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"And the Tree Was Happy"

I think I am finally ready to deconstruct my last couple of weeks. They have been a blur but totally worth it. 

My buddy enjoying life!
Anyway, about a week and a half ago I spent a day floating down a river on an inner tube with a couple of friends, I traveled to Cleveland, ran at Sharon Woods for the first time in months (forgot about the hills), rode my bike 36 miles around Columbus in the middle of the night in support of my friends who were running Relay Around Columbus (you can read one friend's account of the event here), went fishing, walked around one of Dukie's favorite metro parks, etc.

It is interesting. We all have indicators of success. Take the children's book the Giving Tree for example; In the book, the tree is happiest when he is giving himself to the boy. The boy swings from the tree's branches, carves his initials in the tree, builds a house with the branches and makes a boat with the tree's trunk. The tree basically gives himself to the boy because, for the tree, the boy's happiness is the tree's indicator of success.

And the tree was happy!
I have blogged about the moment we all get to experience from time to time. It is that moment of pure contentment and bliss. I recently started saying in those moments 'And the Tree Was Happy' because it is the best way to explain how I am feeling.

So in thinking about the Giving Tree, I have also reflected on my indicators of success.

In the past couple of weeks, I have logged over 100 miles on my bike, more significant miles running and a few miles swimming. I haven't been the best at logging my workouts lately. I am trying to remind myself that it is not all about the numbers but instead about how I feel. It is a newer concept I am working on so as not to sustain more injuries.

Contemplation on a mountain!
When I evaluate my success, it is less centered around how many miles I ran/biked/swam (sure crossing the finish line is the best feeling in the world), but instead about where I am and how I am feeling about life. Often times, my happiest moments are when I am doing things for others (without compromising myself) because I want to, or even when I am doing the RIGHT things for myself or simply doing pretty much nothing but enjoying my surroundings. The key here is doing things because I want to, rather than what I might get out of it. I am realizing that rewards sneak up on you and you don't even realize it; sometimes you don't even realize it might be a reward until you are in the moment...

What does this all mean for today? Right now, I am sitting back, putting my feet up, with my arms crossed behind my neck...

And the Tree Was Happy!

Comments

  1. LaurieJune 21, 2012 at 9:14 PM

    I LOVE love love the Giving Tree. My favorite book ever. I swear! This is an awesome post!

    ReplyDelete

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