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Posts from the ‘Health’ Category

Sep 10

19 Comments

12561

“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” – Pope John XXIII

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” – Pope John XXIII

My race packet for the Twin Cities Marathon came in the mail yesterday – 12561 – my race number. Reality – three weeks away from the marathon. Numbers start running through my head…

  • 18 weeks of training
  • 3 pairs of shoes
  • 523 miles to get to the 26.2 miles start line
  • 60 hour work weeks
  • 95 degree runs
  • 48 years old
  • 20 miler this weekend – the last long run before “game” day

If I would have added those numbers up before I started, I may not have started. The bottom line – I’ve gotten from week 1 to week 18, one run, one mile at a time. Running when I didn’t feel like it. Starting at 5:30 am on Saturday mornings.

We achieve our “marathons” in life one day at a time, doing the work, staying the course with discipline, visualizing the finish line, carried through by prayers and the support of friends and family. It all adds up. And when we not only to dare to dream big, but we dare to do the work over and over again, we’ve won the race before we started. I won’t be the fastest, but I’m going the distance. 12561 – there’s a lot behind that number.

Sep 8

9 Comments

A Fresh Coat of Paint

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.” – Paul Valery

We often put off our goals and dreams, waiting for just the right time, when we’re not busy, when the stars align. Next week, next month, someday soon.  Instead of a “fresh coat of paint,” we convince ourselves that we need a complete remodel.

Overwhelmed by complexity we create, we freeze waiting for the perfect circumstances, that never come. There will always be an excuse or reason not to begin our life, to dream, to move. The secret is there are no shortcuts. One step, a simple change begins the journey. Start. Move. That’s it. Just start and then keep moving to gain momentum. Push until you are naturally pulled.

Do one thing different tomorrow. Talk to someone new. Take a walk and run a few steps. Read five pages of one of the many unfinished books on your bookshelf. Unplug from your phone. Get that brush out and start painting your life, one beautiful stroke at a time.

Sep 2

10 Comments

Five Times, Three Lessons

“One is, we should never ever give up. Two is, you’re never too old to chase your dreams. Three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it’s a team.” – Diana Nyad

On her fifth try, 64-year-old Diana Nyad made history today as the first swimmer to swim without a shark cage from Cuba to Florida, 110 miles. What an awesome model on how to live and a reminder that we must keep trying and never let our circumstances defeat our spirit. A refreshing and deserving hero who stayed in the game, proving that our losses are only final if we give up. Victory is the last word for those who keep getting up when knocked down. Dreaming, no matter our age, combined with hard work wins the day.

So today is a celebration of resolve, resilience, persistence, drive, dreaming, focus, teamwork and living life like it’s the only one we have – because it is.

Aug 18

4 Comments

Work Works

“All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller

Since June, I’ve been training for the Twin Cities Marathon in October, my second marathon. Pain in my arches and tight calves have made the training challenging at times. With shoe inserts and foot exercises, it’s been getting better each day. Yesterday, I ran 18 miles and felt great, even today. Following the training plan, doing foot exercises, yoga and massage has helped me get stronger over time. Yesterday, when I went to get new shoes and a gait analysis, I got new lighter shoes and no need for inserts. Putting in the mileage mixed with rest has paid off.

Progress is made in steps but made visible in miles. The mix of struggle, frustration, effort and consistency produces resilience, endurance and results. Work works.

Today I thought of the quote from Ernest Hemingway’s  The Sun Also Rises – “How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” I think this applies to both loss and gain. Each day, what we do or don’t do leads us either to loss or gain, gradually, then suddenly. So get to work on your life, relationships, goals, dreams every single day and suddenly it will pay off. Enjoy each step, put yourself completely into the journey and the destination will arrive.

“Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts inevitably bring about right results.” – James Allen

“Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts inevitably bring about right results.” – James Allen

Aug 7

The Mirage

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Exhausted from another long day of many lately, I glanced at Psalm 23 that’s posted on my refrigerator next to an array of favorite photos and quotes. The dichotomy of “through the valley of the shadow of death” and “my cup runneth over” hit me.

Worn and weary, we see the shadows more than the overflowing cup. Parched in the desert, our cup is empty. That’s the mirage. Our cup is overflowing when we lie down in green pastures and beside still waters near our oasis of blessings with a renewed gratitude. My cup runneth over. The mirage is the desert.

Aug 3

4 Comments

Plop

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” – Guillaume Apollinaire

A few miles in to our daily run or our walk to visit the neighborhood chickens, Lily strays off the path to plop in a patch of grass for a momentary rest. Molly patiently waits by her side until she’s ready to move on. They take in the moment. The moment is enough.

Pause each day and plop long enough to rest, reflect and ready yourself for those next steps. Accept and appreciate the joy to be found in each moment.

“The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach

“The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach

“Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies.” – Erich Fromm

Jul 24

2 Comments

Easy Rider

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.  May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.”   – Edward Abbey

When we least expect it, the unexpected jumps in our path to break our patterns. Look around and see the simple and fun surprises in our midst. Don’t straighten everything out. No need to figure or fix. Just go for a ride and delight in the view. Sometimes, easy does it.

"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere." - Dr. Seuss

“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” – Dr. Seuss

Jul 12

4 Comments

Seize

“Lose not yourself in a far off time, seize the moment that is thine.”- Friedrich Schiller

“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions - the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look or heartfelt compliment.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions – the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look or heartfelt compliment.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Today is yours to define. We are so much more than our problems. A simple smile casts light and warmth beyond ourselves and shows us the blessings in our midst. With gratitude and generosity, seize the day.

Jul 10

7 Comments

Gaze

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” – John Muir

As you enter this day, slow down to gaze, stay longer, listen with your heart. We miss the beauty of all that surrounds us when we pass by merely with a glance. The world changes through the eyes of gratitude, awe and brilliant color.

“There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation's braggart lords.” – John Muir

“There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation’s braggart lords.” – John Muir

Jul 7

6 Comments

Nap Investment

We need to diversify and balance what we do with our time investments –  work, play, people, rest, reflection. I can tell when I’m out of balance and it affects my outlook and attitude, stealing my days. Take time each day to rest, restore and renew your mind, spirit and body to stay in balance. Quiet the chatter in your mind and simply relax into the moment. Never underestimate the value of a good nap.

“Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness.” - George MacDonald

“Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness.” – George MacDonald

“I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.” – Yogi Berra

“I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.” – Yogi Berra

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