Soul Runnings

My housemate is studying guitar. She is having trouble with a strumming pattern and is most frustrated. She asked my advice. I told her the best way to learn is small segments of practice, frequently. I have proven this method to myself time and time again. But I often forget. I have been frustrated with my lack of motivation.  So this week I have been practicing what I preach. Everyday, I am practicing the difficult sections of the music our choir is preparing. We have a concert in two weeks. Everyday, I get up and walk and try to increase my running steps. Whether I feel like it or not! Everyday, I start with prayer. And I am beginning to end each day with prayer too. Everyday, I practice my knitting. Everyday, I stop eating at 8:00 p.m. My new eating regimen is to eat my largest meal about 2:30 and then not eat anything after that, other than an apple, carrot sticks and water or tea.  Definitely no food after 8:00 p.m. Everyday, I drink black coffee with no crea...

My prediction came true. I am indeed suffering from a food and social interaction hangover. Oy. In retrospect, I think I should prepare myself in advance for such events. I knew there was going to be a barbecue. I should have told myself in advance what I was "allowed" to eat.  Certainly not what amounted to about a POUND of potato chips! I did, however avoid all the gluten. I ate my burger wrapped in lettuce. I avoided the brownies and cake.  High five to me for that! Also, I knew that I would be surrounded by my daughter and son-in-law's bible study friends.  I should have put on a more happy-go-lucky, kind, caring face. Instead of retreating into turtle mode. I knew one of their very outgoing friends ("G") would be there. We all love him. But we do agree he likes to be the center of attention. He likes to poke fun (in a loving way) at people.  He has a quick wit and an incredible memory for details.  Unfortunately he also has a bad heart.  My...

Running and walking are the only two things that are keeping me sane lately. Maybe I should rephrase that: Running and walking are the only two things that are keeping me from losing my mind lately. So I must continue. Forever. I started out on the track this morning. Not as early as I had planned.  Today, being Memorial Day, was a true day off for me.  No church office job. No students. I planned on getting up early, running, doing laundry, practicing piano and then hopping on the Max and heading to the airport.  Then I was going to Uber it across the I-205 bridge to visit Honey Dog, my pregnant daughter and her husband. Ok. I was really wanting to especially visit my pregnant daughter and son-in-law in their new home. But I had not seen Honey Dog in months since we all moved out of the house we were living in, in the Lents area. I really missed Honey Dog! My daughter and son-in-law, I met for breakfast and/or lunch twice a week.  But I had not yet s...

... I try to resist hatred of any kind. "Hatred or hate is a deep and extreme emotional dislike. It can be directed against individuals, groups, entities, objects, behaviors, or ideas. Hatred is often associated with feelings of anger, disgust and a disposition towards hostility." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatred ) I grew up with Dr. Seuss. I still love Dr. Seuss. I can recite Green Eggs and Ham by heart. But what a profound difference the words of that book would have made if the words "do not like" were replaced with the word "hate". Hate is such a strong word.  "Do not like" feels softer.  The opposite of "like". Hate on the other hand feels toxic, almost tangible. When I hate, I can feel it eating away at my internal organs.  Like poison. I've been thinking about the word hate since the horrendous murders on the Max on Friday.  No, that is a lie. I have been thinking about the word hate for much longer.  I n...

I am very sad today. NOT depressed. Inexplicably sad. Yesterday three men were stabbed. Two died. One was hospitalized. They were coming to the aid of two Muslim girls who were being verbally assaulted. I was shocked to hear it happened on the Max train near the Hollywood Transit Center.  One of my regular transfer points.  It was hard to imagine such violence taking place there. On my precious Max train.  People often look weary on the train.  Usually keep to themselves, looking at their cell phones.  Sometimes you hear a few animated discussions. But they are usually happy teens, or young adults.  Once in awhile a screaming toddler. But racial slurs, hate speech, and threats? I was glued to the internet all day as the story unfolded.  So tragic. One of the young men who died was only 23 years old. One year younger than my son. I could imagine my son or his friends jumping to help just like he did.  It could have been one of them. Then I ...

