Going the distance...
Hello and Happy Wednesday! Are you counting down to the next holiday (coming at the end of May) and then from there, the days until your summer actually begins? Isn't it just the best to be in the month of May? We just went to Detroit's Eastern Market last weekend. It absolutely lifted us up with all the gorgeous plants and flowers. It was hopping with people pulling their wagons, filling up on greens and new pots of plants for their home. You can't help but get caught up in the moment! We went to "walk around" but ended up with a HUGE hosta plant (the leaves of which are, no joke, 12" in width) and a large fern for our front porch. There is a store that sells our favorite tea by Harney and Sons as well as a cheese counter that has over 200 varieties of cheese. It was Heaven...
So getting back to this blog post titled "going the distance". I just realized that there is a movie with the same title...and that is not the direction for today. Above is a photo of some sheep, appearing to be grazing in a field and they may or may not be on their own. In the background appears to be an incline leading to a higher ground. I wondered what their day is like in terms of how far they go in a given day. Surprisingly, at their "highest speed combined with the steepest gradient" a day for them could be: walking a total of 256 minutes resulting in 7.7 miles, ascending a total of 3700 feet! My feet are sore just thinking of that! And, yet...these little sheep go the distance! It's what they do.
To relate that to any of us, in the life we lead, could mean the same thing, just different time, distance and speed, of course. But, isn't that what we essentially do, in our life? Going the distance could mean a lot of different things: consider the runner who goes the distance, or a pianist who goes the distance or a shot putter who goes the distance? Going the distance means a commitment to something, in order to be able to share the phrase, "go the distance". We, who are raising children or have raised children, go the distance with all the life lessons we teach them so that we can turn them out one day to go the distance in a life of independence and commitment to go the distance in whatever course they follow. Going the distance sounds like a cliche' but, isn't it really about the cycle? There is a starting point (like in a race scenario), a plan, a direction, determination, action and an ending at another point. Going the distance is the springboard from onset to completion then. This past week we got to watch our granddaughter perform two piano pieces she has been practicing this past year to perform for a recital. Her going the distance was the commitment made to learn and practice in order to be able to demonstrate that hard work and how it paid off. In addition, she practices ballet and continues to develop her repertoire of dance moves and choreographed performance. Similarly, our grandson and other granddaughter participated in a track meet that included several races, shot put event and relays as representatives of their school against 8 other schools. Going the distance has been some arduous afternoon practice runs and learning the skill to throw a 6 pound ball as hard and far as you can. This undoubtedly is a continual commitment to become better and better at the art or sport. That's the cost when you pledge to go the distance. Being a spectator at all of these recent events gave me pause to stop and appreciate that they, as well as sooooo many others, stay the course, remain committed, persevere and practice, even when it isn't convenient or even joyful. And, that there may be the point for you and me as well. All that we do, in our life's work, and throughout our journey may not be all sunshine and roses (ha! I just made a funny with flowers (one of my favorite things forever). But! we push through, we stay in the race (well, I have a race story that didn't go so well, but that will be a topic later...), we play until the end, we continue even when it doesn't go well and/or we don't "feel" well.
I hope you find this encouraging to YOU as you go the distance in your life's work...
Below are a few precious moments from those recent events that helped me reflect on going the distance and that we are all doing it. We are all striving for something...and whatever that is for YOU, stay in it, keep on keeping on and go the distance!
Thank you for showing up today. Have a great week, Jeanine
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