Becoming Her

I’m still recovering from surgery. Slowly but surely, movement gets a little easier each day, and normalcy feels like it’s inching closer. But I’ve spent a lot of time indoors lately. This morning, I felt the call to get outside, stretch my legs, and breathe in some inspiration. Nature always seems to have a way of speaking to me. So I set out for a stroll at the park.

I didn’t have to wait long.

I was sitting on a park bench, soaking in the sunshine, when a man and his dog walked by. The dog was precious! Terrier of some kind I believe, caramel and white with the gentlest eyes. He trotted right up to me, tail wagging, as if he already knew me. The man smiled and introduced him: “This is Radley… Radley the Wonder Dog. Well, actually, Radley the three-legged Wonder Dog.” Radley had been in an accident as a puppy and lost one of his legs. His owner told me that the vet insisted the whole leg be removed so Radley could adjust, adapt, and move forward as if it had never been there. And wouldn’t you know it? That’s exactly what Radley did. As I watched him happily prance away, grinning from ear to ear, I couldn’t help but smile back.

And then it hit me.

There are things in life we keep trying to hang on to, as if they’ll somehow regrow or return. Old hurts, old habits, old versions of ourselves. But instead of helping us, they keep us limping, holding us back from moving freely. Sometimes, we have to release them completely. Not just trim them down, not keep them tucked away..remove them altogether. Only then can we learn to walk forward in true freedom. Sure, we might stumble from time to time. We may still carry scars. But those scars are proof of our resilience, not reminders of our weakness. Radley didn’t spend his life wishing for the leg he lost. He adjusted. He ran. He grinned. He lived!

And from now on, whenever I feel the weight of something I need to let go of, I’ll remember Radley, the three-legged, grinning Wonder Dog who showed me what true freedom looks like.