There is a lot of Tri in Triumph….
Posted in Uncategorized on 08/12/2010 12:12 pm by quietangelThere is a lot of us cancer survivors who know this. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of trying to get through this disease, to make it to the other side emotionally and physically. But when we do it is amazing! There are so many things that I would have never done if it was not for being a survivor. I would have never written a book, started a paddling team, got my motorcycle license, all kinds of adventures and accomplishments. But this event, this moment in life made me see things that I wanted to do, that I wanted to accomplish and how I wanted to move forward. It took a swift kick in the pants to make me wake up. Not that I was not a busy person before …but this got me moving even more. This thing called life truly is not a dress rehearsal, but the real thing and it takes turns, twist and awakenings that we never expect. It is truly amazing! So, yes there is a lot of Tri in Triumph!
But this goes so much further in life. Just recently I had the opportunity to go to San Francisco to watch my brother and his best friend run the San Francisco Marathon. Now for those of you who have been to San Francisco, I can hardly walk up some of those hills much less run, and to walk or run 26.2 miles up and down hills….incredible!! What an accomplishment!! For those of you who might not have had the chance to go to San Francisco as of yet…it is a city full of hills and steep hills! It is beautiful…but again challenging even for cars!!
So how did my brother, Steave and his friend, Chris do this? And my question…why? Well, I might not have the answer as to why, but as for the how…I can tell you as their cheerleader..total determination! Spirit, self-motivation, faith, endurance, and most importantly mind-over-matter!! They are amazing! I am so proud and was so proud to be there to see them cross the finish line of a race that they said was the hardest they have ever done. But it goes one step further, this was their 10th Marathon! Wow…really for a baby-sister…I am so proud! And they were honored with an extra medal for a series called California Dream’in, this was a medal for running three marathons in California in one year; Long Beach, Huntington Beach and San Francisco!! Again I am so proud!
Now even though this is a sport that they have chosen to accomplish, I think it fits into the meaning or the story of life, if you will. For example, how do we get through everyday life? Well, I think some days the answer is determination, spirit, faith, that we are doing what we need to do and doing it the best we can to get through. Some days it might be easy and some days it might be as hard as running 26.2 miles! But we do it! We set our minds to it and accomplish what we need to survive!
Now think about this with cancer, it is the same scenario. Now of course, this is not something that we choose or want, but there we are in the midst of it and what do we do? How do we accomplish crossing the finish line? We have faith, we have determination, we stick with it, we fight and we definitely have mind-over-matter to get through..or we should. And this is what I try and strive to tell you in the book! Do what you need to do to get through, find humor, accomplish mind-over-matter, have faith and cross the finish line!! You can do it! It might be a long fight, it might be 26.2 miles of hills…we might triumph at the top, and slip in the valleys…but keep the fight up, keep your spirit whole and keep your eye on the finish line!
But like I told the guys before they took off….I know you can do this, I know it is going to be hard, but don’t forget to look around see what you are doing and running through, across, and over! Take it all in…this is a huge accomplishment and we will want to hear all about it in the end!
Keep looking for that finish line….You are almost there
Keep the faith!!
Don’t forget to check out the Traveling Book Blog and read all about its travels!