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Posts tagged ‘Health’

May 22

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Fan Club

“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

A week ago, Mom was getting her hip replaced. It was scheduled but she had to go in a few days early due to severe pain – it was actually broken. She’s now recovering in transitional care and getting stronger every day. It hasn’t been the same without her. She’s what makes home, home.

There’s been a lot of in and out the past few weeks with family health issues. Molly and Lily know something is going on. They miss Mom like crazy and the feeling is mutual. Every time they see each other, their eyes light up and smiles extend from ear to ear. Home returns.

“Friendship needs no words - it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness.” – Dag Hammarskjold

“Friendship needs no words – it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness.” – Dag Hammarskjold

Yesterday, we went to visit and they were thrilled to see her. We sat outside in the sun just spending time being together. The world was right again. Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. It amplifies the depth of fondness that’s already rooted and strong.

True friendship draws us out and invites our spirits to rise. It’s good to be home.

Apr 28

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The Little Things

“Life is not made up of crises; life is made up of little things we love to ignore in order to get on to the exciting things in life. But God is in the details. God is in what it takes in us to be faithful to them. God is in the routines that make us what we are. The way we do the little things in life is the mark of the bigness of our souls.” – Joan Chittister, Essential Writings

Your smile, your attention, your time to patiently listen can break up the mundane of the day for all paths you cross. Go do little things big today. Cast light now.

Feb 11

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Lucidity

“Most days weren't clear when you were in them.” ― Naomi Shihab Nye

“Most days weren’t clear when you were in them.” ― Naomi Shihab Nye

“Older now, you find holiness in anything that continues.” – Naomi Shibab Nye

As the days go faster and we go slower, we may long for days gone by, our youth. But the days slow when we remain squarely within each one, fully aware and awake. Wiser from what was and hope-filled for what is to come. The wide path becomes narrow and we can see and appreciate what is most important.

As the need to prove oneself subsides, moments linger and connections grow deeper. Creating and being replace competing and doing. And if we are fortunate to find clarity in the days when we are in them, we discover what has been there the entire time…love expands, multiples, grows, sustains and is what we are here to do. Our moments become holy.

Oct 23

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The Next 50

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” – Sophia Loren

I am taking a few days off to relax and enjoy the remaining hours of my 49th year. People asked what I am going to do and I told them that I am going to reflect on the past 50 years and think about what I am going to do with my next 50 years. Time moves quickly and slowly at the same time. We wish days away and then suddenly we’re 50 and feel like 30.

If we don’t pause along the way to witness what was and is right now, we miss the gifts and blessings that surround and embrace us. Regret can only be avoided if we remain present in each moment and aware of our power over our own lives and not distracted by the noise.

When we’re younger, we work on getting experience to get to the next thing, the next promotion, the next opportunity, the next trophy… Now I am more interested in experiencing each day giving my best regardless of recognition, learning new things, gaining insight, creating meaning, traveling lighter, letting worries go, trying to be much less serious and making good use of the experience I have earned by growing others.

Looking back, I don’t have the life I thought I would have but I have the life I was meant to and doing my best to live it well. And each day is overflowing with gratitude, grace, love and sprinkled with delight in the simple moments. Figure out what really matters right now and make each day its own end. So instead of the next 50 years, I think I’ll focus on the next 50 minutes.

Oct 9

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First Sight Again

“We all walk around within the numbness of our habits and routines so often that we take the marvels of ordinary life for granted.” – Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

Let yourself and all that you carry from the past, from yesterday and about the future, about tomorrow and leave it where it was or will be. Sink deeply into the moments of today. No judgment, measurement, comparison, heaviness, preconceived notions, worry or hesitation.

See as if for the very first time all that surrounds you. With a grateful heart, dancing spirit and open soul, be new and renewed by the beauty and simplicity of the ordinary.

Cast light, first sight.

Jun 23

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The Human Spirit

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” – Wilma Rudolph

Another Grandma’s marathon, another first marathon to celebrate. This time it was my niece Emily’s turn and she did it! The first marathon is about finishing. It’s the “I think I can and I’m ready but I’ve never done it before” elusiveness.

Four to five months of training, commitment and hard work gets you to the start line. You learn the value of preparing your mind as much as your body as well as your spirit. All play an important role in getting to the finish line.

