If you're new here, I just want to say how much I appreciate your dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!

Do you think you’ve been shortchanged by life in some way?

During a rather lengthy period of unemployment awhile back, as a pick-me-up (and to try to get back in shape - a fruitless pursuit if there ever was one) I used to go to Memorial Park every morning to use the walking/jogging trail surrounding the park’s public golf course. It’s a beautiful wooded trail which sees quite a bit of use; on the average day it’s filled with fitness buffs, assorted beautiful people, and, er, me. (It’s particularly enjoyable during the three weeks of the year here in Houston when the weather is cooler. The rest of the year, it’s just plain HOT!)

While I have no idea what would be considered a good pace, I could consistently walk a twelve-and-a-half-minute mile, which translates to just under 40 minutes to walk the entire three-mile length.

One morning, as I was in the Zone (I’m referring to a different Zone; this was before I inadvertently blundered into the Middle Zone, never to return; what I mean is, walking provided a great time for introspection), a distant delicate tinkling sound, like a tiny little bell being constantly rung, began to impinge on my zoned-out consciousness (sound of distant tinkling bell). It was the kind of sound that’s difficult to tell where it was coming from; it was just… there.

Gradually, the sound got louder and louder, still sounding exactly like a small tinkling bell. It slowly got louder. I kept walking. It got even louder. Now I’m starting to wonder what the heck it was, but I didn’t want to break my pace to turn around and look. Louder. Ah, I knew what it was now – a set of tags from some jogger’s dog (a jogdog? Er, sorry.)

Well, whatever it was, it would pass me within a few minutes; by now I could hardly wait to see what the dog looked like. I pictured in my mind a German shepherd, or possibly a Beagle (both of which I’d seen before on other mornings). Finally, he pulled up beside me; not a big dog at all - it was a cute little toy dachshund! And not only that; he was probably the smallest one I’ve ever seen. I’d swear he couldn’t have been more than five inches tall at the shoulders.

It was all I could do not to bust out laughing. As he passed me (walking, not running) his little legs were churning away, moving so fast they were literally a blur. I couldn’t believe it – here I was with my human-sized legs (and walking at my best pace, too!), and this little guy with his tiny three-inch legs was outpacing me!

Sheesh! Talk about demoralizing. Here I was, giving it the best I had, and I was beaten into the dust by a little shrimp of a critter no bigger than a sneeze. It just wasn’t fair!

But as usual, I did learn something from the little guy.

Consider, if you will, the following questions.

Are there areas of your life where you consider yourself to have been short-changed? Is there some talent, skill, or whatever, you don’t think you have enough of, or think you’re just not as good at as someone else? Is there something you’ve been telling yourself that you don’t have as much of as the next person, and that’s why you, well, can’t?

Now, be honest; have you been using that as an excuse to under-achieve?

OK, now consider my little four-legged friend. By anyone’s measure, if you put the length of my legs alongside that little guy’s legs, it’s hard to imagine anybody coming to the conclusion that he could outwalk or outrun me.

But he did.

I guess somebody forgot to tell him about his limitations.

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!