Fly Me Courageous

I think, regardless of religious or philosophical beliefs, a lot of people like to believe that things happen for a reason.  It's debatable, of course, but anyone who has taken a philosophy class in college knows where that debate leads.  It starts here, leads to free will and before you know it, you're trying to defeat the argument that you don't actually exist; you're just a brain in a vat hooked up to a super computer and everything is an illusion created by the computer.  Yes, mom and dad, some of your hard-earned money you spent on my education went toward a philosophy class where I was unable to prove I even exist.  I still haven't decided if I actually exist, but I have decided that philosophy isn't for me (or perhaps the super computer made that decision for me).

Whether or not things happen for a reason, I do not know, but I do know that we tend to believe things happen for a reason when bad things happen.  When good things happen, we don't credit the universe.  We take the credit ourselves. 

"I got fired today."

"Things happen for a reason.  It was time for you to move on to a better job."

No one ever says that the "reason" that happened was because you sucked at your job. It's the universe making your life better by making it suck for a while.  It's all part of the master plan and was clearly out of your control.

"I got a promotion today."

"Looks like all the hard work is paying off."

We also talk about things happening for a reason when there's a coincidence because the human race, I have concluded, is incapable of accepting that coincidences are possible.  Nothing is a coincidence; it happened for a reason.

I mention this not because I got fired (it's not time to move on to a better job yet apparently), but because someone gave me wings.  Logic tells me this is just a coincidence and means absolutely nothing. 

I haven't been feeling the best the past few days because I've been ignoring the 'beach closed due to high e-coli' warnings and swimming anyway.  I've done some hard intervals where I accidentally swallowed some water and have paid the price.  What this means is that I started my long workout Saturday a little dehydrated. 

Do not start a 112 mile bike ride dehydrated.  It only gets worse, and eventually your headache that started at mile 20 turns into blurry vision and then you find yourself laying down at a gas station at mile 80 thinking death is a better option than finishing your ride.  But I finished - somehow - and felt so run down at the end that I wondered if death was in fact the better option.

Swim in a closed beach - drink the water - get diarrhea - get dehydrated - have a horrible workout. Things happen for a reason.  What I should have been given was a brain.

But I was given wings instead.

Here are my wings someone put under my windshield wiper:

It says I should take it home and then log on and tell them where I received my wings and if I'm an organ donor.  I'm sure it's a direct result of the Transplant Games being in Madison this weekend and has no real meaning at all (nor can I figure out what it could possibly mean - again, need that brain unless, of course, I am a brain).  But it's interesting that I was given this on a day that I really needed some wings (the brain - that I needed a few days ago).

I hate to admit it, but the first thing I thought of when I read that I was given wings was that Red Bull also gives you wings.  If someone had put a Red Bull under my windshield wiper I would also be posting about how I was given wings.

Since I had a terrible workout (one of my worst ever, actually) and was left feeling completely discouraged, I choose to believe I was given wings for a reason.  It's not a coincidence, because those don't exist.  It's the universe giving me something I need at a time that I need it. 

I was given wings, so tomorrow we will see if I can fly.

By the way, I'm also an organ donor.  Someone with the Transplant gGames gave me something I needed at a time I needed it, so when I get run over by a truck on a bike ride I'll be able to return the favor by giving someone else something they need when they need it.  I can't help but feel I drew the short straw on this deal, but I'll have to see what kind of super powers these wings give me before I make the final call.