Many years ago, when I used to run for exercise, I found myself running along the country road leading away from Camp Barnabas early one morning. I watched a few counselors running ahead of me. About a quarter of a mile out of camp I spied a large, ferocious-looking dog run from it's perch on a dilapidated farmhouse porch and growl menacingly while nipping at one counselor's heels. This young man kicked the dog away, but steadfastly kept running at his regular pace. The dog continued his pursuit until the two young men were beyond the fence boundaries of the farm.
My heart began racing as I envisioned this menacing farm dog literally tearing my legs off my body! By nature I am afraid of dogs bigger than, say, a small Bichon. So this aggressive canine was just too much for me to handle! Without skipping a beat I abruptly turned around and began running a little more quickly back to camp. "No way am I gonna face that dog," I thought to myself.
As I neared the entrance to camp I noticed other small groups of counselors leaving for their early morning run. I wondered how they would fare as they ran past the dog. Curious, I turned around to watch how others reacted to the growling dog. Amazingly these separate two-somes and three-somes just kept jogging -- mostly without missing a step and with little attention to their aggressor. "How can that be?!" I wondered aloud.
Then suddenly it dawned on me. They had kept their eyes on their target destination. Perhaps they glanced at the dog, but most of these runners paid little attention to their aggressor -- and just kept running. "Aha! That's the answer," I thought to myself. "I'll keep my eyes focused on my target destination and I won't even glance at the growling dog." Then a still small voice seem to whisper, "If these people can make it beyond the farmhouse, then so can you! Keep your eyes on your final destination. And ignore the distractions along the way -- including the scary ones."
I resolved to do the same and turned around once more. This time I focused on a distant silo -- my turn-around point -- and began jogging in a slow and steady pace. As you can imagine my heart began beating faster and my palms became sweaty as I approached the farmhouse. I continued to jog toward the silo, then, ever so slowly ran beyond the farmhouse. Steadfastly I jogged forward without looking to the right or the left. My eyes were zeroed in on that silo in the distance. I heard the dog barking as he ran onto this country road. He seemed to jump from my left side to my right side with reckless abandon. "Will I ever get beyond this house?!" my mind screamed. I kept going for what seemed like an eternity.
As quickly as the dog appeared, he disappeared. I kept jogging I reached that silo, then, resolutely began my return home -- instinctively knowing that it would be a little easier this time. My heart still sped up a little and my palms still turned sweaty, but not to the degree that I'd experienced earlier. When I returned to camp I put away my sneakers and didn't run for the rest of the week! Only later did I process and think about this experience. I learned that ...
- It's best to focus on our destination rather than on the scary distractions that can pop-up along the way;
- We learn by watching others walk through difficult situations and scary times;
- Others learn from watching us walk through difficult situations and scary times;
- Courage is a force of will that can be learned;
- And, sometimes a step of faith if necessary to complete one's journey.
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