Running and picking up trash?

   Is picking up trash, smiling and running an essential part of a residue free life??  I think it just may be...

   This weekend I ran on both Saturday and Sunday.  Some of the best runs I've had in a long time.  Sally our flop eared smiler and I ran together.  Running for me is a gift of joy- I absolutely love to run.  But I believe running is more than just putting one foot in front of each other.  It is freedom, it is a running mediation, it is a path. I know running is good for my body and mind but I believe it is most beneficial to my spirit.

I have been reading about the marathon monks and how in the beginning of their 7 year practice, they will run 40 kilometers everyday for 100 days!!!  They wear hand made straw sandals and as they run they will pause to say prayers and bless others on their path.  Wow!!

On Sunday morning before the heavy rains came, Sally and I were out running.  We ran accross a large pile of trash.  A leftover meal from McDonald's, apparently thrown from a car and which had landed in our path.  I ran past this pile- we were busy running and having fun.  But then I thought to myself, Oh for heavens sakes Denise, if those marathon monks can pause, say prayers and bless others everyday for 100 days while running the equivalent of a marathon!!  You can pause and pick up a little trash.  And so we went back and picked up the trash.  We continued to gather trash the rest of our run.  And do you know what happened?????

  Our run was now more than just me and Sally it was a way to do an random act of kindness.  Not only did I find myself happier but I'm guessing our little act of gathering up trash on our run and smiling as we went, was also interesting to the cars passing by.  I don't know what if any impact our running, smiling and trash picking up had on someone else's day but that isn't for me to know.

Running, smiling and picking up trash are little things really,  but in the scope of a whole life, maybe they are what made the life- little joyful moments.

Wishing you a day filled with unexpected joys,
        Denise

A sure fire way to beauty

 "Keep your eyes beautiful, they are the windows into your soul"  Fortune cookie wisdom

   I had this note pinned to my bulletin board for years.  It reminded me beauty comes from the inside out.

   When my grandma Ella was in her nineties and in the nursing home, I was amazed at her beauty.  My grandma had a hard working life.  Growing up in the depression, eating sandwiches with no meat and little else.  After she was married, she and my grandpa had a dairy farm, working long hard hours every day until she was in her late 50's.  Even when she moved to town she found a job pressing drapes and washing clothes- still hard work.

   What I am getting at is she worked hard.  Her life was hardly coated in bon bons and fancy face creams and yet... in her nineties she was so beautiful.  How did this happen?

   While my grandma was at that nursing home, maybe her body was wearing out but her spirit remained incredibly intact.  Her curiosity and wonder were never more evident and her love of people  continued to flourish.  We would visit for hours.  She would tell me about recipes Martha Stewart was making on TV that she wanted to try. ( my grandma couldn't see the TV but would listen and memorize)  She knew every nurse, all about their families, job, life and how their day was going.  She loved people and loved wondering and she was absolutely beautiful.

  Her eyes would sparkle, she would radiate as she spoke.  Maybe her skin was wrinkled and all her hair gray and maybe her teeth weren't sparkly white but she was without a doubt beautiful.  And why was this?  I think it was because her spirit and soul were still as beautiful as she was as a young woman- maybe even more so.

Just a thought for the day,
    wishing you beauty for a life time,
          Denise