Breath

"Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life." ~ Giovanni Papini

Breathing is one of those things you take for granted and don't spend much time thinking about...until you can't breathe! And then it becomes the only thing you can think about. I forgot to do my inhaler before my last run and thought, "Oh, I'm only going to be running 3 miles and I'm not planning on going fast, I'll be fine." I ran about 1/4 of a mile and started getting a bit short of breath. Then as I got closer to 1/2 mile, I decided that turning around would be a good option. By the time I made it back to my car, stopping and walking a couple of times, I was wheezing loudly and literally gasping for breath.

Two puffs of my magical inhaler later and I'm back out for the remaining 2 miles of my run, thankful and very conscious of how light I felt and easy it was to breathe.

On the rare occasions that I am in that scenario, I always think about people who lived a long time ago that had asthma or other breathing difficulties. How scary it must have been for them to have been in a situation where they couldn't breathe and not to know that an inhaler was waiting for them.

Breathing and focusing on my breath while running or meditating or just in going about my daily life is such a focusing thing to do. When I'm thinking about my breath, I am definitely "in the moment" and present. While it is definitely something I do unconsciously most of the time, breathing definitely is one of the greatest pleasure in life!

"If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe." ~ Chuang Tzu

This Week's Still Moments

"Non-doing has nothing to do with being indolent or passive. Quite the contrary. It takes great courage and energy to cultivate non-doing, both in stillness and in activity. Nor is it easy to make a special time for non-doing and to keep at it in the face of everything in our lives which needs to be done." ~Jon Kabat-Zinn

Still Moments ~

Witnessing an absolutely amazing sunrise

Rubbing my dog's belly

Reading The Forgotten Garden and being totally absorbed

An exhilerating cold run

Meditation time

Taking photographs of the bridge

A warm shower on a freezing cold day

Snuggling into my flannel sheets

Hugging my daughter

Watching my daughter and her friends play

Writing in my journal

Seeing a heron flying low over the water

Savoring a delicious chocolate chip cookie

Running Late

Ahhh, Wednesday... My daughter's school starts an hour late on Wednesdays so we get to sleep in a bit. I stayed up reading an extra bit last night and that's always heavenly. The only drawback of these late Wednesday mornings is that I don't have a chance to run first thing. Running later in the day is always so much more difficult. I had lunch with some of my staff today so I couldn't run then and I had a meeting until 3:00 so I couldn't run before I picked up my daughter. Then a gift fell from the sky and she got invited to play at a friend's house this afternoon. So I got my run in after all.

I started out not feeling like running at all, but I didn't want to refuse the gift of the free time so I told myself I'd run 3 miles - out and back, easy, no brainer run. Then I started off and felt sluggish at first but after a mile or so I started feeling good. So I told myself I'd run 4 miles -at the turn-around point I still felt like running so I ran on to the 5, then the 6, then the 7 mile-turn around point! And then I turned around!

The sky was very gray today, and it was colder than I thought. My ears wished for more than a running cap, but I did wear gloves so my hands were comfortable. I ran along the riverwalk and the river was gray, the sky was gray, the trees even looked gray. I saw a beautiful heron perched quietly at the edge of the water on a fallen log. I love heron. Four ducks - 2 male and 2 female - were preening in the water near the 6 mile turn-around spot. Their feathers were so shiny and bright in the midst of the gray - brilliant blue and green. They were beautiful.

So while I prefer to start my day off with a run, running late is a gift as well and a great way to end the day.

Dreary, Rainy Tuesday

"Within you is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself." ~Hermann Hesse

Still some snow out but mostly rain today. I am glad my moods are not really tied to the weather. And it's cold! I would much rather it be even colder and snowy or sunny instead of cold and rainy and gray. Ah, well...

This kind of weather makes me want to stay in and read and eat chocolate chip cookies under the "fairy lights" I have strung around my living room. I am reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and enjoying it so much. I finished The Distant Hours by the same author and couldn't wait to use a Christmas gift card from Barnes and Noble to get another one of hers. So we're curled up with the pup spending the afternoon with books and feeling cozy.

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep."

~Robert Frost

I love this poem and the imagery it conjures.

I have had the most wonderful Sunday imagineable. I got to run for a couple of hours - 12 miles or so - and enjoy the snow, the deer, the quiet, the beautiful bare woods, and yes, the stillness. Sunday mornings like this fill me to overflowing with peace and stillness to last me through the week. I ran on the road today since the trails were still very slushy, but my run was wonderful. I could tell I have been running more hills. The hills in the first half of the run are usually a bit difficult, but today I ran up them with hardly a second thought. My knees are a bit tired tonight since I've been running my longer runs on trails, but I feel really good.

The woods were still completely covered in snow. I saw more deer today than I did yesterday - several groups of mamas and younger deer and one gorgeous buck with a full head of antlers. I love to see them and watch as they see me and try to decide whether to stay or turn and run. I got quite close a couple of times today, but inevitably they turn and run and before I can blink they have literally melted into the forrest.

We got to ride horses this afternoon. A whole day spent outdoors enjoying the snow and the animals and the trees and the cold air!

Deepest Snow

"I frequently tramped 8 or 10 miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Blue skies, soft white clouds drifting lazily across them, stark tree branches stretching into the heavens... and snow still covering the ground! The roads are mostly clear , but the ground is still lying under a blanket of white. So unusual for the South and so beautiful!

I took advantage of an unexpected free hour and, instead of running, I grabbed my camera and headed to one of my favorite places in the world. I LOVE trees, love them in all seasons, but there is something about the bare branches of a tree in winter that is particularly enticing to me. The sky was perfect today too, a gorgeous, washed-out blue with cottony clouds. The trees looked incredible. I tramped through the snow and took tons of pictures of my favorites and others that caught my eye.

Other than the trees, I had the great fortune to stumble upon six deer at the edge of the woods and was able to enjoy watching them for a long time as they grazed under the snow and walked about under the trees. I got some lovely pictures of them and as beautiful as the trees were, the deer shots would have to be my favorites.

Even though I didn't get to run today, that hour was so rejuvenating to me. The woods were so quiet and peaceful, the deer were beautiful, and air was crisp but not as cold as it has been. A sacred time and place.