At Ease

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle-

I want to ask you, what I feel is a very important question this lovely morning: When someone does something genuinely nice for you, how does it truly make you feel?

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I like to believe that life is characterized by the small acts of kindness we do for each other, and not just during Fathers Day, or any other holiday for that matter. Yesterday when I was about three miles into my twenty-mile commute home from work, I experienced a little give and extra suppleness coming from my rear tire. It was flat, and riding a folding tire while flat is not the most prudent idea in the world. But I’m one stubborn dude, so stubborn in fact, I “conveniently” left my spare tube and pump at home – because who needs them anyways?

The first couple who stopped to offer help eased my mind going haywire trying to figure out a plan to get home. Being stubborn, I refused to take a spare tube and instead borrowed their pump for a few fleeting moments. I’m smiling now thinking how kind they were to offer help to a complete stranger on a barren and vulnerable stretch of trail.

The second lady who stopped to offer help, and whose name I forget because I am both stubborn and forgetful … Did the very same as the couple an 1/8 of a mile before. “Here, please take my spare tube.” Was answered with – No way am I taking your only spare out here – Just a little air will get me to the bike shop three miles away in Papillion, NE.

Less than a 1/2 mile walking my bike slowly down the trail, I stumbled upon a friendly dude named Arthur and his daughter riding back from the library a short distance away in town. At this point there was no way I was getting home without help – None! Swelling with pride and being stubborn don’t get you very far do they?!? As we walked back to his house, sharing one of “those” awkward conversations most of us have when we first meet someone, I sensed that this moment had happened for a reason in my life. All of it, the flat, “forgetting” my gear at home, being stubborn, swelling with pride …

When I paused last night to think about how people actually spend their time (the posts I have been sharing of late) – How much time do we spend thinking about the good things we’ve been given and how much time do we spend complaining about the things that have gone wrong? I know that I spend much of my day lamenting about the annoying cyclist and drivers during my commute, the typical Nebraska weather, a poor night’s sleep, how work has been insane of late …  What Arthur and his beautiful family shared with me in the fifteen minutes we spent together, is that, perhaps a change in focus from counting burdens to counting blessings is just what I needed.

Daily Meditation:

Over the course of an afternoon, a fortnight, our lives … We are not going to be able to say “thank you” for every little thing someone does for us. Although, when we are able to take a moment, to be grateful for the kindness we often overlook?

Amazing Arthur 

Professional Showoff

Joey Fratelli

Thank you guys – Immensely – for getting me home safely, with my heart and soul swelling with gratitude!