3.43 Miles, Red-winged blackbirds and my PROFOUND playlist! Thursday, 05/14/2015 2:00 p.m.

  "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's [sore] feet" ~Lao-tzu, insertion by Zita!

This is profound!

I just returned from a 3.43 mile walk/jog out and back on the Springwater Corrider Trail today.  It took 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Granted it was mostly walk, and bursts of pathetic little jogs on my sore feet, but I did it! I now know how long a 5K is!  My goal of course will be to run the entire thing.

But I have begun!

And you know the saying (Can you tell I love sayings, inspirational quotes, and passages from Scripture? lol):

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

However, in looking up this quote just now, I learned something interesting: 

" Although this is the popular form of this quotation, a more correct translation from the original Chinese would be "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." Rather than emphasizing the first step, Lau Tzu regarded action as something that arises naturally from stillness." [note by Michael Moncur, September 01, 2004]

I like that:  "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet".  I have begun!!!

On my walk/jog today I saw a multitude of red-winged blackbirds. I tried to take a picture, but could never get close enough (and I just have an old school flip phone).  But, trust me on this. They were glorious!

But most profound of all is my playlist.  I just turn on FM radio and search until I hear a song I like. This is what I came up with. And seriously, this could be the background music for the video of my life!!

Zita's Most Profound Playlist, 05/14/2015

1. Fire on the Mountain, The Grateful Dead
2. Symphony in D Major, Josef Haydn
3. 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord, O My Soul), Matt Redman
4. Sugar, Maroon 5
5. On Top of the World, Imagine Dragons
6. I Want to be Sedated, The Ramones
7. Breathe, Pink Floyd (I was trying to run and gasping for air when this came on!)
8. You Really Got Me, Van Halen
9. Good-Bye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John
10. TNT, AC/DC
11. We Are Young, Fun
12. Mama, I'm Coming Home, Ozzie Ozborne
13. Only the Good Die Young, Billy Joel (I actually laughed when this came on!)
14. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan. (This one made me tear up as I really listened to the lyrics, watching a red-winged blackbird take flight)
15. Where Are You Going, Dave Matthews (I chuckled at the irony of the lyrics)
16. A Sky Full of Stars, Coldplay 

It occurred to me that having good music with a strong beat (I seem to prefer classic rock for my workouts) is very helpful. When I walk I pray, I think, I meditate. But running, I am learning is a whole different pot of beans. (I've got beans on the brain - my black bean soup in the slow cooker smells divine!).  Anyway, the music distracts me from thinking. Because when I am running I am thinking thoughts like, "I'm not going to make it! My feet hurt! I'm breathing all wrong! What if I blow out my knees?" Hence, it obviously is a good idea for me to quiet those thoughts!

I am now recovering with a glass of fresh juice. Today I combine a little bit of tomato juice with lemon juice, parsley, kale, cucumber and celery.  Very tasty!  And I'm probably going to have to try that soup before I head out to teach today.

Peacefully and Profoundly Yours,

Zita