Wednesday, January 4, 2012

"AGE IS OPPORTUNITY"; IT'S NOT TOO LATE:

I truly believe it is never too late to accomplish a dream or desire. I've always admired people who could run marathons and other athletes. I've jogged a mile or more in my younger years, and momentarily considered what it would be like to run a marathon. This week I decided that I'm going to run a marathon. I know nothing about running a marathon, but I have a desire; and I'm acting on it. I Facebooked Myrna Jackson who runs marathons and asked her how to get started.  She so graciously found a program on the internet for me to follow and suggested the Martian Race as a start. I commenced my program today. The Martian Race is both 5K and 10K and is scheduled for April 2012. I will, of course, start with the 5K, thanks Myrna. I am not starting as a couch potato; I began getting myself back in good physical shape a couple of years ago, but have not yet reached all my goals.  I am in it to win--proper diet and all (no more ice cream binges).  I can't say it enough. God made the most forgiving, efficient, and wonder machine when She made the human body. Even people with physical challenges have accomplished magnificent goals with a dream and discipline.  What is it you want to do? Do your homework; network for information, support, and lasting relationships; and let's go!

Never Too Late

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“It is too late! Ah, nothing is too late—
Cato learned Greek at eighty;
Sophocles
Wrote his grand “Oedipus,” and Simonides
Bore off the prize of verse from his compeers
When each had numbered more than fourscore years;
And Theophrastus, at fourscore and ten,
Had begun his “Characters of Men.”
Chaucer, at Woodstock, with his nightingales,
At sixty wrote the “Canterbury Tales.”
Goethe, at Weimar, toiling to the last,
Completed “Faust” when eighty years were past.
What then? Shall we sit idly down and say,
“The night has come; it is no longer day”?
For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress.
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.
It is never too late to start doing what is right.
Never.


Wadsworth had it right! Consider the example of Mrs. Ernestine Shephard who began bodybuilding late in life (60's I believe). She is now 74 yrs old. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/29/ernestine-shepherd-worlds-oldest-female-bodybuilder_n_868577.html

 




LET'S GO! YOU CAN DO IT!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

EACH DAY IS A GIFT! Happy New Year!

Time calculated in years is both superficial and real.  It is real because birthday clock begins again and our bodies sync with it, for the most part. It is real because it marks the end of a tax year with the new April 15 in sight.  Year-end and watch night ceremonies and celebrations can lull us into thinking that 12:01 am December 31 is magical, miraculous, or even our lucky day.  We watch the clock as if God himself fixed and sanctified it as special.  Indeed, New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day can be as eventful, special, holy, magical, and miraculous as any other day.  For some, it is like Valentine’s Day, another day that intensifies their aloneness and inability to run into or find that right woman or man throughout the rest of the year.  And the media, as with other holidays, brings into relief or bolsters the idea of Jan 1 as the newest of all.  Each day we open our eyes, step out of our beds, catch sight of a streaming golden light parading into our bedrooms or the pitter patter sounds of Mother’s Nature’s dripping faucet in the sky, see the rise and fall of our chests signaling that our breath never left our bodies, it is a new miraculous day ripe for beautiful and wondrous encounters. We can help make things happen any day of the year. We are God’s elves in this workshop called earth! If we wait until January 1, 2012 to resolve to live our best life, we just might miss out on the opportunity of our lifetime.  Yet, I believe it is never too late to begin again. But if we think we must wait until January 1, we likely will be disappointed when we find that just like December 1 resolutions, January 1 resolutions demand faith, hard work, and stepping out of our comfort zones.  Therefore, today I remind myself of and renew these resolutions:
            WHEREAS, I am created in the image of God, and
            WHEREAS, God’s Spirit moves upon, resides in, and anoints me with wisdom and power, and
            WHEREAS, I pray for and am grateful for God’s daily strength, faithfulness, faith in me,
            I, THEREFORE, RESOLVE to
            BELIEVE in myself even when others cannot and do not.
            CULTIVATE the bundled seed that God nourished in my mother’s womb in order to become the talented, gifted, successful, giving, compassionate, innovative, wise woman God envisioned me to be.
            KNOW that this cultivation is the work of a lifetime, I pledge each day to ACT in ways that will realize the vision, including hard work, community involvement, heartily laughing and playing, educating my mind and spirit, exercising my limbs and mind, resting my body, mind and soul, reflecting in quiet space, and gifting back to the land and humanity.
            HOPE in and VISUALIZE a present and future in which God grants me the desires of my heart, filling my mind with hope-filled thoughts, clothing my body in a way that demonstrates expectation but not recklessness, walking paths that place me at God’s disposal.
            GIFT the body temple God loaned me with daily exercise, fresh air, clean foods, ample rest, plenty of water, and dancing.
            WRITE books and essays that are liberating, informative, and that reflect God’s hand upon my soul and mind.
            CREATE opportunities and space to use my gifts instead of waiting for other people and institutions to acknowledge and appreciate them.
            BECOMING a more conscientious, passionate, and compassionate teacher.
            EMBRACE and STRIVE to be a kind, loving, forgiving, flexible, friend, sister, aunt, and colleague (and possibly a foster or adoptive parent).
            GUARD my boundaries and accept the boundaries others’ deserve and need.
            POUR life and commitment into my dreams and encourage others to dream.
            GO TO THE OCEAN, SEA, or BEACH  as often as I can.
            BE OPEN to change;
AND ACKNOWLEDGE in speech and practice that each day is a gift.