Circle of Life and other thoughts

Ok, here is my second try at my blog this morning. I had a whole great blog typed about the Circle of Life, the song, life and death, hugely profound and touching stuff, and with the error of a finger, erased it. So, I guess that’s not what I was meant to write about today after all. Blogging doesn’t have an “undo” button. Just like life, you can’t undo what has already been done. Maybe there is a lesson in there? We can’t undo that word, thought or deed, so we need to think first about what we say and do and how it will affect people. So maybe my previous blog was going to be too depressing to share, and I’m meant to share something to lift you up. In the song, the circle of life, one of the lyric lines “but all are agreed as they join the stampede, you should never take more than you give.” So I’m in this stampede of life, living with all of you and sharing our intertwined lives, and what can I give back to you? How can I positively impact your life?

I am not doing a lot for others right now, I can barely take care of myself, so I certainly don’t feel like I’m giving back all I can or should give to others. So, I have to live and take care of myself so that I can pay all the kindness I’ve received forward when I am well. But I can give you words of hope. I can lift you up and hopefully make you think of all the good things that are waiting for you to enjoy. Life can be challenging, and sometimes we forget how much greatness there is for us out there!

It’s a perfect day on the patio. Mid-60’s. I am wearing my little San Francisco hat to cover my balding head and am beginning to think it would be easier to just shave my head and get it over with. I mean, I’m pretty bald on the back and sides and it is getting harder and harder to cover the bald spots, why fight it. Its all going to fall out in another few doses anyway, let’s just cut to the chase. Peyton wants to be the one to shave my head, which is pretty funny. I remember her being somewhat embarrassed all those years ago with a bald mom, we’ve come along way. She loves me and is proud of me no matter what! That’s a good feeling!

Mike and his son Jason are doing an Olympic distance triathlon today, and I’m really proud of them. I could never even imagine being in good enough shape to do that. Mike has run every day for the last 30+ years. Is that amazing or what? What an inspiration to those of us who can only say that we have effectively got out of bed most every day for the last 30+ years! But he inspires me to keep on going, even when I don’t want to. I have to get up and I have to live the best day I can, rain or shine. I have seen him run in snowstorms, wind, rain, heat… you name it. And he keeps on going. What fortitude. I want to be like that. I want to have that kind of fortitude to keep on going no matter what the circumstances. Maybe that’s part of the reason God gave me Mike was to learn that lesson. Keep going. You gotta just put one foot in front of the other no matter what is going on around you. Just like the weather when you are a runner, you can’t always control the external forces that are pressing on your life; health, relationships, finances, job, stress, but you CAN keep going, one foot in front of the other until the sun comes out. Because it always does. There is even sun in the eye of the hurricane. You know that there is another bad storm coming, but enjoy that sun when you see it, get through the next storm, then there is the sun again. Its always there, we just can’t always see it. Even at night, when it is so dark, the sun is just on the other side of the earth, waiting to warm us in the morning, waiting to brighten our day.

Most of you want to know how I’m feeling, and I have to say I’m doing pretty well. I feel a little puny, but nothing to write home about. I plan on making it a great day, walking my dogs and have considered either going to the gym or doing some yoga or something. I need to get my body moving and back in shape so it can keep up this fight. I’m in the fight for my life, so I need to give my body all the tools it needs to win the fight. If I’m not fueling it properly, it won’t have what it needs to make it through. And I want to live well in to my 70’s and beyond, so I’d better get serious about this journey. I can’t just sit back complacently and think that the doctors are going to make me better. I have to be an active participant in the healing process. In your life too, don’t sit on the sidelines, be an active participant in your journey. What can you do to make this a better voyage not only for you but for others? How can we do this together and lift each other up and inspire each other to reach farther, love deeper, treat each other with more respect and compassion?

Think about it. How can you be a more active participant in your life and the life of those around you? How can you improve your life and help improve the lives of those around you? Can you take that kindness that is shown towards you and pay it forward to the next person that you interact with?

I challenge you to be kind to every person you come in contact with today and to find a way, no matter what the circumstance, to add something positive to their life. Join the stampede, but never take more than you can give. Give back to this world, and make it a better place to be.