Enter the ring of life: A personal reflection.

For many people in the stands, it would be another Wednesday afternoon bullfight. However, this
show was to be different. The bull decided to escape the arena and hopped into the stands...much to the horror of those present. The bull's mission was a success; it escaped to live another day.

Now before I go on further into this story, I want to explain a few things. This is not a blog about animal cruelty or tragedy in arenas. The purpose is to use this as a metaphor to explain something deeper, if I may say so. Many of us are like the bulls in the arena of life. We are all fighting to move on or to just survive in this crazy world. However, sometimes we feel that before we could completely tackle one problem...BAM! We're hit by another problem.

Bullfighters don't fight the bull alone, as a matter of fact they are usually assisted by other "Matadores" to distract the bull and weaken it enough so that the "Torero" can deliver the final blow. This sounds cruel and gruesome, and it is. Nevertheless, the same idea applies to our lives. Many times we find ourselves like the bull. cornered, stabbed from many directions and weakened by life's trails and tribulations only to be given that final blow of defeat. And thus give the spectators (our critics, enemies and in some cases even our own family) the satisfaction of seeing us fall.

Nature has an interesting way of teaching us new things. It chooses places, events or creatures to send a powerful message to those who are willing to listen. Today's instructor: The bull.
this creature has done what many spectators never expect the bull to do; escape. Rather than stay distracted and weakened until its "inevitable doom" it began to run for a way out of its problem. Now this may seem like nothing at first, but consider the fact that bull's feet are not exactly made for climbing. Its body is not one to gracefully climb and jump away, yet, this creature pulled it off.

How many of us (myself included)zero in on our own problems and forget to see the big picture. Many times we feel desperate and are so bombarded by our problems that we fail to see that escape route, much less attempt it. If a bull with a body not built for climbing can escape a bullfight...how much more can human beings accomplish?!

I hope this little reflection inspires and helps many who like me are going through tough times, especially in this uncertain global economy.

Juan