Feel More Fully
Today I am grateful for citronella candles and purple flowers. I am also grateful for the range of emotions I am able to identify and experience more fully.
Some emotions are difficult, painful, challenging. Health fears, the fragility of life, loss and grief, beating ourselves up for our human shortcomings. I have many other people on my mind this morning, feeling compassion for their losses and sending them strength.
Elderly parents dying. A young woman taken by cancer. A sudden death in an accident. Another diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. The anxiety of an upcoming scan for my sister with metastatic breast cancer. The ongoing grief of parents who lost a child to suicide. There can be a heaviness to life at times.
Yet, the range of emotions also includes joy, awe, release from worry, acknowledging grace freely given. Some of these I noted recently:
*my arms churning on hill repeats as I pushed my body and it responded well
*voices of loved ones, in the same room or through the phone
*the awe of nature's color palette
*holding a running medal in my hand, a tactile emotion bringing me a sense of purpose
*the opportunity of a new day, a new hour ahead
These are strong and genuine emotions that bring gratefulness, bring me to the present moment.
As I went through some storage totes yesterday, and asked Sam to do the same, treasures were unearthed. With them came some good emotions.
Here are some of the medals Darcy and I have earned in various half marathons we have run in the last 14 years.
Some emotions are difficult, painful, challenging. Health fears, the fragility of life, loss and grief, beating ourselves up for our human shortcomings. I have many other people on my mind this morning, feeling compassion for their losses and sending them strength.
Elderly parents dying. A young woman taken by cancer. A sudden death in an accident. Another diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. The anxiety of an upcoming scan for my sister with metastatic breast cancer. The ongoing grief of parents who lost a child to suicide. There can be a heaviness to life at times.
Yet, the range of emotions also includes joy, awe, release from worry, acknowledging grace freely given. Some of these I noted recently:
*my arms churning on hill repeats as I pushed my body and it responded well
*voices of loved ones, in the same room or through the phone
*the awe of nature's color palette
*holding a running medal in my hand, a tactile emotion bringing me a sense of purpose
*the opportunity of a new day, a new hour ahead
These are strong and genuine emotions that bring gratefulness, bring me to the present moment.
As I went through some storage totes yesterday, and asked Sam to do the same, treasures were unearthed. With them came some good emotions.
Here are some of the medals Darcy and I have earned in various half marathons we have run in the last 14 years.
We are donating many of them to Medals4Mettle, an organization that gives them to sick children. They will be put to better use that way than they were sitting in storage. It was good to hold them, look at them, remember the runs. We will hang on to a few that have special meaning, as we also hang on to our marathon medals. Giving these away feels right though.
Feeling more fully. We have been generously blessed with our running, and generously blessed each day with gratefulness. Here is a small way to pay it forward.
Yes, there are difficult and challenging emotions. They cannot be avoided. The profoundly joyful ones can't be avoided either. Just pay attention with open ears, mind, and heart.
I love the Medals4Mettle.
ReplyDelete