Gary Miller ~ outdoortruths.org

Many times when I pick up my bow, I’m reminded of my first shotgun purchase as a sixteen year old. I’ve often said that I went into that store as a boy and left feeling like a man. My bow gives me an equal amount of manly pleasure. It’s not that I feel overtly prideful; it’s more about being able to use this complex and even quirky piece of equipment in the pursuit of deer. The bow is a hunting tool like no other. It’s made up of many different parts and accessories that must work in perfect harmony in order to perform properly. Each part must be synchronized with the other. Even though the bow itself is the main element, without lesser components like the sights and the rest, it cannot do the job. The bow also usually costs several hundred dollars more than the other additions, but once again, without these additions it might as well be on the shelf. There have been many pictures taken of a hunter and his bow as he or she stands over their game, but no one ever holds up a peep sight inferring that it was this tiny piece of equipment that was the reason for success.
The truth remains that those in the limelight would not be in the limelight without someone sitting behind said light and turning it on. It’s the idiot who claims that he picked himself up by his own bootstraps without giving recognition to that gifted individual who put those bootstraps in the perfect place to be tugged upon. I guess what my bow reminds me of is the need for humility and harmony. A humility that recognizes the need and worth of others will have harmony and success. But a prideful and self-centered individual’s pursuit will only end in humility. Each time I travel to hunt, I check my bow before I go into the woods. I’m not looking for cracked limbs or risers. I’m looking for one of those accessories that may have jarred loose from the trip. Without them, I will miss.
This week make sure that you encourage those who help you perform. And if you are one of those individuals that serve behind the scenes, you are what make the rest of us hit what we’re aiming for.