Mar 3
“The most simple things can bring the most happiness.” – Izabella Scorupco
A new pair of running shoes, 9 degrees ABOVE zero with 30 degrees coming on Thursday and a run while it’s still light out with the girls brings great joy and delight. We need not search too far to find happiness in each day, even in Winter or on a Monday.
“Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.” – Marilyn Monroe
Jan 19
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
There’s no better medicine than a run with the girls on a beautiful Sunday morning. The crisp clean air, snow crunching beneath each step and the warmth of the sun. A prayer in motion. Get out and see the world just outside your door. When we get out of our heads, we find our heart, our purpose and peace.
“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“When you look at the sun during your walking meditation, the mindfulness of the body helps you to see that the sun is in you; without the sun there is no life at all and suddenly you get in touch with the sun in a different way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Nov 9
Everyday stuff – that’s what Cast Light is all about. I’ve discovered when I notice the ordinary of each day and put myself in its midst I find meaning and joy. And I am grateful for the grace and faith to see the bigness in the small.
I bought four new books with my Amazon birthday gift cards – thanks Anna, Chris, Lynn – and just finished Anne Lamott’s new book Stitches, A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair. My kind of book and I love her writing style and insights, here’s one that sticks:
“The search for meaning will fill you with a sense of meaning. Otherwise life passes by in about seven weeks, and if you are not paying attention and savoring it as it unfurls, you will wake up one day in deep regret. It’s much better to wake up now in deep regret, desperate not to waste more of your life obsessing and striving for meaningless crap. Because you will have finally awakened.” Pretty good advice.
The three Fs – Faith, Family, Friends. Here’s to some of my everyday stuff – Lily and Molly. Mom and Dad. Running group on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sole Sisters hanging out. The extraordinary in the ordinary.
Oct 30
“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.” – Ashley Montagu
On our usual run tonight, the girls and I were turning for home and suddenly out of the fog, a beautiful deer launched out of the woods and gallantly ran across our path. We stood there frozen in awe and then my little hunter Lily’s instinct was to chase him, but he was gone in a flash.
Molly and Lily are always on the look out for the unexpected. They wake up ready to dive deep into the day and when I come home it’s like I’ve been gone for days.
“Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me.” – Carl Sandburg
Too often, we’ve come to accept and expect the worst, disappointment. And we give up too easily on our capacity and yearning to be surprised and delighted by the unexpected. Expect more and be open to the unexpected. It’s all around us.
Oct 7
“In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm… in the real world all rests on perseverance.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Eight months ago when I decided to do my second marathon, I was very excited at the idea. I then proceeded with the training, taking it seriously, following a plan and overall I felt great. At 48, I am in the best shape of my life. Yesterday, I did the work to prepare, to finish strong. I rested and drank extra water on Saturday and Sunday, well-hydrated, I thought.
All week, the meteorologists predicted pouring rain all morning. 8:00 am start – blue skies and mid 40s, a perfect running day. It usually takes me a few miles to warm up. Mile 6, I was achy and had a headache. My brother John had dropped me off, parked near the finish line and biked back to meet me at mile 10 on the course. Mile 13, I told him I felt like I was tanking, only half way there, and I thought, “I may not make it” but I turned up the music and pushed on. I took some more electrolytes and kept going. Mile 16, calf cramp and light headed. Mile 17-20, a few light showers followed by an ankle and groin cramp (first time for this one, delightful). My legs felt like stumps. John kept riding ahead, stopping, getting off the bike and clapping as I went by. At one point, a woman looked at me and asked my name, I told her and she yelled, “you can do it, Kathie!” At least one of us believed it.
At mile 21, I knew I would finish even if I crawled in on all fours. Friends and family were gathered at mile 25 so my goal was to see them, be upright and smiling. My niece Emily surprised me coming back from school (3 hours away) to be there. Right down the line, hugs and kisses for friends and family. Emily ran me in the last mile with John still riding along the side, the longest, slowest bike ride he’s ever done. Mile 26.2 – done. Amen.
Walking back up the hill to mile 25 to see family and friends, I figured I’m too old for this. Where did I go wrong? I described what happened on the course and Terry asked, “did you drink more water than usual?” – Sure did, needed to be hydrated. Well, it turns out, you can drink too much water – the official term – hyponatremia – I washed all of the electrolytes. He did the same thing on one of his marathons. All the symptoms matched with what happened on the course, with the exception of seizure and death. Glad I missed those.
While I wanted to finish strong, I endured to the finish. Life is about showing up, trying, failing, getting back up, trying again, giving, receiving, fun, faith, family, friends – all those gifts that describe the past four months that culminated yesterday morning. Choose your “marathon” – whatever that is and pursue it with all you have.
Oct 5
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
The fact that our thoughts can weigh us down is proof that they can in turn lift us up. I’ve wavered this week between anticipation and worry about the marathon tomorrow. More anticipation and excitement, but worry has more weight and density.
“God enters by a private door into every individual.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. Doubt lingers and nags in worldly voices that never have the courage to show themselves. Faith is the seed in all of us, planted and firmly rooted in God, the Master Gardener. A quiet knowing that there’s something greater in each of us and embracing us. Needing no proof, faith lifts, pulls, pushes and hurls us forward into the unknown. Faith is depth and motion, hope and joy. Faith is letting go.
So whatever marathon you are going through right now, let faith hold your hand firmly and run you through each and every step. With faith, proof doesn’t come at the start line but shows up at the finish.
“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” – Brother David Steindl-Rast
A dinner with friends, a walk with the dogs through the woods, a phone call, email or text just checking in, a smile, a laugh, a long run, the gift of seasons. The simple wonders of each day are plenty. Gratitude breeds joy. We are full, overflowing. Each day – seize the moments with gratefulness and awe.
Sep 15
“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” – Alfred North Whitehead
“The language of friendship is not words but meanings.” – Henry David Thoreau
Yesterday, I ran the Bear Water Run, the last long run before the Twin Cities marathon three weeks from today. They offered a 10 and 20 mile option, twice around White Bear Lake. Lined up with a few hundred others, I thought of the training runs I did by myself to get me to this last long run. It was encouraging to be with others on the same journey with their own stories. A few blocks in to the run, my brother John and sister-in-law Tina were on bikes waiting to follow along, checking in every few miles.
As I was approaching the end of the first 10 mile lap around the lake, I thought of 2004 when I ran this event for my first marathon training. I had IT band injury from running on uneven pavement, so I was concerned if I would even finish the 20 miler. As I turned the corner for the first 10 miles, Dad was standing there to make sure I was ok. He came back at the end of the run too.
Learning the lessons from my first marathon, I felt much better after the first 10 miles yesterday. Anna then joined me for the second 10 miles lap around the lake. She pulled me along with her fresh legs, conversation and walking with me when the toll of the hills started to work on my knees and ankles. When we were two miles out, putting it all in a bite-sized perspective, she noted “only 20 minutes left”, then 10 minutes, one mile left. She even let me finish a step ahead of her. When we were at a the “you finished” lunch (beer) with Mom, Dad, John, Tina and Anna, the texts messages came rolling in from friends checking to see how I did.
In our daily life, we can often feel like we are alone, doing the “long runs” by ourselves. Yesterday, reminded me that we are never alone. Life is a team sport. We need only look up and around and see the gifts of family and friends – our cheering section, running along our side, making the journey complete.
Sep 10
“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
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…
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.
Aug 18
“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
