Reflections
November 9, 2008 at 6:27 am | Posted in Encouragement, friends, Happiness, health, running | Leave a comment“True intelligence operates silently. Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.” – Eckhart Tolle, Stillness Speaks. p. 7.
Recent changes in my life have caused me to stop and quietly focus on what’s important. Just thought that I’d share some of my realizations.
1.) Family should always be first. Is there anything more precious in this world than children? My daughter, my son, and my mother are three of the most wonderful human beings I am priviledged to know. I need to keep them number one in my life, no matter who else or what else enter.
2.) Joy is to be embraced. There will be times in my life (and in yours, too) when I’ll be on a mountain top. But there will also be valleys filled with pain and sadness. It’s okay to acknowledge hurt; in fact, it’s healthy. But I must make that short-lived and move on to joy. Joy comes from accepting what the universe gives me, from loving myself, from engaging in activites i love, from cherishing friends and family, from being present. Embracing joy is the greatest gift I can give myself.
3.) My friends really and truly love me. There are few things better than girlfriends. I need to thank my dear sisters who have stood by my side recently and shown me so much love. Thank you, Karin, Carolyn, Amy, Kathy, Molly, Lisa, Karen, Margaret, Ellen. I love you all.
4.) Running brings solace and releases endorphines that seem to make everything all right with the world if only for a few hours. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, I LOVE TO RUN! When I run, I feel like I’m free. It really doesn’t matter how fast I run, I just love the feeling of sweating and hearing my feet hit the pavement. What a high!
5.) Cross training can be very satisfying and is very necessary. One of my goals for 2009 is to complete my first triathlon. However, I need to swim and bike in order to due that. I’m really enjoying spin class and I just recently bought new pedals for my bike and shoes so that I can clip in and ride more efficiently. Tomorrow I’m signing up for swim lessons and then I’ll join a swim class. It’s refreshing to add new sports to my routine.
6.) No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place. Every single person who enters my life is there to teach me something. It may take years for me to really understand the lesson(s). However, sometimes I know immediately what I am to learn.
7.) Although it may be difficult, it is so good for the soul to send love and light to someone who has hurt us or is hurting. The last thing I want is to be a bitter person who holds grudges. Therefore, I will continue to send love and light to those who’ve injured me in some way.
8.) Become passionate about a cause. If you’ve read my blog for a half a minute, you know that I’m passionate about running and yoga. What you don’t know is my passion for young people. Being a teacher is such a priviledge. I sincerely love my students and pray that they will be happy, healthy, well-adjusted teenagers.
9.) Have a goal. Dream about it. Envision yourself achieving it. Work toward it. Succeed! Enough said.
10.) Clean your house. Clean your spiritual house, your soul, that is. Take note of your fears, your insecurities, your hurt. Acknowledge those things, see them, feel them. Then, put them in a box and dump each box on the curb.
Above all, love yourself! Truly, you can’t love another until you love who you are.
Love Yourself, Baby
May 5, 2008 at 4:21 am | Posted in Encouragement, friends, health | Leave a comment“Love yourself, baby!” is what my friend, Loren, said as she left my home today at the conclusion of bookclub. Three powerful words that seem to be my mantra these days. I’m trying, Loren, really I am. But what does that mean? How does one truly love themselves without being a selfish, self-centered ass?
I’ve never written about my bookclub. Four years ago, several of my athletic, highly literate friends and I decided to start a bookclub. Once a month we meet to discuss our latest selection. (In case you’re wondering, we all take turns selecting a book.) We’ve read some excellent, excellent books and some absolutely terrible ones. Our discussions are always lively and insightful and even heated at times. Really, it’s an excuse for those of us who live on the eastside of town to get together with the westsiders and drink wine, eat, laugh, talk about books. GREAT FUN!
I always look forward to entertaining my friends when it’s my turn to host. I love to spoil them with delicious treats and excellent wine. Today I did put out some excellent food, but it was my friends who spoiled me. They each walked in with a favorite bottle of wine (all white as they know I don’t drink red), gifts for my birthday, big bear hugs, and kind sentiments. A few even teared up when they hugged me and said, “I love you and I’m so glad I can hug you.” (Guess they were all very concerned about my health.)
Although I live alone I’m really never alone. I know that I have many, many wonderful friends who love me very sincerely and want me to treat myself with a little more tenderness. Thank you, dear hearts, for loving me. You know that each of you holds a very special place in my heart. Yes, Loren, I will love myself but you must promise to do the same.
Angels
January 31, 2008 at 3:28 pm | Posted in Encouragement, friends, Racing | 1 Comment
The beauty of running is that it is truly a sport in which you are competing against one: yourself. With each race we enter, we nearly always have a goal of setting a personal record for that distance. Admittedly, there are times when we just race for the heck of it or because it’s a tradition or just to see friends. For many of us who fit the category of the “competitive recreational runner”, however, we often find ourselves competing with others in our age group. Friendly, spirited competition that more often than not, winds up in collegiality and friendship.
Truly, runners are an amazing collection of people. Even the most competitive cheers on and celebrates the efforts of others and recognizes when milestones are achieved and personal records are set. But during a race, it is unusual for another runner to attempt to assist someone in their age group with whom they are somewhat competitive. However, last Saturday at a very challenging race I had two angels help me.
If you’ve read my posts, you know that I’ve had a very rough few months battling injuries, severe intestinal trouble and other personal issues I haven’t shared. Admittedly, it is easy to lose speed, resulting in poor race times and a bit of the blues. Feeling much better and wanting to run one of the most challenging 10k-ish runs in Rochester (it’s actually 6.385 miles) I ventured out for Powder Mills Park.
At the start of the race I told myself just to take it easy and use the race as a training run. After the first couple of rolling hills I remember that the monster hills were yet to come and I needed to conserve my energy. So, I started to walk up a rather long hill when two very kind women came up from behind me and said, “Come on!”
That’s all I needed – a little encouragement. Together we ran the rest of the race (well, we mostly ran together). In my entire racing career I’ve never encountered another female in my age group who would be so kind and so helpful.
This experience renewed my faith in humanity. Simply put, it was one of my best running moments ever. So, thank you, Karin and Pam. Now it’s my turn to pay it forward!
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