It is said that hindsight is 20/20. That saying sums up what I have learned in my life about Gratitude. So many times I cursed my “misfortune” only to learn in the long run it was a Blessing in disguise. My early life was marked with defeat and frustration about being unable to be successful in any sport. I so wanted to be a success in junior and senior high school to come out of my shell. I envied anyone who was a success as an athlete even if they were only on a team. That is something I could never accomplish except being a wrestler my final year of junior high school. There was one reason, they did not cut anybody. If they did, you will never guess who would have been one of the first cuts.

In college I acquired a love for running that all too quickly turned into slow agonizing realization that my runner’s knee and Achilles tendon weakness would not allow me to run. My dream to be a runner did not go quietly into the night. I went to a host of doctors, read a lot on the subject and talked to a ton of folks hoping to get me information that would let me run. Although the outcome was about ten years of failure that ended with me abandoning running, I learned how to deal with injuries and doctors and other medical professionals. The education I gained has helped me deal with more important health issues a few decades later such as my personal heart trouble and cancer. I have conquered both and look to a bright future with such joy and of course Gratitude.

My running failure was really a total success because it led to my discovery of my passion for endurance sports. From the early 1980’s to December 2007 I fell in love with swimming and cycling. From the deep frustration of not being able to be a runner, every swim and ride became a source for celebration. For the first time in my life I had a swagger as an athlete. People started admiring my commitment to lead a healthy life style and how much I loved doing it. So many times I heard, “Roy your passion is so inspiring.” In a few cases family and friends actually started to exercise with me as an inspiration.

A few times I would talk to former successful youth athletes who admitted being out of shape. They knew they should do something but endurance sports lacked the competitive fire they knew in their youth. Sadly they could not bring themselves to just exercise for the sake of exercising. In all too many instances they suffered the effects of injuries that would prevent them from doing what I was doing.

It is with great pride that I say that gloating over former superstar athletes something I wish I could have done brought me absolutely no joy of “revenge” or anything like it. I am sad for their plight and so wish I could in some way help them to feel like successful athletes again. It has brought me such a happy feeling of Gratitude. My failures of my youth make my successes today such a source of joy today. Dealing with health issues and overcoming them make me feel like a winner when losing is not an option.

May you and your loved ones be Blessed with the Gift of trust to see all challenging situations through to find the good in situations that appear to be bad.