Road rash on sunburn is a feeling that I would never wish on anyone.
Yesterday, after soaking up the 90 degree Virginia heat during a 5-hour bike ride, I took yet another spill off my bike. This time, no mulch truck was involved — only my tire, a dip in the road, a sidewalk, and lots of blood. My body is torn up with deep road rash from my shoulder to butt cheek and all the way down my leg, along with some facial bruising, a black eye and some other miscellaneous scrapes — all on top of a sunburned body.
Sometimes life has a way of throwing us not one, but multiple curve balls to slow us down. We must be patient with ourselves, with our bodies, and with our circumstances, because there are times when the only solution to our problem is patience. Impatience can roar its ugly head at the most impromptu, unexpected moments, knocking one off their feet (literally) as a gentle reminder that ours bodies are fragile and that life should be lived slowly.
I love doing things fast, I love being first, and I love being 100% myself; sometimes though, I have to be okay with not being where I want to be. It is okay to fall off your horse, and to get back up again, and then to fall again, even harder. Like this little girl in the picture, we sometimes need to wait to swim, accepting that our floating ducky is deflated for the moment. And even though everyone around us seems to have all their ducks in a row, it’s okay to be fine being out of line.
There is a Chinese proverb that says “if you get up one more time than you fall you will make it through.” You have the power to decide what kind of person you will be. Will you be the person who gets up after every fall or will you be the person who loses faith in themselves? The choice is up to you.
As for me, I am going to see the silver lining in road rash on sunburn, which is that my skin is like a multicolored polka dot, and I think that polka dots are worth smiling about.