So, a couple of days ago, the sun finally warmed the earth and I was able to sport just a pair of bike shorts and jersey for a late afternoon ride. As I headed down the Monterey corridor the wind was stiff and giving me a nice little push from behind. While keeping a steady pace at about 28mph and relatively low heart rate, suddenly I felt a sharp burning sensation on the inside of my right thigh. I knew instantly what just happened. I stopped pedaling, looked down at my leg and saw, not one but, two bees (who knows what they were doing), I suppose you could say, literally pinned to my leg! After brushing them off, the stinger of one still lodged in my thigh, required me to pull over to remove the tiny, sharp, pulsating thingy!
It HURT like the dickens! (BTW "dickens" is an old-world euphemism for devil. Just in case you were wondering.)
Here it is now, two days later and the inside of my thigh is swollen, tender and itches like the di... you get the idea. Several times last night I was forced out of a sound sleep to the rawing of my own flesh. If I subconsciously continue to itch my leg, I may have to go into the burn-ward for tissue repair! Yesterday, during a meeting, I caught myself constantly rubbing the inside of my thigh. Yeah... awkward. This morning I rubbed an anti-itch cream onto the donut sized reddened area of my leg and the skin is so leathery the cream wouldn't absorb into the skin! Which brings me to my point... yes, there's a point to all of this!
How could something so small have such a huge impact?
Fortunately, that thought led to many others which I believe are important to consider when faced with challenges, obstacles or set backs.
First, if something so small can have such and impact negatively, things equally small can have an equal effect positively! Take science and medicine for example... many failures over minute calculations or changes in experiments also led to profound discoveries!
Second, because we most often desire "instant gratification," when something bad occurs from a seemingly insignificant incident, resulting in a long recovery, we basically think it requires an exponentially significant remedy. Unfortunately, regardless of our hope, most often the recovery must run it's course. Therefore, the smaller, less grandiose options are generally best!
Third, we too quickly associate the small incident as part of the whole experience! Yes, generally sometime during the year I get stung by a bee but not every time! In fact, it's pretty rare when I consider how often I'm on my bike and just how many miles I put in during a year. Yet, people tend to say, "I've decided not to..." because of one small, out of the ordinary, I doubt lightning-will-strike-twice, experience.
Finally, other than those who win the lottery or undergo liposuction, dramatic change does not, better yet, WILL NOT happen because of the big things. It takes consistent dedication to the small things that will make the change. And the good news... because they're little things, we can usually handle them. If we try to take on the big things, they most often overwhelm us and we quit. But a little diet change, a little exercise, a little less on the schedule a little more quite time can make a really big difference!
Yes, Sara... it's a triathlon post! But some of the greatest lessons in life have come from really small things. Remember... every child who eventually learns to read Bronte, Steinbeck and Dylan started with their A,Bee,C's!
