Hope
At my school, we’ve started posting teacher’s favorite quotes in the hallway. Most of these, I sort of glaze over, but a couple have caught my eye. One was from a friend of mine. When I first read it, I associated it with my job. It has since taken on a more powerful meaning.
There are different levels of being done. There is done for now. There is done. And, there is what my friend Jim calls FD, which is to be considered absolute done. (I’ll leave to you the definition of that acronym) The trick is to figure out how done you are. Sometimes, that can only be answered in hindsight.
Theres times when I’m on the trail and I start to think it. “That’s it, I’m done with running. I don’t know why I do this” Then I talk myself down. “Ok, maybe I’m done with 100’s, there's nothing wrong with a good ‘ol 100k.” Then, I keep talking, “Ok, maybe I’ll keep 100’s but no more trail 100’s.”. Then I take a deep breath, “Girl, why are you doing this?”, and I put one foot in front of the other. This strategy certainly does not always result in me finding a finish line, but it gives me a second chance to look at a struggle in a different light. It lets me focus on the blessings I have in front of me, and not worry about what the future holds. It gives me hope that I will find a way through a struggle.
I got a beautiful Christmas card from my good friend Andy. He wrote me a long message and it was truly inspiring. He talked about how an injury sidelined him from long distance running, but that he’s found passion in shorter distances. The message was full of hope, not that he could get back to where he was, but that he could enjoy where he is at.
I have heard that a person can live for 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without oxygen, and only 4 seconds without hope. Recently, someone very close to me lost hope for a few seconds. It was terrifying.
This person had reached the FD of done. It took much intervention to help this person see that FD can be switched to ‘done for now’...to see that sometimes you have to take a breath, refocus and look for a second chance to get out of a struggle. It takes real work, focus and attention, but provides hope. Hope has the amazing power of compounding upon itself. Once the flicker is lit, hope can flourish. Hope can light the way through darkness, in fact, it is the only thing that can.
So, as we end this year, I wish all of you who take the time to read my humble blog, a year full of hope and second chances. And, know that when you think you are FD, you might really be given a hopeful chance to find happiness where you are at.
God bless and I wish you a hopeful and happy holiday season.
Oh, and, in case you were wondering, here is my quote:
Theres times when I’m on the trail and I start to think it. “That’s it, I’m done with running. I don’t know why I do this” Then I talk myself down. “Ok, maybe I’m done with 100’s, there's nothing wrong with a good ‘ol 100k.” Then, I keep talking, “Ok, maybe I’ll keep 100’s but no more trail 100’s.”. Then I take a deep breath, “Girl, why are you doing this?”, and I put one foot in front of the other. This strategy certainly does not always result in me finding a finish line, but it gives me a second chance to look at a struggle in a different light. It lets me focus on the blessings I have in front of me, and not worry about what the future holds. It gives me hope that I will find a way through a struggle.
I got a beautiful Christmas card from my good friend Andy. He wrote me a long message and it was truly inspiring. He talked about how an injury sidelined him from long distance running, but that he’s found passion in shorter distances. The message was full of hope, not that he could get back to where he was, but that he could enjoy where he is at.
I have heard that a person can live for 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without oxygen, and only 4 seconds without hope. Recently, someone very close to me lost hope for a few seconds. It was terrifying.
This person had reached the FD of done. It took much intervention to help this person see that FD can be switched to ‘done for now’...to see that sometimes you have to take a breath, refocus and look for a second chance to get out of a struggle. It takes real work, focus and attention, but provides hope. Hope has the amazing power of compounding upon itself. Once the flicker is lit, hope can flourish. Hope can light the way through darkness, in fact, it is the only thing that can.
So, as we end this year, I wish all of you who take the time to read my humble blog, a year full of hope and second chances. And, know that when you think you are FD, you might really be given a hopeful chance to find happiness where you are at.
God bless and I wish you a hopeful and happy holiday season.
Oh, and, in case you were wondering, here is my quote:
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