ASSINIBOIA - Last weekend, I posted a photo of a young Saskatchewan track and field star from Prince Albert on Facebook. She’s a mere 26 years of age, casts a long shadow at five-foot-nine-inches tall, and appears to have a bright future ahead of her. Her name is Katelyn Lehner. Her track and field career alone is impressive. Internationally, she excels in hurdles and long jump, and is a Canada West Pentathlon gold medalist and Saskatchewan indoor long jump record holder. If that weren’t enough, she has recently embarked on a second career as a singer-songwriter. Her powerful song “Without You” is currently the second most downloaded country song in all of Canada. Katelyn is well on the road to success, and appears to be in complete control of her life. Or so it seems.
When we were young, we all had grandiose dreams and high expectations of our future. Life was good, and we had our whole life ahead of us to enjoy. Do you remember the day you enthusiastically hopped into your car or boarded a plane or train and headed off down the road of life to take on the world and all of its challenges? You were young. Yes. And invincible. You were bursting with excitement and high on the adventure of it all. Nothing could stop you from achieving your goals of happiness and success. Or so you thought. You attended university or finished trade school. Got a job. Fell in love. Got married. Bought a house. And started a family. You had a goal. A plan. And expectations. High expectations. You grabbed life by the horns, and you were well on your way to the top.
Grabbing life by the horns doesn’t always mean happiness or success. Sometimes it means a wild and crazy ride. And it most certainly means hanging on for dear life. Sometimes it means getting bucked off and being trampled under foot - injured, or disabled for life. Unpredictable at best, life and her ways often seem unbearable. Perhaps life really IS about the survival of the fittest. Picking oneself up off the ground. Dusting oneself off. And carrying on. That’s the secret!
Carrying on often means just barely limping along - firing on less than eight cylinders. For seldom are we untouched, unscathed or unhurt by the blows and vicissitudes of life. Some days even putting one foot in front of the other seems almost impossible. Some days it seems hopeless and pointless to carry on. These are the days that we must remind ourselves that life is NOT hopeless, pointless, or impossible. It is essential to carry on. Limping through life is sometimes okay. It’s permitted. Just keep on, keepin’ on. Keep reminding yourself, even when you’re down, that staying down, giving up, and quitting are not options. Remember. Any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to fight its’ way upstream.
We often get so caught up with the URGENT that we lose sight of the IMPORTANT. We get so busy juggling the here and now - dealing with emergencies, and fighting fires, so to speak - that we lose sight of that which is truly important: family, friends, faith, integrity, honour, loyalty, truth, faithfulness, kindness, and respect. These things are ALL important. While I’m not trying to set myself up here as an authority or expert on life (because I’m truly not), these things are VITAL to our very survival. They truly matter. They are the essence of life.
As for happiness? A continual state of bliss, or euphoria masquerading as happiness, is just a myth. It doesn’t exist. Happiness, is more likely a moment or two here, an hour or two there, a day or a week somewhere else. It may be a stolen glance, a rare sighting, a moment in the sunshine, a cool breeze on a hot summer day, or a simple walk in the warm rain. These are all brief and fleeting gifts from above. But gifts, nonetheless.
For what it’s worth, we may need to be reminded that our dreams, both past and present, are also gifts from above. Life often gets in the way of living. Keeping our dreams alive and pursuing those dreams are what hope is made of. Hope and dreams are never wrong, if they are good and right and pure. At least that’s the way I see it. From where I stand.
