Little Cuz

Sometimes you learn things from the most unsuspecting people. Let me rephrase that. You can learn so much from people you would never guess could teach you anything. We just have to listen. What makes me stress this so much? I’ll get back to that.

A child’s optimism is incredible. Truthfully, their optimism is most likely due to their lack of knowledge. Yet, regardless of where it comes from, if you listen, you will pick up a lot. I have a four year old cousin named Zach. He is 2 feet, 9 inches tall if you round upward. He fits comfortably underneath the bathroom sink. Yet despite his size, he has more fight in him than anyone that size should. He is so persistent simply because he doesn’t see why he shouldn’t be.

He calls me Camel, because we play a game where he rides around on my back, and that was the first transporting animal he thought of at the time. He asks me all the time to play, and if I don’t feel like it at the moment, or if I just finished playing with him, I will say “No buddy, not right now, Camel’s tired.” He replies to this in a polite manner, simply saying “Ok, but after Camel’s done being tired, we will play again k?” Some may call it him pestering me, and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree, but I see it more as optimism. He doesn’t see why he wouldn’t get to do what he wants. He lives in a little world of guaranteed gratification. Because of his ignorance, he lives in bliss.

As I think about this, I recall him and I swimming this past weekend (actually, I was swimming. He was clung to my shoulders, life jacket employed, playing “Water Camel”). I had gotten out, and of course he followed me. He told me to chuck him into the deep end. It was an easy task, he weighs a total of 20 pounds. But the kid can’t swim, and I wasn’t about to send my beloved cousin toward his doom. I told him I couldn’t because he could drown. He didn’t understand, so I told him he would hit the bottom, avoiding a conversation about drowning. He simply replied “Well if I hit the bottom, I’ll just jump back up!” As foolish as it sounded at first, coming from a toddler, the statement was truly profound. The child had just taught me an important lesson through a metaphor, without even knowing what a metaphor was.

If you have ever felt like you have hit rock bottom in life, it is important to not think rigidly. Life can suck, there’s no avoiding that. But being at rock bottom is, by no means, a bad experience. I have begun to think of life, with the help of Zach, like a swimming pool. If you are truly at the bottom, you are in an ideal position to push off, and soar upward.

Running

If you’re a runner, you know how it feels to lace up your FILAs and jog off into the brisk morning, or if you prefer, the calm evening. Running is an exhilarating blend of exercise, thought, and overall satisfaction. It works you out physically, obviously, however it also gives you an opportunity to be alone and think about all the things you’ve been neglecting to ponder, for whatever reason. The cold air flowing around your body relaxes you, and is the best environment for getting things off of your chest and shaking the monkey off of your back.

Those who agree with the above statements, imagine this. Imagine going out for your morning or evening jog like usual, yet, instead of your everyday sleeveless tee, you are instead wearing a fifteen pound iron breastplate. Rather than your training shorts, you find yourself wearing what seems to be, in essence, a giant sewer pipe on each leg. Instead of your headband or visor, you’re wearing the helmet of a gladiator, and on your feet are not the FILAs you’ve grown so fond of, but rather, a pair of eight pound iron shoes with pointed toes. Needless to say, you’re virtually indestructible. If you fall, no harm will come to you. Despite that, it would be an understatement to say that your outfit is less than ideal for running. How far would you get wearing this attire? You would quickly get exhausted, and the air that you breathe would rapidly become the air that you choke. Furthermore, the feeling of the outdoors is eliminated by the fortress you’ve surrounded yourself with. In addition, good luck thinking about all your issues while distracted by your efforts to run effectively. Your running experience has been destroyed.

Let’s relate your running experience to your life experience. So many people live life in the armor, afraid to let their guard down and laugh, as well as be laughed at; love and be loved. Heartbreak is a terrible, miserable thing to go through. It truly tears people apart. But every single person in this world goes through it; it is simply unavoidable. Instead of running expecting to fall, enjoy your running experience for what it is, running. Enjoy life for what it is, your life. Will you chomp the asphalt? Yes. Violently. Yet, when you look back at the end of the race, you may remember the occasional slip-up, but you will remember more so the enjoyment you received from it.