Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Slow And Steady...
Slow and steady wins the race, the turtle knows is true
Deliberate, intentional each step is One with You.
Follow in the turtle's footsteps, each moment sets the pace
The time to feel God's Presence and Her Tender Loving Grace.
The tempo of my heartbeat - a rhythm steady strong
The time piece of life's symphony that plays my own life's song.
I follow where You lead me intuition lights the way
Your love to guide my footsteps every moment every day.

Yesterday my husband and I were doing our training run for the Harvard Pilgrim 10K. It's been wonderful to be running again and the last two weeks I have done a 14.9 minute/mile. Yesterday I was feeling fatigued but knew we had to get out and do our run. We decided to do 6 times around the reservoir near our home to get in our 5.4 miles. There was a stiff headwind. I had done a lot this week in preparation for my daughter's graduation party next Sunday. I had several requests from customers of New World Greeting Cards and am getting ready for the launch of my second book of inspirational poetry, "Set Sail for a New World:Healing a Life Through the Gift of Poetry." I knew that I could not run at any faster a pace than what I was running.

I told my husband that I felt as though this was a 'garbage run' -- a term runners use when they feel sluggish. My husband said, 'It's only a garbage run if you let it be a garbage run'. He was right -- here I was on this glorious Spring day with everything in bloom, the greenest Spring I can recall in a long time. The sun was glistening off of the water but somehow I had that clock stuck in my head. My dear friend Kate Loving Shenk writes a Daily Prayer Blog. The topic has been time; in one of her blogs she wrote about people being addicted to time. I realized that on this training run I was addicted to the time. Several weeks ago I told myself that I was going to run a 15 minute mile and would do so without the use of my watch. When the training run was over, sure enough, I had run a 15 minute mile. When I am not training for a race, I focus on the heart rate to ensure that I am getting a good cardiovascular work out. The goal is health and fitness. I was amazed at how easily I could slip back into the obsession over not going fast enough. Thoughts of trying to keep up as I walked with a limp, being called 'easy out' in gym class and feeling left behind continue to need work as I weave the remnants of polio into the fabric of my life. I need to remind myself of my own philosophy -- Life's journey is about showing up, running with all your heart and finishing what you started.

Halfway through our run, my husband pointed out that there was a turtle in the water; a sign from God that I needed to relax into the rhythm of this glorious day and give thanks that I am able to get outside and run 5.4 miles. And then this morning, during my meditation the above poem flowed into my heart.

Wishing you a day of peace, harmony and allowing the steady rhythm of your beating heart to guide your footsteps and love to light the way.

Thank you for reading.
God bless
With my love and gratitude,
Mary