Standing Still
Today I am grateful for cool morning air and walking Oliver in the coming daylight. I am also grateful for a better awareness of mobility and movement.
Standing still is not something I do much. I need to work on that. Last night I went to pick up Sam from football practice. I watched the last part of practice, standing still, enjoying a beautiful evening, looking at the vista of blue sky and our community's various landmarks. I was both physically and emotionally tired, drained. The school year is gearing up and I had workshops this week. I am adjusting to getting up earlier again. Sam and I had gone to his school to get things taken care of. Darcy and I had gone for a nice bike ride.
By 7:00 last evening, it was nice to just stand there, completely still, and take it all in. Take life in. I am so grateful I am learning how to do that more regularly. Even a few minutes of mindfulness can be rejuvenating, can bring me back closer to balance.
Standing there also brought back a marathon memory. At the end of our first marathon, Chicago in 2004, I was so exhausted by the time I moved through the finish line area that I literally could not move. I didn't have the energy to sit down. I just stood there for a few minutes. Exhausted but absolutely reveling in what I had just experienced. I will never forget that moment.
But I prefer standing still to being at a standstill. A standstill means all motion and progress have ceased. Standing still may mean motion has stopped, but not progress. Progress is in the awareness, the presence, the acknowledgement of the gifts freely given to me, to all of us, daily.
Standing still is not something I do much. I need to work on that. Last night I went to pick up Sam from football practice. I watched the last part of practice, standing still, enjoying a beautiful evening, looking at the vista of blue sky and our community's various landmarks. I was both physically and emotionally tired, drained. The school year is gearing up and I had workshops this week. I am adjusting to getting up earlier again. Sam and I had gone to his school to get things taken care of. Darcy and I had gone for a nice bike ride.
By 7:00 last evening, it was nice to just stand there, completely still, and take it all in. Take life in. I am so grateful I am learning how to do that more regularly. Even a few minutes of mindfulness can be rejuvenating, can bring me back closer to balance.
Standing there also brought back a marathon memory. At the end of our first marathon, Chicago in 2004, I was so exhausted by the time I moved through the finish line area that I literally could not move. I didn't have the energy to sit down. I just stood there for a few minutes. Exhausted but absolutely reveling in what I had just experienced. I will never forget that moment.
But I prefer standing still to being at a standstill. A standstill means all motion and progress have ceased. Standing still may mean motion has stopped, but not progress. Progress is in the awareness, the presence, the acknowledgement of the gifts freely given to me, to all of us, daily.
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