Life with Siberian Huskies
The Journey is more important than the destination
Immigrant Song:
Immigrant Song:
I offer you two photos to consider. They are in fact worlds apart to those who do not see. What in the world does a stack of wood, and a team of sleddogs have in common?
Beauty can be found in many places, a clear blue mountain stream, or a sunset that takes your breath away. So many things that most people realize as beautiful. But there is much more to behold if you look.
I ask you to look beyond the obvious, and find the beauty of life that surrounds us.
This stack of wood was hand carried by a crew I hired to take down a huge oak tree before the hurricane hit. It was leaning and probably would hit my house if the winds pushed it. They were Mexican workers, men with families, with hopes and dreams for a better life.
They took down this tree and they carried each of those huge heavy blocks of oak on their backs, and stacked it nicely for me to split. They did this for $250 dollars each for a day’s work. They were polite, and respectful regardless of the huge job they undertook.
$250 dollars in Virginia will not take you far, but to them it was life. They worked hard to please me for that money, because they needed it to help them survive.
I find beauty in many things and this was one of them, because I applaud excellence, hard work, and giving the best you can, no matter what that task is before you. There is beauty in the struggle of life, and there is beauty in anything that anyone does to the best of their ability.
You have to appreciate talent, no matter if its stacking wood or singing a song. Everyone has their own talents and that is what makes this country great. A combination of different skills that together becomes greater than the sum of the individuals.
This is exemplified in the dogs that run races all over the world. The Iditarod is the best known, but in many places, the dogs’ and people that race are unknown. It doesn’t matter because they strive for excellence and they do their best. Just like these men that cut down my tree and stacked my wood.
I don’t want criminals to invade this country but I would welcome hardworking souls of any race who struggle to make their lives better. I appreciate hard work and I’ve done my own share of it to know that it matters…a lot. Freeloaders and crooks…not so much.
There is beauty in teamwork like the dogs pulling a sled. They work hard and they work as a team to accomplish what they set out to do. The “why” they do it is not as important as the journey and the struggle. They accomplish something or they don’t, but trying is what makes the world a better place.
Look around you in your daily life and you may find a lot more beauty than you thought possible. It’s all around us in everyday life…the struggle, the triumphs and failures that makes up our own lives.
General George S. Patton said, “If a man gives his all…what else is there?”
If we all give our all no matter what we do, the team will succeed and maybe fail, but the fact is we did it together and there is a greater chance of success when we all work together.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and there is a lot to see if you look past the obvious.
TJ
Life with Siberian Huskies 