Dear Friend,
Today is one of those super days… while so many people are happily spending the day with a football game, open spaces are even more open for happy hikers! Highways and parking lots are also often less busy, making outings easier for those who like to avoid crowds. It’s a win-win, at least until the football game is over, at which point, may the team with the most points have won, fair and square!
What are you doing today? Will you be sticking to your usual routine or are you veering wildly because it’s a super day? Funny how, for some people, the matrix can so radically shift because of a football competition.
But there is something… Do you feel a different sort of energy in the air? Could it the hype of the game? Or, maybe it’s love, as it’s Valentine’s week. What do you think? Do national diversion days like this seem somehow different vibe-wise?
If you can put your finger on it, please write and share your thoughts!
What is ‘super’ to you? (The simple definition of super: especially, very). There are super burritos (a bit bigger than regular). There are super balls (they bounce way higher). And, of course, there are super heroes, too, (human folks that have the ability to do things better, bigger, higher, faster, stronger…)
Who do you know that seems ‘super human?’ Maybe it’s someone that always knows the answers, or listens really well, or maybe this person can prepare a delicious eight course meal for eighty people without breaking a sweat, maybe it’s an honest person, or a person that has abilities to repair things, create beauty, drive safely, someone that gives and takes with grace; who is your super human? Maybe you are rich with several!
I was eleven when I started babysitting most every Friday and Saturday night for various families in town including a local veterinarian and his wife. They had wonderful kids and pets, it was a great gig. Because of my interest in animals, the vet said that when school was out for summer, I could come to his office and observe. I was painfully shy but the people that worked in the office were wonderful and kind. I loved being in the office, watching surgeries, being around the animals, and helping with cage cleaning and such. I’m not sure what prompted him, but one day, in the middle of a surgery, the vet looked up from the dog he was working on and said, “Leslie, people are important, too.” I remember his assistant looked over at me and nodded.
Animals had always been my main focus. As far back as I can remember, I knew that animals always tried, made the best of things, appreciated without complaints. They were honest, knew how to be comforting, always seemed to listen. I could talk to animals and felt that they could always talk to me.
People are important, too. Probably because this sentiment was coming from a helper and healer of animals, birds, fish, reptiles… a person that truly cared about all creatures, these words meant something to me.
It was the beginning of a turning point in my heart to consider each person, unique, like every animal. And that, I, too, had a responsibility to participate and care about my role as a human being, (not an easy concept for such a shy person to grasp).
How grateful I am for what this man said to me to nudge me toward a broader view of life. He stands out in my mind as one of my super humans.
Yep, even though I still love animals, I believe that every person is extremely important. And, as you know, this week, lots of people will be prompted by little colorful valentine candies to declare odd things to each other like, ‘be mine’ ‘sweet talk’ ‘who me?’ ‘not happening’… all the while they’ll be making gifts of chocolate candy, red hearts, and pink cards, sending and receiving, to and from, strangers, friends, neighbors, super humans…
And consider this… whether someone ever tells you or not, it is very likely that YOU are at least one person’s super human!
We hope that you’ve had a good day, a quiet hike, a nice shopping trip, a fun game… Thank you for taking the time and energy to read Tracks by the Post!
With wishes that your week is truly the loveliest to date!
Gently Be,
Leslie and Frank
