Category: Thoughts

The media keeps saying how trying these times are. It’s repeated on the radio, the TV, social media. I can only wonder if maybe, just maybe, it is just a matter of a larger section of society being forced to live the way a smaller section of society prefers.

Let’s say the larger section of society thrives on running around, making noise, being surrounded by as many people as possible.

Let’s also say the smaller section feels best taking it slower, enjoying what is around them, immersing themselves in calm and quiet, communicating with those they feel necessary, living more in solitude.

Usually, the smaller section has no choice but to integrate with the larger section.

Right now, the larger section has no choice but to integrate with the smaller section, to live like them.

If these are truly trying times, then imagine what it is like for those people who prefer living like this, quietly alone, year after year after year. Their lives must have been exhausting; only now can they breathe.

Not everyone follows the same path.

I stood at the 39 km mark and cheered on the runners who had lots of strength left in them and seemed to skip by, runners who looked determined every time a foot touched the ground, runners who struggled to take their next step, runners who could barely breathe, and runners who mustered up just enough strength to walk.

It was on this 39 km mark that I noticed a few characters running in the opposite direction of the runners. Each character wore a smile. Each character moved lightly and looked like they were floating past.

Who caught my attention? Superman, Batman, and bumblebees in bright yellow tutus. The bumblebees held my attention the most. It might have been because they were bumblebees. It might have been their tutus. It might have been the joy they exuded; they did exude more than the superheroes.

These ballerina bumblebees hunted the downtrodden runners, sat with them, cheered them up, cheered them on, lifted their spirits, and got them to stand straight and head down the road to finish the race. They did this not for themselves, but for the runners and for the spirit of the marathon.

Real bumblebees do the same. They hunt the lonely flowers, land on them, spend time with them, gather pollen, and visit the next one. Yes, they do this to gather food for their hive, but, on a larger scale, they are doing this so that more plants grow, which means all animals, all people, have food to live.

Let’s never forget the black and yellow bumblebee. Cheer on those flying bumblebees any way we can when we see them and when we don’t. Let’s become ballerina bumblebees and cheer each other on. After all, we are all running a series of small races in this marathon called Life.