Balloons

Our room at Saratoga Springs looks out at Downtown Disney. We have a great view of the tethered balloon ride. I can watch as it starts out on the dock, then slowly is released to the length of its tether, then reeled back in.

The other morning as I was returning to the resort after taking Steve to the golf course, I saw the balloon at its highest height. Then in the distance, I saw two hot-air balloons, very small and high in the atmosphere. I immediately gave the tethered balloon human feelings and wondered what it thought when it saw the untethered balloons high in the sky.

Did it wish it could be released to soar high in the sky, or did it feel secure knowing it would never be lost or out of control? Did it want to join the other balloons, or was it happy in its solitude? Did it want to be in charge of is own destiny, or was it content to be controlled by someone else? And finally, did it wonder if giving tethered balloon rides was all that its life was meant and going to be?

I realized that maybe I had a lot in common with the tethered balloon. Sometimes I want to be the same as those who perform so much better than I - like the fast runners in boot camp or in races, or writers who have books published, or just about anybody who can do things that I don't seem to be able to do. Sometimes I want to be a part of a group, but sometimes I enjoy being alone. And most of the time, I like being in charge of my own life, but sometimes it's nice for someone else to make a decision or two.

But finally in the end, I accepted that like the balloon, I'm placed where I am for a reason. For the balloon, its there to provide rides for people who may never get in a hot-air balloon. It's there to give people a ride to experience a different perspective. It's there to do what it was created and supposed to do in this world.

And so am I. No matter who does something better than I do, or how many groups I may be or not be a part of, or whether I or someone else dictate my actions, in the end I am where I am for a reason. I have a distinct purpose in this world, and it's up to me to do that which I was created to do. And in the end, nobody can do that better than me!
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Things that make today great: Playing cards with Molly; dinner at Steak & Shake with Molly and Steve; catching up with Maribeth and Mathieu; sitting in the hot tub by the pool