Thoughts on Seabiscuit: There's Something Worse than a Bad Leg

As Seabiscuit was returning to racing form, there was much concern and question as to whether Red Pollard would be ready to ride.  Both the horse and the jockey had suffered serious injuries, but Pollard's leg was beyond serious.  No doctor would even consider releasing him to ever ride another horse, much less race one.  Howard (the owner), Smith (the trainer), and even Pollard himself knew that any kind of fall or collision would cripple the jockey. Yet, Pollard would not take no for an answer. He wanted more than anything to race and win with Seabiscuit.

As Howard struggled with his decision, he spoke with Pollard's friend, journalist David Alexander.  During their conversation, Alexander asked Howard what his plans were for the race.

"'If Red breaks that leg again,' Howard said soberly, 'it will cripple him for life.'

Alexander told him that maybe it was better to break a man's leg than his heart" (366).

Pollard would ride and win the race.

This reminds me an old truth:
The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, But as for a broken spirit who can bear it?  (Proverbs 18:14)

Handle people's hearts and dreams carefully.

My List of Least Favorite People (Warning: This Might Be Offensive)

I must warn you before you read any further: You may find this post offensive.

If you were asked to make a list of 5 or 10 of your least favorite people, would you consider it a challenging task, or would names fly left and right?  Would the names on your list be celebrities, co-workers, relatives, or bosses and politicians?  Do you already have a mental list in a downloadable format...on standby just in case someone asks or mentions a name on your list?

Like everyone else, I have struggled in life with bitterness, a judgmental attitude, and down-right jealousy. In those moments of clarity (few and far-between), I have realized that the people who most annoy me, irritate me, or just rub me the wrong way, are often more like me than I want to admit.  Hardly anyone thinks he or she is perfect, and most of us are quick to admit that we have plenty of shortcomings; however, we seldom identify our flaws.  I want to suggest that when you and I see our flaws in other people, they drive us crazy. We want to stamp out the arrogance in her or fix the clumsiness in him or thump that person for a lack of compassion... We want to pass judgment on the faults in others because those very faults live in us.  Far too often, though, we fail to see them in ourselves.  

So here's the tough part of this post-- go back through your list of least favorite people. Once you discern why each person is on your list, ask the hard question:  Do I struggle with the same issues that landed them on my list? 

If we can work on overcoming the issues we struggle with, we will find other people much more bearable. In the history of mankind, there has only been one perfect life lived.  The owner of that life taught that we should love people-- yes, even the people who remind us of our own flaws.  

Give it a try!

25 Posts

My wife challenged me to set a goal for my blog.  So here it is:
I am going to try for 25 blog posts in the month of March.  Expecting this will be tougher than it seems.