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by Georgie Márquez-André September 12, 2004 Lessons Learned
Last week I told you about my second 1/2 marathon. Well, this week I would like to give you some other perspectives, and what I believe are some interesting spiritual applications.
This is the story of two different racers... and how different people will deal with the same experience. The first person has run this race many times... they are experienced and train year round. This time, however, rather than running for time, she chose to run with a good friend, who was running for the first time. During the race, the friend threatened to quit, she was tired, and sore but kept going. The veteran runner adjusted her pace to keep up with her friend... completing the race in one hour over her time last year. Was she upset? No! On the contrary, she says that this was her best, most fun race to date! Why? Because she ran for fun... she enjoyed the sights, the crowds, danced to the different bands along the course, but most of all... she helped her friend accomplish a great goal.
The second runner is a young, strong, competitive young man. He had never run a race this long, actually, this was only his second race ever. In the end, out of a field of approximately 18,000 runners, he came in on the top 1,000, 64th in his age group. Was he happy? No! Why? Because after maintaining an amazing pace for close to 10 miles... between miles 9 and 10, he hit the dreaded head wind, coupled with calf cramps... and had to walk most of the last 3 miles.
So, what's the lesson? If you think I'm going to say that the first runner is to be commended and the second not, you are mistaken. What these two people represent are the different calls, challenges, and tests we all face. For the young woman the test was one of friendship, of saying no to her pride, to her ability to perform, and yes to being present to the moment, and to her friend. She passed the test. For the young man, the test was one of personal challenge, of pushing himself to the limit, of facing his pain and finishing in spite of it. He, too, passed the test.
We sometimes want life to be the same for everyone... for our test to be everyone's test, for our expectations, even our victories to be the shared by those around us. But life is personal, life is unique to each one of us. Let's run our own races, and let the others run theirs.
Have a blessed week!
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