What the Dragonfly Can Teach Us About Life

Yesterday, in Rock Hall, Maryland, I took part in my first triathlon. My friend Rachel has been after me for a long time to try a tri. I think I finally convinced her I don't do swimming or biking - pretty central to the triathlon - so she introduced the idea of joining her on a tri relay team - where I could simply do what I do do: run.

Yesterday, as our team was standing in the bike transition area, a fairly busy place to be on triathlon morning I discovered, a dragonfly buzzed by us and then settled on the wheel of a nearby bike. And it just sat there, calm, in the midst of chaos.
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This morning I read this about the dragonfly:

In almost every part of the world, the Dragonfly symbolizes change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization.

I didn't realize how prohpetic that dragonfly sighting would end up being. I've decided the dragonfly should be the official mascot of the entire triathlete nation.

I watched in awe yesterday as athletes who were indeed running this triathlon event solo - who were, in addition to running, doing the swimming and biking I so firmly stand against, showed just how dragonfly-ish they are.

I watched these athletes emerge from the open body of water where they'd just swam nearly a mile, "change" into their biking gear, "transform" themselves into 26-mile bikers and then eventually into runners who kicked out a final 10K sprint to the finish. I watched them "adapt" to each new element that came with each new environment. And I watched as many crossed the finish line with all new realizations - or maybe just much needed reminders - about their own personal strength.

I didn't walk away from my first tri experience drawn any closer to wanting to experience my own solo tri - but I did walk away energized by how far we can push these minds and bodies of ours when we commit to it. Sometimes stepping into someone else's world can fuel passion and desire to excel in our own. 

The dragonfly has such a short life - anywhere from 1 to 6 months. A very small portion of that life is spent flying around landing on bike wheels. I think that dragonfly sat there yesterday making the most of the time it had - soaking in the beauty of the moment. Stepping into someone else's world taking everything away from it possibly could.