I remember my high school theology teacher once told our class that the springtime yielded the highest annual rate of suicides. He explained that those who were at their lowest felt even more hopeless amidst all the beauty and new life that unfolded around them, but not in them.
As I recently enjoyed a beautiful spring day God blessed us with, I couldn’t help but reflect on that random modicum of information still embedded somewhere in my skull. It’s tragic to comprehend that someone could feel so void of any hope. I personally feel that part of life’s beauty is that we don’t know what lays just over the horizon.
At the same time, I also realize that sometimes it’s okay to not be okay.
This past year has been quite an ordeal for all of us and we are just starting to emerge from a pandemic I pray we never experience again. Especially tragic is the untimely loss of a loved one that some may have experienced as a result. That gaping void can often leave one feeling lost and hopeless.
The sun sets each night, but it also rises every morning, just over the horizon.
There’s a lot of chaos in the world, and unfortunately, probably always will be. It’s easy to let it monopolize one’s mental space. Extra focus and reminders are often needed to pay more attention to our horizons to see the beauty. It’s there, unfolding in our lives, even when it doesn’t seem like it.
That same high school teacher also introduced me to the book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, about a young prince who lives on an asteroid with a rose he tends to. One day he chooses to leave his asteroid and explore the universe. Throughout his travels he discovers several other roses and begins to long for his rose. He knows she is out there somewhere waiting for him to return. He comes to learn that a rose just isn’t a rose. This revelation is perfectly summed up in one of my favorite quotes from the book:
“The stars are beautiful because of a flower that cannot be seen.”
Life is still beautiful, even when we can’t see our roses in the present moment. They still wait for us.
Speaking of roses, Saturday is the 147th Run for the Roses and one of my favorite times of the year.
My annual Kentucky Derby superfecta is as follows: Highly Motivated (17) Essential Quality (14) Medina Spirit (8) and Hot Rod Charlie (9)
And my longshots are: Sainthood (5) Midnight Bourbon (10) and Superstock (18)
Finally, if you’ve had a chance to either read or listen to my memoir, please consider leaving a review, which are important to help with visibility and awareness. You can do so by clicking here:
If you’ve yet to read it, perhaps you might consider checking it out.
Stand Strong!
Scott
Thank you!
Good reflection. Thanks Scott ! And enjoy Derby Day !!!!