Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Lat It Go!

Bull riders say “Lat it go!” to initiate their eight seconds of glory or hell. Now that’s living! Putting it on the line against a ton of adrenaline then hearing the buzzer must be a phenomenal rush. I did a little bull riding of the electronic nature back in the Urban Cowboy era. It didn’t take much to get my long arms and legs going in every direction and be rudely deposited on the mattresses.

If you ride bulls it’s not if you’re going to get hurt its how severe. A veteran rider is in possession of some nasty baggage he must let go of to have a chance at a successful ride. While life isn’t always a bull ride, we definitely must release that white knuckle leather glove grip on past hurts and mistakes to achieve happiness.

Harboring anger and bitterness firmly anchors us in the past eliminating the possibility of fulfilling hopes and dreams. I am certain I am responsible for my onset of ALS. Isn’t that a kick in the pants? I had the good fortune of fly fishing Alaska several times in my twenties before gravity became too much for weakening limbs. The stories of Alaskan mosquitoes are well known and accurate, you’ve heard them, state bird, etc. To combat the onslaught I used a 100% deet gel product and applied liberally. I thought nothing of it until my plastic watch melted from the gel collecting around it. After 22 years the nauseam has not subsided when contemplating what ifs, but I had to let go and forgive myself so I could live fully.

I know there are individuals reading this blog today carrying deep emotional scars. It sickens me to imagine the horrific heartbreaking origin of the pain. I am not telling you I can begin to comprehend; I am saying we all possess the extraordinary power of decision to control our reactions. Joy restored is a decision away. I am a train wreck physically. I cannot speak, eat, move or breathe independently. If someone told me two decades ago I would be in this condition and still seizing the day loving life I would have dismissed them as totally insane. It was a decision. No, it has not been easy and no I’m not always up, but this episode is too brief and much too dang fun not to give it my all. Lat it go! Thanks for reading I truly appreciate your time. Have a great day! dj

2 comments:

  1. I certainly needed to read this today!! It amazes me that you're able to do that...able bodied persons cannot let go of the past or present hurts, regrets whatever it is that's stopping them from enjoying the only life we have!

    Thank you for bringing this to all of our attention!

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  2. These were definitely words I needed. You always seem to know just what to say and when to say it. Thank you!

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