Skip to main content

A Different View of Hospitality

I truly enjoy the opportunity to practice self reflection which, I realize, can take many forms. Some people meditate, others chant, some pray and I run. Today, while at church, I recognized that running has been the greatest form of hospitality I have given myself. My church, which I lovingly call the hippy church, has been focused on hospitality this month which has been interesting on many levels. I view hospitality so very differently that many. I practice hospitality as most humans do by opening my front door and welcoming anyone to join me in conversation, for a place to crash for a night (or five) or to sit around the dining table with me.

On the other hand I view spending time with supportive people and always being myself as a way of providing me a form of hospitality; I am talking about the people I can talk to without limit, the people who I can be comfortably silent with, fall asleep with while watching a movie in my home (rather than trying to stay awake to entertain), people I can spend time and people I can run with.

By allowing myself to embrace athleticism I have found something that I consider one of the fundamental pillars that hold up the structure of my 'self'. I have opened a door to something that I viewed as a limiting but in return found something that is limitless. As I reflect on the fears I talked about last week I recognize the true power in the hospitality I have provided myself through running. Sharing those fears with all of you and listening to what some of my readers have shared with me allowed me to understand what might impact me in the future or hold me back as I begin to strive toward future goals.

I guess what I am saying, although with little eloquence, is that I have never really thought about the necessity of offering myself some of my own hospitality, perhaps because I am already doing it. I think I have running, in part, to thank for that.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

All in a Day's Work

I don't even know how to begin this post... Several months ago, my sister had this bright idea to do her first half iron distance triathlon. I have always wanted to do one so I told her if she did it I would do it too. Next thing I know I was clicking register now on the registration page of the Highcliff Triathlon in Wisconsin. You can read about some of the reactions I received when I announced to various friends that I was going to do this race here . Over the months my friends have taken on the challenge of being supportive and cheering me on along the way. This was no easy feat as I was on the training roller coaster. As the day approached, I thought about all of the possible things that could go wrong and right. I had visions of myself standing on the side of the bike course with a flat tire, me holding on to a lifeguard boat, dreams about wearing clown shoes for the run, and on and on... I also day dreamed about the finish line, what it might look like, who would be the...

I Have Multiple Sclerosis

One of my favorite bike rides ever! I have debated whether I was going to make this public for quite some time, however there really aren't any significant reasons why I wouldn't share. It hasn't impacted my life dramatically, and if I'm lucky, it never will. I also don't want to be a poster child, nor do I require or want any special treatment simply because I have MS. The thing is, I know more and more people who are impacted significantly by this disease and I feel compelled to help the cause. So for one purpose only, I am outing myself. Here's the brief story. Two years ago my tongue went numb, my arm went numb and I though I slept funny or had a mini stroke. I brushed it off as sleeping funny day after day, after day. Then my eye started twitching, among other symptoms. I decided I was simply crazy... After a while all of these symptoms became so infuriating so I went to the doctor. While at the doctor, he chalked it up to stress, but after a closer ...

Jumping the Gun!

This is a 'total' bonus post for the week. I highly recommend reading my previous post, to better understand where I am coming from. You can check it out here .  I am not going to go into details but my name and grandma have been used in a sentence TWICE the past two days. Seriously? Do I look or act that old??? I must... Perhaps it is all the pie making! I am a woman of my word (for the most part, we all falter from time to time) and I mentioned in my last post that there was a chance I was jumping the gun with my dramatic flare related to being sidelined! Well, sidelined I am, but maybe for less time than I initially anticipated. The doctor will tell me my plan in three weeks. The overarching goal? The Chicago Marathon!  While running the Columbus Marathon, last year, I was blessed with amazing spectators and also running companions during the race. One of my companions was my sister. Somewhere near mile 25 she took a picture of me STILL smiling. It isn...