Finding Inspiration

Katherine Anne Porter once said.. 

“There seems to be a kind of order in the universe, in the movement of the stars and the turning of the earth and the changing of the seasons, and even in the cycle of human life. But human life itself is almost pure chaos. Everyone takes his stance, asserts his own rights and feelings, mistaking the motives of others, and his own.”

I love this quote because it forces us to examine our view on life, why were here and what we are spending the majority of our time doing.  We do each take our stance and craft our views based on our own experiences and perspectives. 

Lately I've been thinking a lot (probably too much).  I've been talking to my coach (a lot) and getting mentally ready to put myself out there again for another 140.6 miles.  

I've also been thinking about all the people behind me, the people who love me and never have wavered in their support!  A few of those people are below!!  I had such a nice time with my Father & his wife Angela being here and really enjoyed just reminiscing about some times growing up where he used to tell me stories etc.  

Thanks for coming to PA to visit Dad and Angela and for just being there for me all these years!! Love you guys (and of course, KYLE who was just so helpful and awesome while they were here and is always the best partner in crime a girl could ask for!).

My good friend Beth and I!  We sure have been through many years together of sport and of friendship! I'm a lucky girl to get to have her in my town and to have a friend that we have shared in so much over the years!!  She's a keeper for sure!!

I've also been thinking about what inspires me lately!  

Meeting Sally Martin was really inspiring to me.  At 82 she has been in the sport for quite some time and I LOVE the Bud Light hat she is sporting!  I just had to accost her in the parking lot to say hi and get a picture!  I hope I'm still healthy and kickin at 82!!  She finished in just under 3 hours!  Never gave up! That's inspiring to say the least!

Ahhh.. Jocelyn!   We had an awesome dinner after a quick swim and I'm so happy she's back from her trip out West and able to train with me a bit again.  We are just great friends and she inspires me every day with her attitude, gratefulness and her spirit.  She's just one of those people that if I could do anything for them, I would do it.

If you're looking for some more inspiration, look no further than the story of Tahmina Kohistan who competed in the Olympics this year.  In this article "Afghan runner carries true spirit of the Games with her" it explains how many hardships she had to overcome just to train.  She didn't do it for the glory or to see her name in lights, she did it because it felt right and to give hope to other women in her country who don't have that same hope.  It just reminded me how lucky I am to get to do this on a daily basis!

Finally, the messages and calls and all the love and support I receive, even though I don't deserve it, inspires me and helps me know I'm doing just the right thing by getting back out there!  One of the messages was totally out of the blue to my website from a gentleman who reads my blog.

He wrote "I shared your Lake Placid story with my oldest daughter today. I can only imagine how tough that was to live through. However, thank you for being honest and sharing that story. It was REAL and you are probably not the only one to experience it. I think the honesty you bring to your blog is awesome. It is also important of me as a father to pass stories of DRIVEN females to my two girls. They are my life and I want them to set the same high standards as you do."

I was just so very touched by his message and it made me think about the fact that our victories and triumphs may never nearly have the impact on others as picking ourselves back up after we fall.  I know my path will have ups and downs, and so will yours.  As long as you continue to find peace in the fact that there is a plan and that taking the risks to do something great outweighs the costs we can move forward with courage and with peace of mind.

So that's just what I'm going to keep doing, day in, day out!  I definitely believe the best is yet to come for us! Don't you think??

What inspires you?