This morning's musings

I woke an hour earlier than the alarm, which is a good thing as I am trying to get a lot done so I can go and enjoy some time with a few of the ladies on our team who have infants and wanted to hang out together today. Since my love language (Five Love Languages, Gary Smalley) is quality time, I enjoy being with people...period. So, I'm going to try and get a few things done and still enjoy time with them this afternoon.
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I'm still a bit disappointed that I won't be doing the 1/2 marathon this Sunday but I just wasn't prepared. I didn't have the mileage I was expecting and I don't want to face injury. Instead, on Saturday morning I'll be running a 5 k and atleast I feel as though I'm getting out there and moving forward a bit.

I realized that I'm not as good at following the running plan as I was with the Sprint Tri plan. I much prefer training for a Sprint Tri but at this point I don't forsee myself doing another one on this side of the world anytime soon. Nothing is happening nearby and I think I'm going to wait. I'd like to get another one into my experience portfolio (hehe) before I see if I want to jump into Olympic distances.

One thing besides running that I dislike is strength training but I've been doing great with the strength training program that my friend Lisa developed for me. So, I'll just need to continue that. I also posted a full marathon training plan that would prepare me to be ready to do one (which I'm not planning to actually do, I just want to get my miles up there) by the Spring. I definitely need new tennis shoes but I'm waiting until I head back to the States in February before getting a new pair - if I can wait that long.

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"Leprosy yielded to no human remedies but it fled at once at the Lord's "I will"' Sometimes there are things in my heart that feel a lot like leprosy and I am asking God to touch those places. He says, "I will" and they flee. Thank you Jesus for being such a real part of life.

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Last night I found "Dan's Treehuggers" bookstore in Budapest and I met Dan. He is from the East Coast but has been living in Budapest for 16 years. He started his bookstore/organic cafe almost 3 years ago. I asked him how he got the idea and how it got started. He said that his girlfriend at the time wanted 4 kids so he realized he would need some income to sustain that. He said his girlfriend didn't survive the start up of the business, but now he has two bookstore/cafe's in Budapest and one in Vienna. I sold a bag full of books to him and then ended up purchasing a book later at another bookstore.

I ended up buying a paperback by the author Paulo Coelho called "Like the Flowing River." I've heard a lot about him recently and all of his books are here in Budapest in English. This story from his book caught my attention and I thought I'd share it with you.

"A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked:
"Are you writing a story about what we've done? Is it a story about me?"

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
"I AM writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I'm using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up."

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn't seem very special.

"But it's just like any other pencil I've ever seen!"

"That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world."

'First quality: you are capable of great things but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God and He always guides us according to His will.'

'Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he's much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.'

'Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.'

'Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.'

'Finally, the pencil's fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.'
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