I scream from my seat in movie theaters when someone jumps out. In my house growing up, my mom’s & my startle-reflex would make an energetic appearance when we’d accidentally perfectly time an encounter at a corner; we’d do micro-burst screams, one right after the other, exhausting ourselves in unison.

To start off our morning cycling in Cuba, we made our first stop at a government run ration shop to learn about how things work here. They were weighing and doling out the monthly portions of rice, sugar, garbanzo beans, eggs, salt, coffee, soap, and toothpaste to the folks on the block. Beyond the rations, there are small stores that sell staples and a few snacks with standing room only. We learned that a surgeon makes only $50-$100/month, and within the last few years, a carton of 30 eggs was $8 and now is $12. At a few meals that we had with the tour group, yellow mustard was thinly drizzled across the plate to make it look fancy. At one walk-up window restaurant, of the 10 different $2 sandwiches they had on the wall menu, only tuna was available.  The food shortage here is real.

After a biking a few more miles, we met up with a few fishermen who were scaling freshly caught fish with fork. Red snapper, swordfish, hogfish and barracuda. Everywhere we go, I see demonstrations of resourcefulness and resilience.

Continuing on from the city to coast to countryside, we neared our final destination and were peddling on autopilot. As we passed countless mango trees and horse-drawn wagons, without warning, a shoelace got wrapped around gears. Suddenly and silently, our entangled companion who was leading the pack started to go down, and two others in front of me tried to manage a dodge. This is when, after a lifetime of cursing my loud startle-response to sudden movements, I discovered that my uncontrollable scream could actually be a blessing. Without thinking or any filter, I let out a startling scream as I slammed on my brakes and swerved. This allowed the gaggle of bikers just inches behind me to be alerted. Everyone was able to stop with enough time to not create a pileup of spokes & sweaty bodies. All was well. Sometimes resilience comes in the form of a reframe, and I now see my scream as a gift. 😊