Two weeks into my third year of this blog! And I got off on the right foot this morning! I got out of bed at 6:00 a.m. Stretched. Prayed. Walked-ran 1/2 mile at the track. Hopped on the bus to the gym at 7:00 a.m. Stopped at Starbucks for a hot cup of bitter, black coffee sprinkled with cinnamon. Spoke on the phone to my new friend, "T" from Plenty of Fish. We talked for over a half hour. Very pleasant conversation! "T" is the man with a Greek heritage. And the only one I feel comfortable with and interested in this time around. In the Plenty of Fish app, a woman must watch out for sharks! But T strikes me as more of a dolphin. I like dolphins. After talking with T whilst sipping bitter, black coffee, I headed over to the gym. Did a little treadmill. Did some weights. Sat in the sauna-allergies still bugging me! Sat in the hot tub. Took myself out for a lovely, low carb breakfast at Sunny' s Diner. (Mushroom-Swiss Cheese Omelette with sliced toma...

10:11 p.m. Just got home a little while ago.  A very long day.  And I believe I never truly woke up! Was a little off all day.  Thought I needed a break from running, so I slept in. But then I got very cranky with myself.  Wished I had gotten up early enough to go for a run and get my morning black, bitter coffee. I missed my routine! Not only did I not run, and not get my coffee, I also did not get my "God time". I did not get around to praying and writing in my journal until the afternoon when I came home briefly after my church office job to grab my piano teacher backpack. And it was a rushed time with God.  Pretty much apologizing for not starting out with Him first thing. So the good thing is that I have a good routine.  I just need to stick to it.  I am amazed at how much I really missed it! Even though I was off today - tired, sluggish, slow, achy and grumpy, my day ended well. My students never fail to cheer me up.  After a l...

"I run, therefore I am a runner!" That is what I told myself this morning. It is what gets me out of bed. Running! Go figure! I told my friend "D", the bus driver the other day that fear seemed to be my biggest motivating factor. He said, "In that case, we ought to let loose a big bear to chase you out of the house to run in the morning!" LOL! I think in my case, the fear that is motivating me is fear of failure. Fear of not living the optimal life that God has given me. Fear of not living long enough or well enough to enjoy my family, my grandchildren, a partner to love... So run I shall! I walked 1.5 miles this morning, including 200 jogging steps. I noticed when I walked, I felt heavy, and victim to negative thoughts. But when I ran, even though it was painful, the thoughts went away and I felt buoyant. Like a gazelle. I started running in high school. Often training with my mom and dad at the Hudson's Bay High School track in Vancou...

I am getting better! I woke up at 6:30 a.m. And actually got vertical at 6:50 a.m. Threw on my jogging clothes and got to the running track at 7:00 a.m. I walked a brisk 1/2 mile, including 200 consecutive steps of jogging at the end!  (That was close to jogging an entire "straight" of the track.  I used to jog the curves and walk the straights a few years ago when I attempted to revisited jogging. Now, I think it is time to jog the straights and walk the curves!) As I was finishing, I saw some children heading to school. So I really need to get to the track at 6:30 a.m. or earlier. The sky was a brilliant blue, the sun already quite warm. I suddenly started craving my black coffee! (I was also strangely craving tomatoes.) So I grabbed my coffee mug and walked another brisk 3/4 miles to the gas station.  I sipped the bitter hot liquid. I'm acquiring a taste for black coffee.  It seems to wake up my whole being! Then I walked 3/4 miles back home.  Two mil...

It's Monday. You know what that means... Monday stats!   May 22, 2017 Stats 6:00 p.m. Mood: 5 (On a scale of 1-10, 1 being severely depressed, 10 being ecstatic)  Weight: 188 pounds Chest:   40" Waist:    37" Hips:      43" Thighs:   22" Biceps: 13" Calves:   15" Ankles:   8" Compared to last Monday: May 15, 2017 Stats 1:30 p.m. Mood:   3    (On a scale of 1-10, 1 being severely depressed, 10 being ecstatic) Weight: 190 pounds Chest:   40" Waist:    37" Hips:      44" Thighs:   22" Biceps: 13" Calves:   15" Ankles:   8" Happy Dance!! I lost two pounds! I lost one inch off of my hips! My mood is great! I had trouble falling asleep last night. So I did not get up at the crack of dawn and run as planned.  So when I finally got vertical,...