The delicious but spicy tuna tartare I had eaten the
night before was the culprit of the heartburn I was experiencing the next
morning. Add on to that - the burning in my leg muscles on a somewhat humid
morning while running (or rather, jog/walking) the Kelli 5K last Saturday, made
for a slightly uncomfortable experience. “Please don’t get sick,” was my mantra
for 30 some minutes.
To eliminate the possibility of creating an unpleasant encounter
for the one or two runners behind me, I tried various techniques to take my
mind away from the nausea: counting my breaths in and out, organizing my day in
my mind, listening to the morning dove that seemed to always be on every branch
I ran under…and I did my best to be grateful for the monarch that kept flitting
around in front of me as if to say, “You can do this.” But atlas – I would
return to the mantra, “please don’t get sick.”
At one point during the run I wondered why I just didn’t
donate money instead of challenging my body, which was a former runner but
seems to like the slower pace of walking these days. But then, wouldn’t you
know it, something dawned on me to challenge – and change – my perception. Because,
after all, challenging the body wasn’t enough for the day.
My first thought went to Kelli Hutchison, of which the
run is named after. “All I have is heartburn, not cancer.” And then my thought
shifted to Griffin Cochrane who received a portion of the proceeds of the
fundraising event. Again, I was reminded of my minor inconvenience as I
compared it to that of leukemia. It was at that point the run took on a
different meaning.
You see, my personal life’s mission is to be of some use
to the world, providing a bit relief in a positive way whenever I can with the
hope that it somehow helps others.
For some reason, I’ve been thinking that my lofty “save
or change the world” ideals put in action should be easy. Author, Bruce
Kasanoff articulates my Saturday run realization the best in an online article
he wrote for Forbes magazine. When referencing our thoughts as compared to
action, he states: “You're not going to accomplish this by meditating once or
writing a few passages in your journal. It will take a ton of consistent effort
and focus.”
He goes on to say that when you shift from thought to
action, you might hear an inner voice tell you something irrational like skipping
your luxury vacation and work instead with gang members through a community
center. “What? Does working with gang members sound like a crazy thing to do,”
Kasanoff points out. “Did you think it would be easy or trivial to make the
world more peaceful [or insert my many lofty ideals]?
Kasanoff also stated that the wishes you make while
waiting in line at Starbucks don't change the world. In most cases, you have
forgotten them after a few days or a week. To change the world, you need
persistent and positive thoughts that are strong enough to change your own
actions. In other words, before your thoughts can change the world, they must
change you.
Luckily, I did cross the finish line without sharing with
others the previous night’s meal. And, when I did, I was a slightly different
person. I entered the race to remember a young girl and to help a young boy in
my effort to ‘change the world’ – but it was they that changed me.
But what has also changed about me is this - next year, I
will remember not to eat spicy food the evening before the race.
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