Arms Raised in a "V"

It was an early spring day, mid-morning. It was cloudy, it was a grey sky with a little mist in it, and it was cold, but not the kind of cold that keeps you inside, sipping hot chocolate and dreaming about summer. It was wearing gloves to keep your hands warm and everything else will be warm enough if your hands are warm kind of cold.

But this isn’t about the cold or that wistful hint of warmth in the wind. It’s about a simple act of encouragement from a stranger.

I hate running but I need to exercise and I like being outside, so out I went on that cold day to go for a short run. A short run is one long enough to make me sweat a little and make me feel like I at least tried to do something, but one not so long that I actually accomplish much in the way of physical fitness.

Off I go, I walk and then I start to run through a neighborhood in my suburb where there are no sidewalks and I’m in the street, going along, looking at the brown lawns of winter. I make it two blocks when I’m feeling tired mentally and my shins begin to hurt. I want to stop running and just walk, but as I turn a corner, there’s a man of some years coming out of his garage and walking slowly with a stoop but with a determined step. He is a few houses down from where I am. He raises his arms in a “V.” “Good for you,” he shouts, “you keep going!”

I smile and wave and say good morning as I pass. I keep running. The encouragement of a stranger with nothing invested in your well being is a magnificent thing. It buoys the spirit. You don’t feel alone.

I kept running. At least I did until I knew I was out of sight of my cheerleader and then I slowed to a walk. I walked the rest of the way home. I probably should have run some more. Still, I appreciate his effort on my behalf. I did run more than I would have if he hadn’t been there.

Random encouragement is a good thing, to give and to receive. It energizes the receiver, and perhaps the giver as well.