21. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
22. The most important sex organ is the brain.
Regina Brett, 90 years old
What Have I Been Given?
Little or much it does not matter, for what do I have which has not first been given to me?
Natural ability or talent? I may exploit such things given as a rite of birth, for glory or self fulfillment…for these things desire an outlet in performance and achievement. But to keep that glory for myself is to stunt and strangle their potential to bless and encourage others.
What do I have which has not first been given to me?
Strength and good health? The first and greatest wealth I can possess…do I use my strong arms and back to assist those less fortunate, or do I assume a posture of superiority over those who are sick from disease or depression?
What do I have which has not first been given to me?
Knowledge and wisdom? What I know and understand I have gleaned from others who faithfully broadcast their life experiences; whether in their doing or in their writing…I receive the benefit of their insights because they first gave.
What do I have which has not first been given to me?
Success and wealth? Whatever of these I have amassed, I have as the result of hard work plus ability plus good health plus knowledge. All these things which have already been given to me by others. To curb an appetite for more, I find I must refuse attachment and disseminate liberally so as to allow these gifts to do the greatest good.
What do I have which has not first been given to me?
Love and family? By birth and marriage and acquaintance, I have family.
I love and I am loved. I complete and I am completed. The circle of love does
not, cannot end with me…but like everything else, it grows and extends from
me when it contributes to others.
Yes, I have been given much indeed…and the requirement, the responsibility that comes with receiving these gifts, is indeed great; but greater still is the loss, the loss for me, the loss for others, if I fail to recognize and fail to act upon this knowledge…that what has been given is a gift…to share…without measure.
Successful people have a social responsibility to make the world a better place and not just take from it. Carrie Underwood
When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. Luke 12:48 (Holy Bible, New Living Translation)
What Sort of Character?
Look at the calendar! The New Year is flying fast as the first three months are nearly complete. Now look back…to New Year’s Eve. What were you hoping to accomplish in 2015? Did you have any aspirations for better health? Better attitudes? Better habits? Now look at today. Where are you? What have you accomplished in regards to your new year’s hopes? Did you take strong steps in January? Did you lose sight or vision in February? March is nearly complete, but today is a good day to reassess, to get back on track and
in character.
What do I mean by ‘in character’? I mean this: character ~ your character ~ drives your goal setting and your goal achieving. If you have lost touch with your character and what your character is all about, then you have probably lost sight of the goals you wanted to achieve this year.
Perhaps the milieu of work or home life has overtaken your schedule and you have no time or energy or margin in which to pursue that one thing you wanted to accomplish this year. The responsibilities of our adult lives will always hound us as we attempt to alter or change the landscape of our character pursuits. But today, I would like to challenge you to re-assess your character…look at who you are through the eyes of the author. The author is the one who is writing the story of your life. And guess what? You are both author and character!Now with this lens, this understanding, ask the author to discover what motivates this character. What demoralizes this character? What drives this character to say and do the things he does each day? Is this character generally cheerful and optimistic or skeptical and pessimistic? Easily distracted and pulled off course or nose to the grindstone come hell or high water? How does this character relax? How does this character relate to others? to distress? to success? What or who does this character believe or have faith in? doubt? fear?
Remember, you are the author writing this story, and the author must be aware, astutely aware of her character’s weakness and strengths. This knowledge aids the author (YOU) in building compassion and workarounds into her character’s life. Understanding the type of character of which the author is dealing and writing about, assures that the character will live an authentic life.
So consider this as we approach the end of the first quarter of 2015.
If you want your New Year story to finish on track, or even be an interesting read, the author (that’s you) must know how its character (still you) will react, respond or overcome the obstacles which the character (once again, YOU) will surely encounter as she traverses the remainder of 2015. The story (YOUR STORY) will be flat and uninteresting indeed if your character is not developed through adversity, trial, challenge, upset, disappointments, triumphs, success, etc. Now look again, what sort of character are you? Know your character…what drives your character. Write the days for your character with purpose so that you may achieve the reward of your goal!
Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.
Sam Ewing
Faith is the telegraphic wire which links earth and heaven—on which God’s messages of love fly so fast, that before we call He answers, and while we are yet speaking He hears us. But if that telegraphic wire of faith be snapped, how can we receive the promise? (from Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening)
Faith
If there’s any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can’t think what it might be. In running, the mind flies with the body; the mysterious efflorescence of language seems to pulse in the brain, in rhythm with out feet and the swinging of our arms.
The Faith of a Writer by Joyce Carol Oates
Running!
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
Regina Brett, 90 years old
Life Lessons (from the list of 42)
17. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and know one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
Regina Brett, 90 years old
Life Lessons (from the list of 42)
Go Outside…For a Change
When I get stuck in a rut, physically, mentally, or spiritually, the thing that gets me unstuck best is to go outside…outside of my house, outside of my routines, outside of my comfortable thinking. Getting outside of me gives me a fresh perspective and outlook on life. When I exercise outside and breathe deeply of the crisp morning air, I expose myself, my physical and spiritual body, to the natural elements of the earth. It is then that I realize how very connected I am to the earth, and to its mysteries and rhythms. I reap much physical and emotional energy from trekking outdoors. By going outside, my muscles and my mind must work in unison as I forge against hill and dale, sun and wind, smooth and rough, road and trail.
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Similarly, when I get stuck in a mental rut I find it helpful to get outside of my own head and give my mind new places to roam. Reading authors and genres to which I do not normally gravitate gives me fresh perspectives and insights into how others think and perceive. Changing things up when it comes to music, movies, and food provides similar benefits. I like to think of going ‘outside’ of myself as a way to inoculate myself from the dread condition of stagnancy; to be stagnant is to be unchanged and unchanging…it is so nearly like death. And so anytime I need some creative flow, or whenever I’m feeling the blues of status quo, I try to mix things up for myself. I try to get outside of my normal, whatever that may be, which I have so carefully set up around my life and I open a door and go outside…for a change.
Run Training…Intervals
In the previous Run Training posts, I described the tools which runners typically use to improve their running performance. Whether elite or recreational, all runners bodies respond to the training effects of Base Training, Hill Training, Strides, and Intervals. In regards to interval training, many folks just beginning their exercise journey may engage in interval training to increase calorie burn. And almost all sports use some form of interval drills to improve athletes’ aerobic and anaerobic exercise thresholds. So what does interval training involve? Basically, interval training uses measured bouts of hard-easy repetitions to help athletes adapt to higher levels of aerobic and/or anaerobic exercise. For runners, interval training is meting out hard-easy running in bouts measured by time or distance (minutes or meters). Unlike tempo training (comfortably hard effort) interval training involves running at a high level (near red-line) of exertion for a short amount of time, followed by a recovery interval equal to or greater than the work interval. Novice and recreational runners should begin interval training only after they have laid down their base training. While extremely effective to improve a runner’s running form, economy, endurance, and fat-burning, interval training need only be included once a week if the runner also performs other training methods (strides, hills, tempo) in their weekly runs. Read this article from Active.com about interval training. This is an excellent resource which describes the science of intervals together with interval training plans for runners who want to improve their 5K or 10K race times.
15. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down
in many ways.
16. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
Regina Brett, 90 years old
Think...Feel...Be....BodyWise! 