Simple Joy
Next door is a large empty lot owned by our neighbors who live behind our home.
Over the last two summers, their great-grandson has lived with them and has used this lot as his own personal playground. And this kid plays hard!
He will often dress up in whatever type of uniform goes with his sport of choice that day. We have seen baseball uniforms, basketball jerseys, and football uniforms complete with pads and a helmet. And sometimes he just wears his PJs.
One Saturday morning this last summer we were enjoying our breakfast and we noticed he was out by himself practicing and learning how to ride a bike.
He clearly understood the basics, he just couldn’t get the hang of it.
We watched as over and over again he would try. He would scoot along using his feet, attempt to pedal, fall over then walk the bike back over to try again.
Despite his many failed attempts, he was not giving up.
It was hard to watch sometimes and we both had this urge to go help him but also knew that it would be more special to him if he figured it out on his own.
Finally, after more attempts than we could count, he pushed off with his feet and began to pedal.
There was a little wobble midway through, but he got it and rode successfully across the lot!
With this victory under his belt, he then jumped off his bike, arms raised in the air, fists pumping, yelling with excitement as he ran over to the house to share the news of his triumph.
The whole family then came out to watch a repeat performance cheering him wildly as he rode.
Susanne and I feel fortunate that we got to witness this beautiful and joyous moment in time literally looking out a window into this sweet family's life.
What are you struggling with that you need to keep working on?
What small victory do you need to be celebrating with someone right now? Or perhaps you need to just sit quietly as a bystander and embrace the victory and joy of others.
On the journey with you,
Carlos
This edition was first published in The Life Design Newsletter on LinkedIn.