Monday, June 29, 2009

MountainWings: Until The Flowers...

MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#1114 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
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. . . until the flowers
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I am a runner.

I have several circular routes measured from my home.
If I decide to run 3, 4, 5 or 7 miles, each run always ends at
one particular spot.

A few houses down from mine is a home with a beautiful flower
arrangement near the mailbox. The arrangement is as ornate and
as cultured as if a master gardener extended his hand and
delicately shaped each flower, bush, stem, and blade of grass.

I have never seen any flower arrangement as pretty in a yard.

That's the point.

That's the point that marks the end of my run.

. . . until the flowers.

No matter how long or short the run, I have one goal in mind.

Keep running until I get to the flowers.

Life should be like that.

Keep running until you get to the flowers.

We typically receive the largest number of flowers when our
lives are over.

We get the most flowers in our lives at our funeral.

Those flowers don't do you any good.

As far as I know, you can neither see nor smell them.

My neighbors' flowers help give me encouragement and strength to
run through this life.

On a recent run, I was thinking about those beautiful bundles of
encouragement and had decided to write a MountainWings issue
about them. Oddly enough, for the first time, the couple was in
the yard working on the flowers as I ended my run.

I ran by their yard, I had almost reached the flowers.
It was a hot sunny day and they could tell by the swelter and
sweat that I had been on a grueling run.

The wife spoke, "Could I get you a glass of water or something?"
she asked.

"No thanks, " I answered.

She didn't realize what they had given me already.

They had given me the flowers.

People who give you flowers for no reason show their giving
natures in many ways.

Most people in the neighborhood probably couldn't tell you about
my neighbors' flowers. They are probably too busy to see them.
They probably see all of the other stuff.

There is much disarray along the run.
There are many weeds and bare branches.
There is trash thrown from cars reflecting people's disregard
for others,

. . . and then, there's the flowers.

So it is in life.

Keep your mind on the flowers even when you can't see them.

You can plant flowers.

Not only the physical kind, but also flowers of the spirit.

You need to picture the beautiful flowers that await you at the
end of your run.

The flowers that never whither or die.

Flowers of the spirit.

You need to understand that they are beautiful and they smell
nice.

You also need to tell those that have planted flowers along your
path that you appreciate them.

I will print this issue of MountainWings and put it in my
neighbors' mailbox. I doubt that they have ever heard of
MountainWings, but their flowers influence MountainWings, and,
in turn, you, on each run.

I am a runner.

So are you.

We run through life, just different paths, different shoes, and
different running styles.

In all of your daily running, be sure to stop and smell the
roses but

Keep running.

. . . until the flowers.


~A MountainWings Original~

Thank you for inviting MountainWings in your mailbox.

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