Many training runs by yourself convince you that you are alone in this effort. But when you get to marathon day, you soon realize through the support and encouragement of family, friends and complete strangers along the way that you are in no way alone in the endeavor, or in life for that matter. The cowbells, people yelling your name, the texts from family and friends checking in, the running by your side the last mile show how many people are cheering for and sharing in your success.

“The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one's opportunities and make the most of one's resources.” – Luc de Clapiers

“The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one’s opportunities and make the most of one’s resources.” – Luc de Clapiers

Whether it’s a marathon or another dream or goal, the meaning comes from the journey before ever getting to the start line. It’s the unfolding and freeing of the human spirit that deepens the meaning and calls us to seek more challenges and dreams. There are no short cuts – the secret is in the intersection of time, effort, focus, consistency, faith, optimism, persistence and determination.

Pick your “marathon” and go for it with your whole heart, mind and spirit. We all have longings that pull at us to go out into the world to give and be our best, beyond what we could ever imagine. We need only to take the first step and each that follows become second nature. Your human spirit is ready and waiting to take flight.

Jun 1

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From I Think I Can to I Did It

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” – Golda Meir

We are three weeks out from Grandma’s Marathon, hence the 20 mile run. Last year, my brother ran his first marathon. This year, my niece Emily is running her first marathon. I am training for my third marathon in October, inspired by many who have gone before and encouraged by friends and family. Each of us can and are called to inspire, encourage and be encouraged by others.

Yesterday, I ran 13 miles of Emily’s 20 mile run, mostly behind her of course. It was in the low 80s most of the run. It was a hot one.  John and Tina followed along on the bike with water, Gatorade and a cow bell.  I remember my first marathon and am so excited for Emily to experience the fruition that comes from the seeds she’s planted, the work she’s done to get here.

“Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles.” – Alex Karras

“Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles.” – Alex Karras

While it’s an important part of the training plan, the 20 miler is more important mentally than physically. It give us the confidence and reminds us that all the work over the past three months will pay off and we have it in us to finish 26.2 miles. We’ve done the work, now enjoy the ride.

We often need to overcome our own definitions, limitations and perceptions of what’s possible, to believe in what we are made of and to act on it. Whether it’s a marathon or another dream that’s written on your heart, pursue it vigorously, put in the work and know that you have it in you to finish the race.

Mar 3

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New Shoes

“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

“Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.” – Marilyn Monroe

Jan 25

6 Comments

Be Still

“Watch out for the joy-stealers: gossip, criticism, complaining, faultfinding, and a negative, judgmental attitude.” – Joyce Meyer

It seems innocent enough. A little complaining, talking about someone else, thinking everyone has it better than us – they’re “lucky.” Feeling justified, we think that letting it out again and again somehow will make it better. And it doesn’t, it makes it worse. What we focus on is what we become, who we are. These seemingly little things chip away at our capacity for joy. These joy-stealers are contagious if we don’t keep our guard up. Complaining is one of my triggers. I’ve been hearing a lot of it lately and instead of letting others chirp and let it go, I complain about their complaining. I fall into these traps when I’m tired, working too many hours and when I don’t get to run outside due to the “polar vortex” winter with 20 below temps.

We need to be still and look for the good in others without question or delay. Naïve? Maybe, but what and who will we miss by jumping to conclusions, judgments and criticism? Are we willing to risk joy and delight in exchange for “being right” in our own mind, whether we are or not. And we not only need to remove the joy-stealers, we need to replace them with gratitude, appreciation and awe for the many blessings to be found when we take off our blinders and filters. The light shines in replacing the dark. Be still and cast light.

“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T. S. Eliot

“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T. S. Eliot

Oct 13

13 Comments

Be Brave

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

We often get defeated by the day to day, the small. Harsh words from a customer. Work filled with unending unreasonable deadlines. We get lost in transactions, lists and the sheer volume of tasks, losing our humanity in the process.

I started this blog to write more, to challenge my introverted self to open up and to search for the good in each day. We long to be lifted out of the small and to be cast into the moment, into the light. We have the power to shape our life and to encourage others along the way.

The video below was made by the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. The young lady in the beginning of the video and who has the courage to remove her wig in the middle is the daughter of my boss. She’s gone through a second round of treatment for a rare cancer. The bright beautiful smile you see in the video is who she is through and through, finding and giving joy despite the depth of her circumstances. The video was posted on October 7th on YouTube and now has 288,820 hits.

Take a few minutes, turn up the volume and count your blessings. Be brave.

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