A good friend of mine ran and finished her first 5k over the weekend and immediately I knew I had to celebrate her triumph with a simple salute of words and an overflowing of good wishes and congratulations. A 5k might not be too huge a feat but it IS for this lady who not so long ago visited me here in the Ilocos and had to walk up the steep steps of the Cape Bojeador lighthouse on all fours; who gave up all manner of being prim and proper as she painstakingly negotiated the tricky mounting of the ancient Kalesa; and who had to go up and down my two storey house and my 2nd storey center all huffing and puffing. Make no mistake, this 5k was not an easy run. She ran her first 3k just last May too, so the additional distance meant not only more training and miles, it meant more courage, digging deep and the heroic hours of dawn. I was happily browsing her pics of the race, looking intently at her eyes. It’s endearing how I can see them twinkling bright and proud, even through the small screen of my phone and my heart just went out to her. I know that look and I know that feeling. It’s the heady, almost intoxicating buzzing one gets after a goal has been done and a milestone has been checked. She had an incredibly briiliant smile on her face as she posed for the pictures and I can tell she was feeling immensely pleased with herself, exhuberantly satisfied and just overwhelmingly joyful. I wanted to be there just for that, to see that look on her face for myself and share in that moment. But I couldn’t and so I had to content myself with the awaited facebook post after. Browsing through the voluminous pictures of pre and post race, I saw not a few references to her next goal: a 10 k race on February next year! Who is this woman and what has she done with my friend? But her increased confidence and instant omnipotence is an expected by-product of a race ran well and one that she deserves. After all, if she could do this, then why can’t she do the next milestone and the one after that? There are and always will be naysayers and good intentioned people around her who would say: “take it easy, just take it slow, it might be too far, too fast...” I will thus venture a different opinion. I will be the voice in the crowd who says, “Go for it!” My friend has not only finished a race, she has conquered it. She has stared down and told off all the voices in and outside her head telling her what she can and cannot do. She has taken her idea of who she is up until that moment and threw all of it out the window. She no longer wished to define herself by her limits and on that rainy night when she crossed the finish line, I knew she got a glimpse of all that she can be and there was no looking back for her. So, 500 kilometers away from you, my dearest friend, I honor your spirit. I acknowledge that spark inside you that seeks the greater, better, more expansive version of who you are and I can’t wait! Every once in a while we need to be reminded of our greatness because we can’t see it for ourselves. We need someone to tell us that what we do ultimately touches other people’s lives, whether it was our intention or not. We need a friend or even a stranger, to honor the way we live our lives in the simplest tasks or the most glorious feats. We need this because we are all connected and we are all one. There’s a Hindu ancient Sanskrit greeting: NAMASTE, which may translate to “the light in me, honors the light in you and sees that we are of one light”. Namaste, Espie Yu. Namaste.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 07:59:03 +0000