The Crow of Life

 "The only bird that will peck at an Eagle is a crow. He sits on his back and bites his neck. The Eagle does not respond or fight with  the crow. It doesn't waste time or energy on the crow. It simply opens its wings and begins to rise higher into the sky. The higher the flight, the harder it is for the crow to breathe. Eventually, the crow falls due to the lack of oxygen."

I read this earlier this week and it resonated with me. I thought about it all week. 

A few years ago, this photo surfaced on social media sparking a lot of fascination. 

The caption was inspiring and brilliant, thought provoking really. 

The Crows of Life;

We all have crows in our lives. They don't necessarily represent people, to be honest I think it is less about people and more about the challenges that try to interrupt our flight. 

4 lessons from the Crow:

1. Don't fight with crows. (I say this all the time to people who find themselves in the verbal boxing ring, Get OUT of the ring. You don't have to go to every argument your invited to.) 
2. Ascend: "Depart from Evil and do good." Psalm 37:27
3. Many jump on board for the ride but will often sabotage your journey. "He that walks with the wise shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." Proverbs 13:20
4. Focus on the things above. Keep your faith, hold onto your dreams and never quit growing. 

I look back over my 47 years of existence and I have had many crows biting at me. Those crows represent the CHALLENGES OF LIFE. Challenges present themselves in many ways. 2019 that crow showed up as cancer. As a child that crow was living with addiction. 

The challenges are the opinions of others, the critics, the distractions, health issues, insecurities, you decide. 

The challenges are whatever is "pecking" you. Its those annoyances, the things that are holding you back or distracting you. The things that are hurting you not helping you. 

Working with addiction and the family members I am always reminding them to walk away. We have to be careful what battle we are choosing to fight. We can blindly loose ourselves fighting battles that shouldn't have been fought. 

Everyday we have crows trying to hitch a ride. Rise above. It is always your response to the crow that makes you stronger. 

Rundown:

I have brought my miles way down this week. TAPER WEEK!  T-18 days until my marathon. 

This is where that crow is pecking at me, the little annoyances and nervousness of peak week and taper week colliding. 

I have a tight hamstring that is needing recovery BAD. Listen to your body! Die Ego Die!

I will focus on stretching, rolling and looking for a cute marathon outfit for Florida! 

INSPIRATION:

It was not hard to fall in Love with this girl. Shelby is my oldest sons girlfriend. She is as beautiful on the inside as she is beautiful on the outside. You are never to old to learn and young people have a lot they can teach us old people. Shelby has taught me genuine grace. I had made a mistake multiple times with Shelby. A mistake she should have been very upset with me. But one day she gently got up from the couch and walked in my direction. I was sitting on the couch. She squatted down on the floor in front of me, she looked up at me with these sparkling blue eyes and softly whispers, "I love you." It was everything for me not to cry. Often when people hurt us, or offend us, or upset us we want nothing more than to LET THEM KNOW because they DESERVE our wrath. But she didn't do that at all. She gave me grace and compassion and taught me so much on love. 

Beginners Corner: Get Some Gear

Complete Runner is my store of choice for all my gear from shoes, socks, a running watch to nutrition. Having the proper gear puts you in the mindset of getting serious!  

Go to a running store, they will fit you in a good pair of shoes. Your feet take you everywhere treat them good and they will take you places you never knew you could go. 

My top five most important items:

1. Shoes
2. Garmin watch
3. Handheld Nathan water container
4. Running socks
5. Running journal  

Running in the SNOW: 

How are you doing with your walking/ running? I know its cold out, but keep at it. 

Running in the snow is as difficult as it is exhilarating. You have to let go of your expectations. 

Count your Minutes not your Miles. 

"The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; its to test the limits of the human heart." Bill Bowerman

Anita