This is not how I planned it. My plan for Lent was to have some open space in my calendar each week. Maybe that sounds like a weak practice but believe me, it isn’t all that easy!
Taking on this practice allowed me to incorporate some of the goals I set for myself at the CREDO event I attended last fall and set apart the time I need to begin my training for an upcoming half-marathon that would then lead into a full-marathon.
All was going so smoothly until I got up from the table after enjoying a fine meal with friends about 10 days ago: that familiar feeling of a locked knee. It has happened before whenever I pick up my training but this time is different. Icing, resting, stretching and it still hurts. Dang.
I’m frustrated.
But suddenly, I’m mindful. Mindful of my knee, mindful of what I can and cannot do. Mindful of how many times I go up and down the stairs in my house. Mindful that my body needs care. Mindful that my plans are not always what happens. Mindful that I love to run. Mindful that I love to golf. Mindful that sometimes I don’t get to do what I want to do. Mindful that I still need to care for myself even if I can’t run or hit the driving range. Mindful that I still need margins in my schedule just for me.
Mindfulness. A group of us have been exploring that while reading Mudhouse Sabbath but now I’m experiencing it in a way I hadn’t expected. It isn’t a bad practice at all but what a way to learn its importance all over again.