A blog that I published earlier on Linked In
The stadium was noisy but not full. I could see my family. I was on the track with my bicycle. The referee started giving instructions but I was busy wearing my gear and making final preparations to start off, that I didn't pay attention. I had cycled around this track few times. The organizers had said that they would have something completely different. But, I did not see anything different that day.
The whistle blew and I was first off like a flash. I had left the rest of the participants way behind as I completed the first round and the second. I knew there would be someone to wave the checkered flag to tell me that the race was over. Along the way, I saw my family waving out to me and I waved back. The other participants were just too slow for me. Few rounds and I thought I saw the checkered flag and so stopped at the finish line.
My wife and kids had come closer to the finish line. I was shocked to see them. It was as if they had all grown older. When I started the race, my first child was 5 years old and my second one was 2. They looked as if they were 20 and 17 when I got back. Was something wrong with me? My wife looked older too.
I commented, "I can't understand why these other guys are going so slow? They seem to be more focused on balance, a smile on their face and going slow. Not sure why these organizers have allowed their families to be with them on to the track? Is this the difference they were promising?" Without waiting for a response from my wife, I continued, "Guess what, I fell down few times, got hurt, had to rest as my heart pounded too fast at times and my body is aching all over and I have some chest pain. I need rest and maybe need to go to the doctor."
As I was being rushed to the hospital, my wife said, "Wake up please. The organizers announced that this was a slow cycle race. We were frantically waving at you to read the banner that was up. You didn't pay attention to us. The person who finishes last wins. The person who is happy, has inner peace, has time for his family, etc. wins. It is not about coming first, going fast, not seeing our children grow and spending no time with family. It is definitely not about losing your health in pursuit of that elusive thing called success or winning."
I was jolted out of my slumber. I had run the race wrong. My children had grown older and I had missed not only their childhood but also their teens. I was not by my wife when she struggled to bring up our children. I was not by her when she went through her daily struggles. We were poor people living in the largest mansion. We had all the gadgets that we wanted. We could buy the most expensive of clothes and food. But, we had never found time to sit down as a family and have a meal together. I had spent so much time on conference calls and in the office.
I looked around a bit dazed as I came out of the hospital. The doctors told me that I had a heart problem and high blood pressure. The cholesterol levels were high. I needed to be careful or else it would result in a heart attack. I needed to watch my weight and put more focus on physical fitness. I was advised to slow down and reduce stress levels.
I woke up early in the morning and in all earnestness started my brisk walk. My wife accompanied me. Few minutes in to the walk, we fell silent. There were no common topics of interest and I could not hold a conversation for more than few minutes. It was then that I realized that we had drifted apart mentally and what held us together was the old love and our children. I decided to start working on our relationship. This was the most important relationship in life and there was no way I was going to let go. That walk was the start of a relationship building with one of my oldest friends with whom I had spent years and, now realized, understood little.
I got on to the cycle again. This time, I was more focused on balance and not speed. My wife and children came along with me. I had the old smile (that I always felt was part of my attire) back again. The smile came from within my soul. As I started to pedal, I saw few cycles whiz past me. All I could see were smirks on the riders' faces as they looked at me and wondered why I was cycling so slow and was on the tracks with my family holding my bike!!!.
