Not A Post About Running
Forgive me. This week has been somewhat of a sluggish week for me in terms of running and working out. Last weekend, I ran a 10 mile "race" (in quotes, because for me it wasn't so much of a race as it was a death march), and ever since, I have felt bored with running, and just plain tired. That really has to change, because tomorrow is my first triathlon of the season, a sprint tri - 1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike, and 5k run. Let's see how I do, considering I have not swum in the open water yet this year, and have not been on my bike in a sadly long period of time.
In other news, I am on the cusp of change in other aspects of my life - which I believe is the cause of my lack of interest in training over the last couple of weeks. The changes are all job-related, but oftentimes, those changes can create real dilemmas in a person's life - not dilemmas on the scale of terminal illness, death, or other real and genuine loss, but dilemmas, nonetheless.
I passed by a bookshelf this morning in a preoccupied state, thinking over my options for the umpteenth time, and I caught a glimpse of a small book given to me from a dear friend another lifetime ago, on May 19, 1996. The inside dedication reads "...perhaps this book will bring you advice, laughter, and thoughts of our friendship." There are pages that were earmarked for reasons that are now unknown to me, but somehow still resonate with me. Because I am a big believer in the sustaining power of words, please indulge me while I share some of my favorites with you:
"I do not ask to walk smooth paths, nor bear an easy load. I pray for strength and fortitude to climb the rock strewn road. Give me such courage and I can scale the highest peaks alone, and transform every stumbling block into a stepping stone."
-Gail Brook Burket
"I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned."
-Carol Burnett
"I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change, the fear of the unknown; and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in my heart that says: turn back, turn back, you'll die if you venture too far."
-Erica Jong
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
"Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."
-Gilda Radner
"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."
-Mary Pickford
"I am old enough to know that victory is often a thing deferred, and rarely at the summit of courage...What is at the summit of courage, I think, is freedom. The freedom that comes with the knowledge that no earthly thing can break you."
-Paula Giddings
"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be."
-Clementine Paddleford
In other news, I am on the cusp of change in other aspects of my life - which I believe is the cause of my lack of interest in training over the last couple of weeks. The changes are all job-related, but oftentimes, those changes can create real dilemmas in a person's life - not dilemmas on the scale of terminal illness, death, or other real and genuine loss, but dilemmas, nonetheless.
I passed by a bookshelf this morning in a preoccupied state, thinking over my options for the umpteenth time, and I caught a glimpse of a small book given to me from a dear friend another lifetime ago, on May 19, 1996. The inside dedication reads "...perhaps this book will bring you advice, laughter, and thoughts of our friendship." There are pages that were earmarked for reasons that are now unknown to me, but somehow still resonate with me. Because I am a big believer in the sustaining power of words, please indulge me while I share some of my favorites with you:
"I do not ask to walk smooth paths, nor bear an easy load. I pray for strength and fortitude to climb the rock strewn road. Give me such courage and I can scale the highest peaks alone, and transform every stumbling block into a stepping stone."
-Gail Brook Burket
"I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned."
-Carol Burnett
"I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change, the fear of the unknown; and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in my heart that says: turn back, turn back, you'll die if you venture too far."
-Erica Jong
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
"Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."
-Gilda Radner
"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."
-Mary Pickford
"I am old enough to know that victory is often a thing deferred, and rarely at the summit of courage...What is at the summit of courage, I think, is freedom. The freedom that comes with the knowledge that no earthly thing can break you."
-Paula Giddings
"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be."
-Clementine Paddleford
5 Comments:
Excellent quotes to live by. Good luck in the tri!
Good luck with the tri and the struggle with your motivation. You provided a lot of powerful quotes to draw strength from.
The Erica Jong quotation is very powerful. It expresses exactly what I am now living - praise be...
You've expressed unahppiness with your job in the past - I hope that the changes you are making will make you happier and that you will find something that is better for your spirit.
Best of luck with your race this weekend.
Good stuff!!!
Nice thoughts. I love those types of inspirational quotes.
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