Serenity, Courage, and Acceptance

I finally got a chance to go for a run this last weekend. It was a little painful and I only got in about two miles. My arthritic foot and ankle have kept me sidelined for a while now. The pain has been pretty bad at times, but I have also used it as an excuse to be lazy. I have blown off several opportunities to do different types of exercise that are less stressful to my ankle such as cycling, swimming or lifting weights. While I have managed some workouts over the last few weeks, I definitely could have done more.

Of course, I have had a lot going on lately. I recently moved to beautiful Madeira Beach, FL. As most of you know moving can be a very time consuming and stressful ordeal I also have ended up spending a lot of my personal time hanging out with someone that I was dating. Through no fault of the other person, things got to the point where I did not spend enough time on myself. Predictably I became unhappy due to lack of workout time. Once I started to take time for myself on the weekends, to cycle and so fourth, we went our separate ways. Relationship or not, with good time management and determination, there should always be time to work out if you want to badly enough. It all comes down to priorities and discipline.

Overall, moving again has been worth it. I now can walk to the beach from my front door in less than 5 minutes. I have an awesome bay view out my back windows. Single and living by the beach, what more could a guy ask for? I truly feel lucky to be living where I am. I feel so fortunate that I have had to pinch myself each day to make sure I'm not dreaming. It still amazes me that everything I have ever tried to obtain for myself happens if I stay focused on it.

Okay, so back to the running thing...My situation with not being able to run, especially due to injury, was so frustrating to me. While I was sitting in someones office a few days ago, I saw a sign posted on the wall. What I saw was not new to me at all, but it was the perfect advice. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the saying or prayer that goes, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference." These words are some of the best advice to live by I have ever encountered.

After all, it may very well come to pass that I may never be able to run long distances again or even at all? In fact, eventually this will become a reality one day, one way or another. I should be doing my best and not wasting the opportunities I have by being lazy or making excuses due to frustration. Just because I am sidelined by one situation it is no reason to throw in the towel all together. After all, my motto has always been 'Work with what you got'. Having the determination to address what needs to be changed, be at peace with what you can't control and the focus to stay on task is invaluable. So I guess motivational posters do work sometimes!

May you thrive in peace, acceptance and good judgment.
TyW