Run Your Race

Running your race.......I watched the movie Secretariat tonight.....great movie, but an amazing story and incredible animal.  Big Red, or Secretariat as he was formally called, loved to run, he was born to run.
As I watched the movie tonight, the phrase "run your race" was used several times.  I kept thinking about that phrase.....run YOUR race.  It's the only one you can run you know......sometimes it takes speed, some times
it's distance......but you have to run, no one can do it for you.

You can't rely on some one else to run for you or even carry you,  it's your race, you have to run it.  The woman who owned Secretariat was ridiculed because she believed, she knew in her heart he was a champion......and she didn't back down.  That's life, and we have to do the same thing, if we believe in our hearts, if we know.....then we have to run our race, no matter the ridicule, the skeptics.  There may be times when we allow
the naysayers to taunt, to make us doubt, but it's our race not theirs.

A run for the roses is different for each of us........and we can never let someone take it from us.  We may not even get the roses in this lifetime......but, if we run our race, I think we will leave this world with a smile.
A friend and I were talking a few days ago, she and I have been running our race for quite some time. Honestly, I have never known anyone who has ran as hard as she has, I know what her roses are, and I know that she is so close, she can almost smell them.  I hope sometime soon, roses rain down on her like the autumn leaves in October.

Running your race, some of us change horses in mid-stream......that's pretty difficult, but some are up for the challenge......and others, well life happens and you continue to run or just throw in the towel......your choice.
Run your race, three words.......profound advice.

If you get the chance, watch Secretariat.  I know you know the ending, but the story is so well told.....and well, if you are getting a little tired in your race or thinking about giving up.......maybe Big Red will inspire you to.......Run Your Race.

Proof of Fall

I know fall has truly arrived......no the leaves are not at their peak color and the temps are still fairly warm, 86 degrees today.  What tells me that fall is officially here.....spider webs!  When I drove to work yesterday morning in the fog, there were spider webs as big as my car hanging from tree limbs on the side of the road.
This morning as we walked, spider webs covered the trails.  Silken threads seem to hang in mid-air with all sizes of spiders scurrying about.

Now snakes don't spook me, and I can handle mice......but throw a spider's web in my face or hair, and you will hear some colorful language and see some original dance moves.  I once saw a spider the size of a tennis ball hop across the room,  and didn't see its destination......Rick was working night shift, so I had to create a fast battle plan.   Basically,  I cranked the stereo up so that the windows were shaking, ran the vacuum cleaner at full speed,  and sprayed hair spray in every corner......I know at the time, it all seemed so reasonable, but now....well I never did see that spider again, so maybe my plan worked.

The webs are beautiful, really incredible pieces of architecture and art.  I know that there are those who love spiders, who study them and appreciate them.......I know they have a place in the circle of life......I just don't want them in my circle.

Even as I type this blog tonight, I can almost feel the silken sticky strands of web that caught my hair and face a couple of days ago as we walked......and yes I did my infamous string of profanity and created several new
complicated dance moves.  Every morning as I open the doors to the back deck, I look before I walk out.
I can't tell you how many times HUGE spiders have built their webs in front of those doors just waiting for me to walk out......I can almost hear their little spider laughs when their webs stick to my face.

I don't destroy them, but I do carry a stick with me so that I can gently reroute their structures, proving that we can all live in peace with a little effort.
Good night, Sweet dreams.

Tests

Some days are tests, given by a universe that is secretly laughing and wondering what your response will be.
My day of tests has been strange, not a bad day, but a trying one.  Everywhere I have been, pretty much every one I have talked with, had contact with, has been in the mood to vent.  Most days I am a sounding board, a listening device, but today all those opinions and protests and complaints  have swirled around me like falling leaves......so many, so fast......I could not comprehend......I  am quite dizzy.  Even the dogs are antsy and grumpy tonight.

Why do I think this day has been one of  tests?  Because, if I had opened my mouth and spoken any  thoughts, ......I would have been sucked into the vortex, it was  time to  listen and say nothing........listen and breathe.  I am exhausted tonight from so much negative energy circling around me.....this was the day the memo went out to voice your complaints......and  I am glad I did not get the memo.

So, I did a lot of breath work, taught my classes with great joy and love, ignored the comments that  I saw and heard through out the day and reminded myself that every one has a bad day, everyone is entitled to their opinions......and I must be the wacky one, because  I still see the good all around me.  So what is the good that I see all around me?  There is kindness, human dignity, and love, even in the places where it seems none might exist.  There is beauty in the raw and the ugly and the sad if you look for it.  And if we allow ourselves,
hope lives in the darkest of hearts, it just takes a tiny crack for the light to feed it.  As far as the greed and the hate and the fear that most seem to think has encompassed the universe....I believe we find what we look for, we get what we think about it.

Who knows whether I passed my tests today or not,  only time will tell.  But some days the buck has to stop here, the gossip, the rumors, the whine, the anger......it has to stop somewhere,might as well be here.
I sit here and breathe, and release.......
Good night, Sweet dreams

Fog

Last night as we drove home from my community yoga class, the fog rolled in.  It had rained a good part of the day, and the temperature dropped.  Fog is such a mystical thing.   We live near the Mulberry  river, on the plateau of one of the Appalachian foothills.....we experience our fair share of  fog.  I love fog.  I love how it shrouds the surroundings in ghostly, ethereal wisps, making the most mundane seem other worldly.

