The Stay Home Marathon

I have had my ups and downs over the last few weeks. I find myself comparing the stay home/ coronavirus situation to running a marathon and I think I went out too fast!  It’s starting to get really hard, but we’re not at mile 18. I’m not even sure we’ve hit the 10k mark yet. It’s ok to walk the next few aid stations, but I’m not going to give up the joy of this journey. Rather than thinking of the finish line, I am going to look around- the wildflowers are blooming, our neighbors are out and beg you to say hello.  In real marathons, I will choose a friend with which to “run” the next mile; and though it’s only in my imagination, this mental trick helps a ton. At this crazy time, let’s get to the next mile with a friend in mind, and then the next and the next.

We cultivate gratitude by focusing on our friends, our good health, on any of the many blessings in our life. Even when we need to vent about the less favorable elements of this situation, I have found that if you begin and end with gratitude, you will feel better.