The Art of racing in the rain

To keep my mind off of life I have been doing a lot of reading. I used to read all the time. My family used to get upset with me because when we would go out to dinner or do any family activity I would have a large book shoved in my face and refuse to converse. When I am in a book I am IN a book. It's my way of traveling without leaving the farm. I was reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. I'm not going to reveal anything about this book except that I thought it was wonderful. Very refreshing. But there was one part of this book that truly stuck out to me. It is the main character, Enzo (who is a dog), who is speaking about race car driving. Intrigued? I hope so.

Enzo says, "Ideally, a driver is a master of all the is around him, Denny says. Ideally, a driver controls the car so completely that he corrects a spin before it happens, he anticipates all possibilities. But we don't live in an ideal world. in out world, surprises sometimes happen, mistakes happen, incidents with other drivers happen, and a driver must react."

 I know this feeling all too well. Trying to be proactive. Planning ahead to avoid any complications and it's people like this, like me, that take "surprises," "accidents," and "mistakes" the hardest. There are so many things in my life I was not ready for. I must have been blinded by the sun because I saw none of this coming.Yet, Enzo continues...

"Alas! Our driver is not where he had hoped to be! Yet he is still in control of his car. He is still able to act in a positive manner. He still can create an ending to his story in which he completes the race without incident. And perhaps, if his manifesting is good, he will win."

Though I wasn't prepared, I still have a chance to finish my race here, to create an ending to my story. I will be honest. I wanted to rush my ending. I wanted it now, I wanted to be finished with my race. I was out of steam. Yet this charming, wise dog, a character in a book, laid it out for me. I am not where I thought I was going to be, but I can still regain control and finish the race. And I can win.