Sometimes in the winter, we have fog that turns to ice, so everything becomes coated in an icy mist.  Quite an experience to see frozen fog.   The closer we got to home last night, the thicker the fog became.....but there were places where it disappeared completely, only to go around a curve and suddenly be immersed in thick heavy fog again.
Fog seems to connect and disconnect,  the connection of the blanket of wet, cold cloud hanging on everything, but the disconnection of not being able to see ten feet in front of you.

I love the morning after fog too, this morning as we  walked through the woods with the dogs, it seemed to be a slow drizzle of rain dripping through the trees, it was just the aftermath of last night's fog refusing to go away.
Several of our friends who lived on the Sipsey River talked about an eerie green fog that rose from the river just before the F4 tornado hit on April 27th.  They all said they had never seen fog like that.  Maybe it was Mother Nature's way of warning of the doom that was coming.

I have walked city streets in the fog, and hiked through the woods in the fog,.....fog changes your perception.
It muffles noise,  and can be comforting and frightening, you feel protected, yet vulnerable and driving in fog can be quite unnerving.  I think that sometimes fog can even be quite romantic.

All is clear tonight, the fog rolled away around noon today, replaced by blue skies and fluffy clouds and a cool
autumn wind.  It was nice to see the sunshine too.
Good night, Sweet dreams.

We Are So Much More

Searching for who we are.......I will be the first to admit, I struggle with thinking of my self only in terms of what I do.  It is very easy to see our worth only in what we do, after all when we meet someone new, one of the first things most of us ask, "what do you do?"  In the words of one of my friends, "my validation comes from work".
We are not what we do......we are not what we do......we are not what we do.

Begin by letting go of all labels.  Just for a little while, no longer think of yourself as male, female....old, young,
husband, wife....son,daughter....brother,sister.....mom, dad.......then begin to let go of those titles we cling to so passionately......teacher, manager, dancer, singer, artist, soldier, plumber, doctor, lawyer.......breathe a nice deep breath, and continue to let go of labels until there is nothing  left but you.  You, the essence of all that is good, loving and kind, spirit in a human form, created in the creator's imagine, connected by oneness by breath to all living things.  You don't have to do anything.......just be....and know that by just being, you are a miracle.

We are so driven, by those labels......and once we label, then we have to be the very best of what ever label we are wearing at that moment.   I will admit that there have been times in my life when I was so consumed by
my label of what I did, so pushed to be the best, so concerned about validation........that body and soul suffered horribly.  I think it is a very human thing to be that way, but I also think to grow and learn and experience life in its fullest......there are times we have to just be,we have to realize, we are not what we do.
Every once in awhile, strip off the labels, be brave and let them go.

We are not what we do.......we are not what we do........we are not what we do........
We are so much more.

Words to Ponder

Some nights it is difficult to write, not because I can't think of anything to write, but because Blackie Bear, Astro and Buddy and Cailou are all begging for my attention.  Blackie commands the spot closest to my chair, Astro sits behind me, Buddy to Blackie's left and Cailou blocks the doorway.  Petting is required, usually a few words need to be spoken and Blackie is always up for a hug or two.   It's ok, losing your train of thought because dogs need attention is no big deal, hugs are nice no matter who the hugger/huggie is.

They are also a little anxious, there are storms approaching from the west, this is the start of our second tornado season ( yes, we have two, though usually the fall/winter storms are not as severe as those in the spring).  To be honest I am a little anxious too, already checking to make sure the weather radio is on.  The good news on the weather front, after the storms pass through this week, cooler air will be here for the weekend.

It has been a hectic week/weekend......no down time at all.  It is rough to start the new week tired, but that is how it goes sometimes.  I just have to put my big girl panties on and stop the whine!

I wanted to leave you all with a quote from my Wayne Dyer app on my I-phone.......
Knowing ignorance is strength. Ignoring knowledge is sickness.
Powerful words to ponder.........
good night, sweet dreams

Good Things

"The only way you may correct the bad things in your past is to add better things to your future." -Shiloh Morrison

At work, I hear a lot of sad stories, horrible heart breaking true stories......but the interesting thing for me is how these stories are told.  Some are of them are told as a cleansing process, get them out, and move on if you will....some are told out of guilt and shame.....but some are told to perfection, you see the person  telling the story has told it so many times, it has become a part of them that they wear with honor and pride.

It is hard to let go of the bad stuff, but holding on to it, reliving it every day, letting it become who we are crowds out any good that can come to us.  Bad things happen to everyone, life is full of ups and downs and tragedies that can overwhelm even the most optimistic Polly Anna.  But, to move on, to live again we have to allow the better things to come to us.  It is, like attracts like.

I have friends that seem to always be struggling, with problems and sadness, and drama.  But when I talk with them about finding a purpose, a reason to get up every day, they shake their head and look at me as if I  drank all the kool aide.  Someone asked this week, how do I go on,, what gives me my drive........I believe with all my heart it is  purpose and the willingness to allow good and  better things to come to me.  I think finding people to help, ( writing a check is good) but rolling up your sleeves and really helping out, gives that sense of purpose.  It doesn't have to be big stuff, take a meal to a friend who is sick, donate a few hours at a shelter or school or hospital.  Giving of yourself and your time is an incredible gift, it brings the better things to you, and helps you to correct or let go of the bad in your past.

If the bad seems to be overtaking you, allow the good to come in......start small.....a smile, a gesture of kindness, it snowballs I promise.  If your past haunts you, remind yourself it is just a memory , that all that is real is now.  Twelve Step teaches one day at a time, some days it is just one breath at a time.  Better things await you, are you willing to let them come into your life?

Wishing you good and better things tonight, wishing you sweet dreams.