Limit (less)

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them - Albert Einstein

The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible. - Arthur C. Clarke

I had a great visit with my parents this weekend.  Going home almost always relaxes my mind.  The pace there is slower so it's a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of regular life.  The weather during my visit was cold and drizzly but it brought back wonderful memories of my early days of running.

I used to run in all kinds of weather but always loved running in the gloomy, drizzly, sleety weather.  I mostly enjoyed it because I KNEW that other people would be home in their cozy, dry clothes thinking that the weather was not favorable enough to go outdoors.  I, on the other hand, refused to allow the weather to dictate when I would run.  I would imagine a sunbeam shining down on me, keeping me warm and dry as I made my way through the grayness.

For a moment this weekend, I found myself being one of those people that allowed a perceived limit to keep me from doing what I wanted to do.  Big Baby and I went outside so she could do her business.  I asked her to hurry because it was cold and rainy and we "needed" to get back indoors.  She had other plans.  She was enjoying her time outdoors regardless of the weather and pulled towards the street.  I was reluctant and cold but asked if she wanted to go for a walk.  She looked up at me with those big beautiful brown eyes and I knew the answer.  I grumbled about walking in the crappy weather but shortly after we started, I felt that sunbeam breaking through the grayness and it warmed me from the inside out.  BB and I walked on for several blocks and even did a little bit of running - not walking or wogging but RUNNING.  She was happy and so was I.

Once we were back indoors and dry, I began to think of all the limits we place on ourselves because we feel (or are told) we can't or shouldn't do something.  Some limits are necessary but most are self-imposed out of fear or procrastination or just flat out laziness.  Those are limits that we shouldn't fuel.  If we gave the same amount of energy to being limitless as we do to concocting reasons why we can't do something, we would be unstoppable.  Right now, I have very few limits.  My future is wide open and it's invigorating.  And thanks to Big Baby, I removed another limitation I didn't realize I had set on myself.  She helped me see that I can't wait for the perfect moment to start something because we don't always get that perfect moment.  Sometimes, you just have to make a move and trust that there will be a sunbeam out there in all of that gray.

Happy Trails,
Valeka