Crazy Place

So I read an article, interestingly enough in a Runners World magazine (which just arrived via mail, I had somehow forgot I already began subscribing to it a few weeks ago and bought it recently) Athletic themed magazines are not the kind of venue I expect to read articles that speak to my more reflective side. The article was entitled "A Change of Course" by John Bingham. The reason this article spoke to me is that I feel it is the exact kind of lessons I have recently been learning in my own life, and it vocalized a feeling I have had building but haven't yet been able to put a finger on. basically he writes about a man he meets on a boat ride to a marathon in Antarctica (hard core crazyness I know!). The spirit of this man as they begin chatting about life and experiences including serving in Vietnam and the tumultuous 60's , impresses upon this writer as a strong stable character, and like his opening words describe "a person... you just know...has a life lesson to share" . Well this guy ends up falling on a melting glacier they run across and in the race decides to instead only do the half rather than the full marathon. The Vets easygoing acceptance of this "failure" to accomplish exactly what he had set out to do had a great impression upon the Author. Especially since hard core runners can be the hardest on themselves for failures to meet race time goals. He then talks about how when we set goals and make plans for ourselves we often become devastated and self-loathing when we don't meet our standards set for ourselves. But like he writes "A day is just a day...Its is our selfishness, out self-centeredness that creates the disappointments that we too often let define us." I feel this spoke so clearly to me about the changes I have been trying to make in my own life. The accomplishments I have been working towards. It has been a habit in so many (f0rtunately not all) faucets in my life to set goals, some times unattainable almost, and then when I begin to slip, to fail to meet those posts along the way, I become discouraged, self depreciating, and throw in the towel on the whole affair. Lately I have managed to be better about celebrating little goals. Small accomplishments, and as a result have actually seen results in areas of my life that I have battled for years. I don't think that this is saying in anyway that lofty goals are a bad thing, or that one should always brush aside failures as not being ones own fault. To become lazy or complacent, and no longer strive for greater success is not my empahsis here, just that following that adage "dust your self off and keep going" is more valuable perhaps than I realized. And the idea that each day is "just a day" can be invaluable through life, which undoubtedly have many bad days to come.