Sometimes Dave and I like to run together early in the morning before he heads to work. We have a route we do that goes from our house, across a small highway, through a Home Depot parking lot, past a hotel that is under construction, through a park and then back home. If we run before the sun comes up, we often see a dark SUV with its lights on parked in the middle of a stretch of roadway between the Home Depot and the hotel. That vehicle has spooked us at times, as we normally would not see a person. Just a car. And that seemed odd in the early morning hours. We would move past it with a heightened awareness, concerned about what might be happening and confused that this car appeared at this spot numerous times with no apparent explanation. Well, today we learned why.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Compassion
The Treadmill Race.
I’ve been trying to be consistent about exercising though I’m not formally training for anything right now. Standard for me is to get at least 30 minutes of running or walking in on the treadmill, if I do nothing else. This week, I’ve been walking more than running and doing so on an incline to make the workout harder. Even with that short effort, I end up drenched and pleased with myself for showing up and making it happen. Then today, it all almost went to hell.
Seeking Kindness.
With everything going on the world and the frenzy of activity even in my little part of the world, I’m feeling tender right now. Not just tender as in compassionate towards others, but tender as in easily pained. I’m hearing so much criticism in the world and all around me, and it’s starting to hurt. I feel myself flinching inside more and more with every harsh word that I hear or read. I want it all to stop. Continue reading
Reality Check.
Late yesterday afternoon, I walked into my boss’s office to ask him about something not terribly important and ended up spending time talking to him about a young person he knew who died over the weekend. I was struck by two things as he spoke. First, I was reminded once again that I work for one of the most caring and compassionate people I’ve ever met. Second, I realized that I was getting worked up yesterday for no good reason. Continue reading
Compassion.
On my run this morning, I was thinking about how different people deal with life’s challenges. I’ve said before that working out is largely how I deal with loneliness, sadness, anger and frustration. It’s what got me through much of 2013, which was a hard year for me. It’s also how I make decisions, as I’ve found that time running, biking or swimming is often perfect time for thinking through an issue. I’m lucky that my coping method is largely a healthy one. Others aren’t so lucky. Why is that? Continue reading