Challenges

Sometimes we think we have challenges, but honestly we don't have any idea of what we are capable of doing.

Here's an example. As I walked into a Starbucks coffee shop the other day, I was surprised to see a dwarf hunched over in the corner. He seemed to be wrestling with a backpack on the ground. Not only was he very short, but he had no arms; only small stumps extended a few inches from his shoulders. He was tugging at the straps of the backpack with his teeth, trying to lift it up and turn it around. He looked like he was maybe twenty or twenty-five-years-old.

I watched for a moment as he fought with the backpack and its contents, trying without success to arrange things with his teeth, pulling and lifting. I wasn't sure what to do. No one seemed to be paying any attention. I don't know if he was hoping someone would step forward to assist, but I decided to ask.

I said, " Would you like some help, or would you rather do that yourself?," wondering if this way of posing the question would do, not wanting to sound condescending. He said "Yeah," with a puff and a smile of resignation, and I felt relieved.

Even with the use of my hands and arms, the task was not easy. A computer laptop had fallen out of the backpack and was pushing a black rain jacket onto the floor. The backpack kept flopping open. I finally got it arranged and then found that zipping it closed was not easy either.

When I was done, he asked me to sling it over his shoulder, leaning forward and extending his right stump towards me. The pack was heavy. Once we got it on his back, he thanked me, grabbed a donut he had placed nearby with his teeth, and walked over to a counter. I picked up my coffee order, turned and saw him walking out the door to stand at a bus stop, where he juggled the donut in his mouth, angling his face to the sky to prevent morsels falling to the ground.

I don't think he was the type of person to worry about how he was going to get things done; he just somehow did them.

As I walked away I thought: what an obvious reminder that was, out of the blue, to be thankful and count my blessings. And what a reminder from a stranger that "not trying" should never really be an option...

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Pushing through adversity

Food for thought:

"We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities."  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind" -- Author unknown.

"Fortune favours the brave."  -- Publius Terence

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible."  -- Arthur C. Clarke

This sampling today is courtesy of inspirational-quotes.info

A lot of these musings could be applied to the competitors of the Vendée Globe race.

Today's update

Derek Hatfield has made it back to Les Sables d'Olonne and his team is now evaluating the extent of the electrical problems and other issues with the Algimouss Spirit of Canada.

Three competitors have now officially retired because of the breakage of the main mast on their boats. Acquarelle.com is the latest to limp back.  Skipper Yannick Bestaven tells Vendéeglobe.org the story:

"The seas were still very rough and I was letting out a reef at the foot of the mast after ploughing through two huge waves, which had swept over the deck. The boat suddenly crashed down onto the third one and the impact was violent, leading to the mast to come out of its step and fall down in 3 pieces. Fortunately, I was wearing my harness , which saved me and the mast came down beside of me without touching me. In the dark of night, the mast was pushed along by the waves and kept banging into the boat. I had to cut off the shrouds and stays. I couldn't recover anything, and threw a year's work overboard. This is the worst thing that could have happened. I feel exhausted, disheartened to see our round the world voyage finish in this way"

On the brighter side, the weather changed for the better today, and the remaining competitors were able to breath a little easier.

Dee Caffari aboard Aviva explains:" The difference today is unbelievable. The sky is clear apart from cumulus cloud, the sun is shining and you have great visibility. The wind has now moved and is coming from the north and I am sailing in much better conditions, smoother water and with a full main and code 3 up. I can now try catching up with sleeping, eating and generally living." 

Caffari was able to speak by radio to the other woman in the race, Samantha Davies on Roxy, and they decided to each drink a cup of tea in celebration. At the time of this writing the women are sailing in the 12th and 13th positions.

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