Imagine standing at the start of a Marathon race. It means you are about to take 63,000 steps in order to cover the 26 miles 385 yards over the course of several hours. It is a crazy feeling, let me tell you. Each time I have done it I think to myself, ” What was I thinking?” or “I’ve changed my mind” or other absurd thoughts that don’t help me get the job done. And each time I cross the finish line 63,000 steps later, I am filled with the deepest possible sense of knowing. What do I mean by knowing you may be wondering. Running a marathon teaches me that I can do anything. I just have to take all the steps, one foot in front of the other, the next step, and the next and the next. It teaches me to ignore the thoughts that say “I can’t” and do it anyway and it teaches me to be in the present moment and a whole lot of other things.
I take those lessons with me each and every day. I carry them with me in my heart, my body, and my spirit. They are a part of me. That is what happens when a person is a marathoner.
As I sit here at Gate 12 in the airport, waiting for the plane which will take me to see my Mom, 90 years old, nearly, lying in a bed with Congestive Heart Failure, in diapers and unable to walk, I carry this knowing with me. I know that to make this trip, it is going to require something like 63,000 steps. The travel, the rental car, seeing my mama bear in this condition, navigating the health care system and advocating for her. And navigating sibling and legal matters and money matters is not a trip I want to take but a journey I must make.
I am just so glad that I have this knowing with me. This is some of what I know.
- Belief, gives me the knowledge that I can do this. I think believing is critical to success at anything, be it a marathon, or a bereavement trip. or starting a business, starting a fitness plan whatever we take on in life.
2. Identifying the steps needed, otherwise known as a plan. By knowing the steps, we can see where we need to go.
3. Identify obstacles. By knowing what can get in the way, and knowing there will be obstacles, we can prepare for them and bust them up.
4. Support. Getting the support needed. In my first Marathon, my daughters handed me, life savers, literally those little candies with holes in them. During this trip my support team is out in full force, with phone calls and listening and whatever it takes.
4. Take one step at a time. Literally, just keep doing the next thing, the next thing, and the next thing.
5. Stay in the present moment. Fear lives in the future, doesn’t it? Fear tells us ” Oh you can’t finish a marathon, it is too hard”. Sometimes fear shows up as ” not today, tomorrow, I don’t feel well today” Fear doesn’t live in the present moment. Fear is about something that might happen in the future, not in this moment.
Every single one of us has challenges in life. sometimes they are challenges of choice like a marathon or a tough project. Many times they are challenges imposed upon us like illnesses, accidents, or recessions. Whether by choice or not the way through the challenge is one step at a time.
And so, I am not at Gate 12 anymore. I am here with my Mom. I am cheering her on as they pick her up and put her in a wheel chair, I am wheeling her around the facility, we even went shopping in the gift shop. I am brushing her hair. As I tucked her into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, I looked own at her with love. ” Think how many times I tucked you in bed” she said smiling. And that is my finish line, that is why I came, to tuck my Mother in bed and maybe just maybe to sing her the Three Little Kittens one more time.
I hope that this is helpful to anyone who needs to hear this today.
