Wednesday, December 06, 2006
On taking risks
ORN: zero.
I’m still basking in the terrific weekend at the Tecumseh Trail Marathon this past weekend. Darrell has posted his Race Report and then added his Photo Post of the race, as well as a Thoughtful Post, philosophical musings on a weekend of running. All are worth your browsing.
By reading the reports, you can see that Darrell and I had a terrific time together. Probably not something folks would predict about two middle-aged engineers who had never met each other face to face. Yet it happened and we are both the richer for it.
I had sensed that Darrell and I had a lot in common, much beyond running. This proved to be even truer than I had thought. Darrell is a deep thinker and a dedicated Dad, professional and citizen. We both have a keen interest in the world outside the US, particularly in the developing, poorer parts of our world. He, like I, tries to avoid simplistic, typical answers to substantive issues. Instead, we both grappled with how our worldviews, abilities, tendencies and faith can come to bear on very real problems. Yeah, it ran deep. I felt challenged by Darrell and am better off for it.
And it all happened because he was willing to take a risk.
As he put it, humorously, how crazy is it to fly to the barren tundra of the forgotten state of Indiana to get in a car with some guy you’ve never met and even share a hotel room??? Yeah, crazy, it would seem; we live in a wacky, weird world. Yet, his sense and mine, was that this risk was worth it. Part of that happens by being open in blogging. Part of it is a sense that “this is OK.” Yet there is still a risk.
By taking that risk, we are both the better. And it strikes me that this is a vital lesson in most relationships. Extending out of my comfort zone, to discover something new; not easy, but gratifying.
Thanks, Darrell, for taking the risk.
Persevere.
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5 comments:
So refreshing! Glad you took the risk :-)
Jodi
Hey Joe! Anne told me about your blog. Thought I'd stop by and check it out. I can't run much anymore, but seeing some photos from the trail makes me want to fly out sometime and, if nothing else, jog/walk as far as I can. We don't see that kind of scenery out here. Believe it or not, I miss the midwest weather!
It's so cool how well you two got along! I think it is becoming more and more accepted to admit to meeting friends online. I have yet to be disappointed when meeting other running bloggers in real life. : )
Hey Joe, Finally made it by to catch up on things, all though I already knew the results of the race. I hope the report on the knee is minor and easily mended.
I think we tend to portray ourselves on our blogs in our true image. This is probably not always the case, but so far from all the bloggers that I have met it has been the case and I know that with closer proximity we would all be great friends and hang out all the time.
Hear hear!
Among RBF bloggers it is easy to find a community of like minded people to widen one's horizons.
I find it addicting, much like my running. Like, "who can I go so next at a race?"
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