because we havent been doing them. If we believe that we are losing jobs in this country because the almighty "they" can do it faster, better and cheaper that we can, they will do it, and we will lose them.

It is time to behave like the little cutie. Work hard if you have a job. Work hard to get a job if you dont have one. Show some courage in the idea that you will be ok. Dont be afraid of the idea that things are bad, show some courage that things arent so bad.

Turtle crashed his atv sunday night. It was his worst crash to date. Thank goodness that he wasnt hurt, but it isnt the point. Immediately after I righted it and brought it to him, the little man climbed on it and rode it back to the house. He had just crashed and was scared. Courage.

The world is not going to end tomorrow. Show some courage in your own ability to keep it turning. Dont be afraid to buy the things that you need if you are able to buy them. Question the media. Is your life different that it was before? Bear in mind, although some of our lives are different, most of them have not really changed that much. It requires our own use of the c word to even question that.

Cutie knew without a doubt that her world was different. She could look down where her training wheels used to be and know for certain. She still tried to ride the bike. Most of us, I think, look around at what we are being told about our lives, and without even a little bit of certainty about the facts, are not showing courage in our own ability to deal with the situation.

Show some courage, Its the only way out of this thing.

Until next time,
Greg