Running 4 Your Life

For Roz and Irving…

Although I am too proud to beg and may appear to be a very independent creature, I ask for your loving care and attention. I rely on you for my well being much more than you may realize. This I promise you, my benefactor, that I will not be a burden on you nor will I demand more of you than you care to give. I will be a quiet peaceful island of serenity for you to gaze upon, a soft soothing body to caress, and I shall purr with pleasure to rest your weary ears. Since I am a gourmet who appreciates different taste sensations, I pray you will give me a variety of nutritious foods and fresh water daily. You know, dear friend, how I love to go. Allow me, I pray, a warm sheltered place where I can rest peacefully and feel secure. If I am wounded in battle or suffering from disease, please tend me gently, and see that I am treated by loving and competent hands. Please protect me from the inhuman humans who would hurt and torture me for their own amusement. I am accustomed to your gentle touch and am not always suspicious nor swift enough to avoid such malicious acts. In my later years when my senses fail me and my infirmities become too great to bear, allow me the comfort and dignity that I desire for my closing days and help me gently in my pain or passing.

Hear this prayer, my dear friend, my fate depends on you.

I’ve been “off the grid” for a couple of days, which basically translates to limited access to internet services. I’m back now with an update on a topic I mentioned in a recent post – my “ultimate high school reunion.” (more…)

This weekend, I am back in my hometown in Louisiana. Since I still have family here, I visit fairly often. However, this weekend will be one that will bring back many memories - my high school is holding an Ultimate Reunion for all the graduates who ever walked the halls since 1925.

Part of the fun includes going to favorite places to eat. Already on the way home from the airport, Mark and I stopped at a favorite local diner where the homemade pies and hot plate lunches are unequaled anywhere. Mark laughed when I said something about the “plate lunches.” We just didn’t talk about plate lunches while living in Chicago for so long.

As is the way with many vacations, it’s all about the food, and this trip is no exception. We already have several meals planned to meet with friends and to make sure that we hit our favorite eating spots.

The school activities will be taking place on Friday and Saturday, so I’ll be providing a full report of the goings on. It’s time to make some new memories.

Those of us who have pets believe in the human-animal bond. You can sometimes look into your dog’s eyes and know exactly what he is telling you. And, you’re not amazed when you say something to him, and he knows exactly what you are telling him.

I want to share with you a video of an unusual human-animal bond. I do not recommend that we hug wild animals, but this example of inter-species bonding is very touching. Enjoy.

Early this morning I ran the foothills - what a challenging and gorgeous adventure it was. As I am running a downhill race in August in the Black Hills of South Dakota, one of my commitments is to practice on hills.

The weather was cool - about 54 degrees - and the sun was coming up over the foothills. To me, they seem more like mountains, but everyone around here calls them foothills. The first half of the run was mostly uphill, and parts were rocky and steep. One wrong step and you can end up in the creek below but not before rolling over and into the bushes along the side of the path.

The farther I went into the hills, the wildflowers grew more abundant. Light blue, dark purple, white, yellow, red - you name it, all the colors were represented. The sound of the flowing water just below the path was welcoming to both me and the birds as I saw birds drinking in the creek. I stopped at irregular intervals to take in the surroundings (and because I needed to take a breath). The scenery was indeed breathtaking - both literally and figuratively speaking.

It is really easy to find places to connect with nature whether you are in a city, running along a river, or hiking in the foothills. You just have to take the time to find the right places. Connecting with nature can be as simple as noticing a bird, a tree, a flower in your own yard - you don’t have to be “in the wild.” So make time to find those connections, and you’ll discover a peace that you might not have felt in a long time.

Thanks to Mark for sending me the link to this 2-minute inspirational movie on the defining moments in our lives.

In a previous post entitled “Be Here Now,” I told you about a card that picked me when I was in a bookstore in Sun Valley, Idaho. The card read, “This is a new day, one that I have never lived before. I stay in the Now and enjoy each and every moment.”

When you focus on something, you will be amazed at the things that “come” to you in the way of connections. A simple example: If you’re thinking of getting a golden retriever, you will begin to see them all over the place. You didn’t really notice before how many different colors of golden retrievers there are, but now that you’re focused on it, you notice them everywhere.

I’ve been working on “being in the moment” more - and believe me, it takes practice. Right now is all we have - the past is gone, and the future is not here yet, so we don’t have either of those.

I’m not sure if Dan Millman came up with the phrase “No ordinary moments,” but it is with him that I associate that expression. When we are focused on right now, we see things we would otherwise miss if we are thinking about the past or the future.

As one way to be “in the moment,” I have taken a lesson from Fremont, my 90-lb golden retriever. (more…)

Recently, I was reading Wayne Dyer’s Inspiration, and I came across a passage that stuck me as particularly interesting. For years, I’ve always said, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” I’m not sure who first said that, but it is true. Our readiness basically means that we should be open to all possibilities, and we should pay attention for signs.

Several things have occurred in the past couple of weeks with which I feel like I have been making a connection. Last weekend in the Sun Valley Half Marathon, as I was running along the path around mile 8, there sat a fox right beside the path.

Before I saw him, I was feeling a little frustrated because I was struggling with the altitude and having a hard time catching my breath. Unaware of the altitude, I was experiencing some negative self-talk about my fitness level. Then this fox appears - not running along the path - just sitting there watching me pass 3 feet away from him. This fox jolted me back to my senses as I recognized that it was such an extraordinary encounter. I realized at that moment that I was connecting with nature though this wild animal. My race got better at that point, and the last 5 miles of the race were a bit easier than the first 8.

Everything in nature is connected to the same Source, so when nature “speaks to us,” we should listen. Anytime something in nature actually connects with us physically - whether it’s a bird, a pine cone, a leaf, or a fox -  we should pay attention.

With all the snow melting in the mountains, the Boise River has been running very high and very fast. As I was heading over to the running path the other day, I could actually hear the river rushing from a block away. Although I knew the power and swiftness of the water, it was a soothing sound.

I looked at the rushing water and the ducks as I started running along the river path. Some Canada geese were struggling against the current, and I realized that everything in nature has its daily challenges. As I was still recovering from my marathon, I felt the challenge of getting back “up to speed.” I thought of the challenges that the Chinese people were facing in the wake of the devastating earthquake. I thought of the challenges that families face with illness and disabilities.

As I reflected on the many challenges that all things in nature face everyday, I realized that these challenges belong to all of us. We’re all connected. We’re all part of nature. We all originate from the same source.

And, we all have the same instinct to deal with the challenges we face, but it’s how we deal with them that determines our success in overcoming them.

That goose doesn’t allow the swift waters to just drag him along and take him under. The Chinese people don’t say, “Oh well, our town is destroyed, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Think about the way you face challenges in your life.

Remember: The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

Do you have a friend whom you talk to or see only every few months - or even once a year - whom you consider to be a very close friend? And, when you do catch up, you reconnect instantly - as if no time has elapsed between visits? I know I do; in fact, I have a number of friends like that.

Many of my close friends are scattered throughout the country, but the distance doesn’t keep us from connecting on a regular basis. I recently got 2 calls from people I had emailed a couple of months ago. I knew we would eventually connect, and I talked to both of them within 2 days of each other.

Staying connected doesn’t always just happen. We have to make it work. I have moved several times in the last few years, and I make it a priority to keep in touch with the people I care about.

Is there someone you have been meaning to call or write?  With cell phones, email, and all the other ways to get in touch with people, there’s no excuse not to communicate with friends. Decide today to reconnect with someone you’ve been meaning to call. You’ll be glad you did - and so will they.