The Request

Dear Wild Runner,

I do not hate you and never could. There is a grace and beauty to you that is so rare. Beneath that chameleon-like surface where toughness and gentleness dance in such a strange duet, I see a soul so restless and anxious to rise beyond what is going on around you but unable to do so due to the circumstances currently going on in your life. I have heard in your voice that yearning for more than just what you have. If I possessed the power, I would unshackle you and set you free to fly beyond this claustrophobic place.

But, Wild Runner, I cannot do so. Instead I am required to watch you make your choices and actions in life and see what consequences do follow. So it is always my hope that happiness, joy, wisdom, peace, and fulfillment are what follow you even if after time. Some day the pain will end, as I do hope it does. Some day you will have answers to some of your questions, as I also do hope. Such tragedy that now exists within your heart, played out upon the stage of Life, is truly a comedy in the making that will bring tears of relief and joy...someday.

When I watch you stand side by side him, I cannot help but feel the measure of your strength. You are at your greatest when you are with others. It is felt in the warmth you possess and that instinctual ability to help others. I feel it so easily like that of a gentle rain that warms the earth and brings laughter and delight from all those that pause to take notice of such a blessing. Your smile, singing, laughter, and even shouts always elicit a smile in return from me.

From the moment I first met you, I could sense the fragility of your soul as it fought to become whole and complete, certain and sure amidst the chaos and uncertainty of this life. I felt it in your words, deeds, and concern for those around you.

Where will you wander as the days go by? Where will you run to when you can no longer escape the pains of life? Yes, I see so much more pain in the days to come. You seek escape from the very events that make us strong and sure in this life. Run no more from it, Wild Runner. Cannot you harness your many great and varied abilities into overcoming the stresses in your life?

I love you, pure and simple. I feel I have caught a glimpse of your heart and have seen so much goodness and gentleness within you. I cannot help but confess a fear of that goodness and gentleness being snuffed out by the natural progression of life and its indifference to all that walks its paths. Hold on to what makes you beautiful. I beg you to do so and do so quickly. If I were to somehow lose you, it would fracture this poor heart of mine for a long time to come, if not indefinitely. Yet I do not ask for you to do so out of some selfish need to make me rest easy. I ask because I can guess at how of a blessing you be in the lives of all those you come in contact with.

For how could you not be a blessing to the people around you? Thank you for entering into my life only a short number of months ago when winter yielded to spring. Thank you for undoing the knot of tension that existed within my heart and gave release to so much of my own pain. Let us share a friendship beyond these days of spring and summer and far beyond into the dark seasons ahead and beyond them to for many, many cycles to come that make up Life.

Love,
Your Friend