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Be The Hero

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Written by Karen D. Swim

Be the Hero: Three Powerful Ways to Overcome Challenges in Work and Life is a new book by Noah Blumenthal. The book is essentially about overcoming self-inflicted victimization.  It inspires us to change the stories we tell ourselves, rise above and be the hero.

The book made the Top 20 in all books this week and it’s close to making the New York Times bestseller list for the week. Here’s the really cool part, all sales through Saturday, August 8th will count toward New York Times bestseller status. If When the book makes it Noah will donate  100% of his royalties from this bestselling week to the Miami Children’s Hospital.

Not a bad deal, you get a life changing book, and the chance to change the life of a child.

How Well Do You Run the Turn?

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A pair of ASICS running shoes, model GEL-Kinsei
Image via Wikipedia

I watched as the runners lined up in the blocks. Down on all fours pushing one leg back, rising again, shaking legs and arms to keep the body warm. Eyes flitted toward the finish line as they replayed their race strategy in their mind. Down again, hands out front, one leg back waiting for the starting gun.

The gun went off and the runners took off like hungry tigers let out of a cage. The air was charged with the electricity of competition as their cleats tapped a steady smooth beat on the hot red clay. Some got off to a fast start, others measured the pace patiently waiting to overtake their competition. As they approached the turn, I knew that this is where the race would be won or lost. Anyone could start fast or kick at the end, but in this race, the one who navigated the turn while maintaining speed and balance would win the race.

With a strong wind at her back, her jaw muscles relaxed as she leaned at the perfect angle navigating the turn with the speed of a sprinter and grace of a ballerina. Her gaze remained steady as she glided to an easy victory.

We often compare life to a marathon but in fact it is a series of short races. Each day, we see the finish line, and know the distance it will take to reach it. We plan our race strategy and choose a pace that we can sustain. We all have the capability to get off to a fast start or kick it at the end to reach the finish line. We can dig deep for that short burst down a straight path, but the race is often determined by how well you run the turn.

Lean too hard and you’ll throw off your balance. Slow down to take the turn and you lose momentum. Look to the right or left to judge your competitors and you lose it all. Taking the turn requires a combination of focus, strength, speed and agility.

How well are you running the turn?

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Saved by Hope

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“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.”
Reinhold NiebuhrI recently went through a pretty rough time physically, spiritually and emotionally.  I stumbled across
I recently went through a pretty challenging time physically, spiritually and emotionally.  In the darkest of moments, I found that even a little bit of encouragement from a song, a scripture or even a quote turned the light on long enough to give me strength to keep fighting my way back to good health. I stumbled across the quote below and wanted to share it.  I hope it uplifts you as it did me.
“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.”
~Reinhold Niebuhr

Down the Rabbit Hole and into the Archives

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Written by Karen D. Swim

Yesterday, I went digging through my writing file. Not the nicely polished, edited pieces file, nope. The file. The electronic brain dump with snippets of poorly written dialogue and half baked story ideas.  Some were so awful that I blushed with embarrassment as I quickly closed the file. Others were like freshly turned planting soil, ready for seeds to take root with just the right amount of careful nurturing. A few were so good that I had to check to make sure I hadn’t swiped it from someone else.

I was tempted to share the “so bad, it’s funny” bits here but decided to spare you.  Tripping the light fantastic through my own archives however was less painful than I imagined.  It allowed me to step back in time and visit with my history. Buried in the fiction were nuggets of truth pulled from my life – Death of a Fairytale, Confessions of a Schitzophrenic Serial Optimist  (sigh, my title struggle remains consistent) – all revealed a little bit of me layered with big fat swaths of imagination.

I love writing.  A peek into my files validated what I have always known. The end result is not always lovely but the process is delicious. Even the really awful writing is fun to write and allows me to shake off the dross to get to the gold.  I don’t spend much time looking back but on occasion it is good therapy. The look back can remind you why you keep moving forward, especially when new challenges are on the horizon. My dive into the archives was like flipping through my running journal. As I logged the miles I only thought of one step at a time, one run at a time. Somehow they added up over time. 

I did not delete the bad or mediocre writing pieces. All had contributed to the total miles I have run thus far. The good, the bad and the truly awful after all have gotten me right here today. 

If you’re in the mood for some great writing on this hump day, I highly recommend:

Ladders on the Right Wall – a straight from the heart, thought provoking piece by Janice Cartier. The post and comments are brilliant and provide such great insight into moving forward towards the “scary ” thing. 

Turning Point – Brett Legree is back with a two hanky post that will tug your heart and stir your soul. While the post itself is filled with raw emotion, it also delves into our corporate work culture and why it is imploding around us.

And don’t miss Kelly’s book review and cool giveaway, plus a chance to give a shout out to a deserving business. 

What’s in your archives? Any surprises?

Breath of Life

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Written by Karen D. Swim

Questions, doubts, more questions. Fragments of ideas that seemed just out of reach.

Growing tired from the introspection, I stepped out into the nighttime air and breathed deeply of the cool air. I felt my flesh respond to the chill. Instead of grabbing a jacket, I gulped the air deeper allowing myself to feel the full force of cold on my skin, and the light wind lifting my air. It was comforting in its discomfort shaking me from my fog making me thankful that I could feel at all. 

I stood in the air and an old song from church played in my head, “breathe on me.” I heard the gentle voices of the choir in my head and closed my eyes transporting my heart to the source of the song. Breathe on me. Transitions, questions, decisions. Breathe on me. Fear, uncertainty, excitement. Breathe on me.

I opened my eyes upon the inky night sky, renewed by breath. The stars twinkled faintly behind the clouds. The dark clouds hung over them like a drape, shielding the brilliance of their light. Yet, they were no less there and no less powerful. 

One last, long inhale and I turned to go in, choosing to leave my own clouds under the darkness of the sky. 

How do you recharge your own batteries when you’re feeling run down?

Life, Death and Dreams

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Written by Karen D. Swim

Do you have a dream graveyard? Tombstones planted in the backyard of your life that trumpet the life and death of long forgotten hopes, goals and plans. Birthed with possibility, shining bright with a vision, they now lie silent in a land of dry bones.

“It whispers; all is waiting here

Kept safe for thee, year after year,

Beautiful songs in thousands;

Where hast thou been, where, where?”–Erik Axel Karlfeldt

There are many reasons we allow dreams to die – impatience, lack of know how, fear, doubt or perhaps timing. The good news is that you can resurrect the dead. I took an eye-opening  trip through my own graveyard recently. There were dreams that were mere fancies of imagination, lacking the passion needed to sustain them. Yet, there were others which made me linger at the tombstone, desperately trying to recall why I had not taken life-saving measures. Even from the grave, they called out to me, causing a swift intake of breath as I was filled with the possibility of a second chance.

“The inability to open up to hope is what blocks trust, and blocked trust is the reason for blighted dreams.” –Elizabeth Gilbert

In this place, as I came face to face with death, life was renewed. I could shed the things that did not fulfill my life and my purpose. With a clearer vision I could also wisely choose the dreams that had never really died but simply rested in peace until it was time.

How about you – any dreams that deserve a second chance?