Unconventional Wisdom

I was having a nice little birthday walk along the beach today (distinguishable from all my other nice little walks along the beach only because of the date - I do love this corner of the world), idly wondering if I'd learned anything over the past year.

I was almost back to my car when I spotted a flash of green and black, hovering just over the surface of an empty parking lot. It was a kite, and there was a guy on Rollerblades who was trying to get that kite aloft. The fact that there was only the slightest breeze did not deter him. He'd speed across the lot, and the kite would billow and go up, just a little. He'd stop, and it would go down. He'd look at the kite, not the least bit frustrated, and he'd turn around, and head back across the lot, and the kite would fitfully skim over the asphalt as long as he was moving. And then he'd stop and turn around again. He was still at it when I left.

And that's when I realized what I learned this year:

Assuming they're not going to lead to obvious and immediate harm, it's okay to do futile things and make bad decisions. Because if you don't, how do you know you're really alive?

That, and Flash.