The miracle isn't that I finished.
The miracle is that I had the courage to start.
John Bingham
NO NEED FOR SPEED: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE
TO THE JOY OF RUNNING
In a very weak moment, I agreed with my best friend to run every morning after the school bus picked up our kids. She had a passion for running and felt more certain she would maintain a routine if she had a running buddy. I dearly loved my friend, and wanted to support her.
Let me begin by saying, "I hate to run!" The only good thing about running is that you get to stop! I would walk from my home to meet her half way and the entire time I would be questioning my motivations. We were successful in maintaining our commitment to run, and I remained amazed at the personal courage it required of me.
In another place in time, I became aware that I practiced a mental form of running. I discovered that emotionally, I would simply run away when life became overwhelming. I could emotionally feel myself withdrawing and at times could hear my foot steps racing down the hallways of my mind.
Physical running can be good for the body, mentally running away is not so good. Once aware of this poor mental health coping skill, I learned to hear my foot steps and gently tell myself, "Stop!" When that was mastered, I then learned to make myself stand still in the moment. This took great courage, but I learned a healthier way of facing problems.
Being spiritually inclined, I monitor myself and my inward patterns quite regularly. Through these observations, I discovered that a person can run away physically, mentally, and spiritually. A delightful little book entitled, THE HOUND OF HEAVEN displays how God is forever with us and calling to us, but we simply keep running through life, not listening. Opportunity after opportunity presents itself to us to enhance our spiritual calling, but life simply gets in the way.
We are all traveling our unique spiritual path. We each have our destination with built in rest areas. It is when we stop to rest, when we pause from running, that our soul begins to awaken to the voice within. We learn as we travel our path to embrace Spirit in small increments. With growing awareness, we realize we are incredibly connected one to the other and that Spirit travels with us every step of our way.
Slow down. Heighten awareness. Find the courage to allow a spiritual pathway to unfold into a personal union with the Divine, rather than a reckless speeding super highway.
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