Spokes

Spokes

By John W. Vander Velden

 

 

Even the spokes of a bicycle wheel have their purpose.

We might think the most important part of a bicycle wheel is the tire.  Those of us that have had to deal with flats might agree.  It is the obvious…you know… “where the rubber meets the road”.  The tire seems important.  Life is like that.  There are people that we notice, important people.  How easily we overlook all the others as we categorize the populace.  But if I were to go the store and buy a bicycle tire…just the tire…how far would that take me?  For the tire would be nothing without the tube inside to hold the air.  And the tire and tube would be of little value without a rim to mount it on.  It becomes a “this bone is connected to that bone” kinda’ thing doesn’t it?

That’s the point.  Every part of a bicycle has its purpose…even something as simple as the spoke.  And though I have ridden a bike with a broken spoke, the wobble in that front wheel proved that the loss of even one spoke mattered.

If each spoke matters to a mechanism like a bicycle, doesn’t each person matter to the greater mechanism, the human race?

Life sweeps us along, and we do not notice our place in that grand piece of machinery.  We do our jobs, take care of our families, pay our taxes, just live, and by doing so never recognize our contribution to the larger picture.  We are like bicycle spokes…perhaps unnoticed, but vital.  Each of us has a unique purpose, a purpose that only one person can fill.  Each of us must find what that purpose is…at this particular time.  For our purpose changes during this journey we call life, and we need to accept those changes in order to move ever forward.  We need to recognize our place, not only in our small portion of the world, but in the larger community.  For our purpose must be greater than our own household, our own friends and family.  For we are the spoke and the wheel needs us, and the wheel is but part of the whole world and all that fill it.  Each has a purpose, a need that only that person can fill.

(382 Words)  3-25-2017