Michelin Man

An abundance of colors waved me forward as fluttering yellowish-gold and reddish-orange leaves ensconced the trail.  Stubborn patches of lush green randomly appeared to offer a drenching overload of visual stimulation to an already breathtakingly beautiful high country dirt bike ride.  The flow of the single track carpeted with dew-speckled aspen leaves had pegged my fun meter deeply into the addiction range.  My thirst for adventure was steadily being quenched with every roll of the throttle and twist and turn in the trail.  The crisp fall air interlaced with lingering summer and hints of winter assaulted my senses and forced giggles to erupt spontaneously behind my face shield.  I was having fun.  I was having a lot of fun, right up until I misjudged a hard cut and narrow turn and plowed my left foot into a tree. The pain raced up my leg and immediately overwhelmed me.  My fun factor plummeted to zero.  Initial thoughts cried broken foot, but a few stretches and flexes subdued my worst fears.  Yet, the nerves in my big toe screamed for some attention.  “Maybe just a fractured toe”, I finally surmised.  Riding behind, my son stopped to check on me, but there wasn’t much he could do.  I grimaced as I examined our plight.  We were a long ways from home in the bottom of a deep canyon and my “shifter” foot was begging to be propped up and iced up.  My son asked, “What now?”

I swallowed a couple of Advil and cringed.  “We ride.”

The ride out was tough.  I couldn’t shift very well.  I was hurting.  I couldn’t focus, and I had lost my nerve.  The switchbacks didn’t go well as I proceeded to lay my bike over three more times on the climb out of the canyon.  Finally, after several maddening attempts, I made it to the top.  I was exasperated, pain-challenged, tired, and dirty.  I protested and groaned my complaints loudly.  My son offered some sympathy, and then he casually reminded me of a very important point.  “At least you didn’t let your falls outnumber your get-back-ups.”

This is a picture of a “segmented” or “jointed” saguaro cactus affectionately called “Michelin Man”.  I’m not sure anybody really knows what causes the jointed “Tinkertoy” appearance.  I have heard “experts” say that environmental factors like hard freezes cause cell mutations that force the saguaro arms to stop growing and then start again.  No matter the reason though, it is a fascinating occurrence in nature that doesn’t show up very often.  In fact, the unique character of the “segmented” saguaro keeps it high on the seek-and-find list for many Sonoran desert hikers.  

When I first went looking for “Michelin Man”, I expected my first reaction to be “interesting”.  However, upon experiencing “Michelin Man” first hand, I found myself staring in wide-eyed fascination.  It was much more than interesting.  Personally, I felt like applauding “Michelin Man” and exclaiming “well done” to the Carnegiea gigantea because the mighty cactus exemplified epic persistence.  Whether it was internal or external causes that hindered growth, it was obvious that the cactus simply refused to quit.  Despite factors that pressured it to stop growing, it struggled through the resistance time and time again.  And through it all, it developed a character worthy of visitation that far exceeds most ordinary saguaros.  “Michelin Man” has a character that attracts hikers from all over the world simply because it never gave up.  There is much that can be learned from the persistent desert dweller, “Michelin Man”.

It doesn’t really matter what we do or what we try to achieve.  It doesn’t matter if it’s physical or spiritual.  There will always be outside forces that are going raise their ugly heads and make us want to quit.  There will be naysayers.  There will be critics.  There will be obstacles.  There will be resistance.  Some of it may even be self-inflicted.  Maybe we failed horribly somewhere along the way, and we lost our nerve.  Maybe we experienced pain along the trail.  Maybe we are trapped in a quagmire of self-pity and shame.  Maybe we just lost focus and fell down.  Who cares!  Get back up!  Keep trying!  Keep growing!

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.””

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭15:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Will it be fun making the climb?  Will it be fun pushing through the pain?  Will it be fun trying to grow again?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  People have widely different ideas of fun and most of it depends on each individual’s perspective.  One person’s mountain is another’s motivation.  No matter the enjoyment factor, however, the resistance we meet and feel on our way to the goal will develop some outstanding character as long as we don’t give up!

Although not intentional, James A. Michener described the “Michelin Man” cactus very well when he penned, “Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.”  Notice, in his statement, that character is dependent on multiple tries.  Most of the time, one-and-done will not produce that “special character”. 

I had to admit with a nod of agreement and a little bit of fatherly pride, my son was correct.  It didn’t matter how many times I fell.  It mattered more that my falls didn’t exceed my “get-back-ups”.  In life, physically and spiritually, the only real failure, and the one we must avoid at all costs, is to not get back up.

“No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home.........The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and give it up.”

– C.S. Lewis, in a letter to Mary Neylan, January 20, 1942