Week 1

Saturday:

The sun is up so early these days that I always feel time inside during these beautiful crisp December mornings’ means I am missing out on something unique and beautiful, that these days can offer me. So off I trotted at 6am this morning for what one would call a very slow 35 minute run, dragging my leaded legs around a large loop in my neighbourhood. One flatmate was also running at this time and spotted me at my halfway mark commenting later that I did look like I could have gone a wee bit faster. I did have to agree, but my sole focus was just getting my sleepy legs round the course.

Every day, with the first rays
Of the morning sun,
I try to become closer and closer
To God's Compassion-Feet.

From: Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, Part 4 - by Sri Chinmoy.

That evening was our 2 mile Self-Transcendence race at the Auckland Domain. Amazingly after a days work my legs felt better and a bit more alive, so instead of driving to the race I decided to run. My house is only about 4kms away from the Domain, but it does include a pretty long hill. My time was not the best time for me at about 18 ½ minutes, I had slowed down by about 2 minutes from my last race. But hey at least I did it! I was fortunate to have a running partner on the way home, a fellow student from the Auckland Sri Chinmoy Centre who is also increasing her running and training for a marathon. This made my homeward stretch a lot easier (and made me run the whole way!)

Indeed,
I am fond of many things.
But I am extremely fond of
Beauty's song in the morning sun
And purity's dance in the evening sky.

From: Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 71 - by Sri Chinmoy.

Sunday:

Well today was one of those days when you wish you hadn’t made arrangements with a running partner. But it was too late to think of a feasible excuse to pull out. Luckily we had decided on running for an hour on a nice scenic route taking us down to the waterfront and through a few reserves. We were all back by 8.30am and as I was walking down my street I felt very fortunate that I had already been up for three glorious hours and that I still had many more hours on this Sunday morning to enjoy before any of my neighbours would awaken from their slumber. When you live in the hustle and bustle of the city these quiet mornings when most people are still asleep are special in a way. It's like the beauty, fragrance and stillness of the day are there for you alone to enjoy.

If you are a heart-smiler,
Then eventually you will become
Your mind-barrier-breaker.

From: Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, Part 6 - by Sri Chinmoy.

O bright newness of the day,
I adore you.
O deep stillness of the night,
I love you.

From: Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 22 - by Sri Chinmoy.

Monday:

Inspiration and enthusiasm are usually your best friends when you are embarking on something new. I had these qualities in abundant measures today. I was able to have a 40 minute run this morning, and though somewhat difficult I enjoyed every step. My tired legs didn’t bother me, I remembered a poem I had just read throughout my run.

In my life of surrender,
Each step of my inner running
And each step of my outer running
I am offering, offering, offering
To my Lord Supreme.

From: Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 57 - by Sri Chinmoy.

To top off my day of inspiration and enthusiasm I decided to walk to my job today, so in addition to my run I also walked for about an hour and a half. Was feeling pretty good about myself today!

Tuesday:

Today I needed to pick up some bags and wrapping paper for the Missionaries of Charity gift packets that The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles organise each year. I help as a volunteer for this organisation that sends gifts-in-kind to people in need all around the world. At Christmas time each of the countries that we are based in, support a Christian charitable organisation at Christmas as one of many ways we give to our own country.

I decided to pick these up near the end of my run and walk back with them to my car. A very, very good excuse to shorten my run today... I thought. I was feeling mighty tired today not through lack of sleep but through the increase of exercise.

However when I started my run, as usual it was not as exhausting as I had imagined, and I even did an extra 10 minutes around the discount store before going in to pick up the items.

Alas, when I finally made it into the store they did not have what I wanted so having no excuse to walk back home I found myself having an unexpected extra 20 minutes added to my run. I must admit afterwards I was so happy to have been able to increase my run today. Running is sometimes like medicine, you don’t want to take it even when you know it will do you good. But once it is taken you feel 100 times better. That was me today.

Unquestionably and speedily,
Enthusiasm-power is the only medicine
That can cure the mental, vital
And physical idleness.

From: Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 8 - by Sri Chinmoy.

Doubt is an inner disease.
Therefore,
To cure it what you need
Is an inner medicine.
And that medicine is
Your oneness-faith.

From: Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 9 - by Sri Chinmoy.

Wednesday:

Again today my legs were a wee bit sore, nothing to write home about but enough to make me challenge my lethargic body to run! And run I did! I ran about 45 minutes to an hour today. I was running late on my homeward run so I had to pick up the pace a bit. And once I got into the rhythm of my increased pace my breathing returned to just about where it is when I am running slower. And I quite enjoyed this pace.

Now any proper runners or athletes that are reading this now are probably thinking well yeah of course. And I have heard this before from my running friends, but until you experience it yourself there is no way you are going out of your comfort zone.

Today
I am no longer sleeping,
I am no longer crawling,
I am no longer walking.
Today I am running
Faster than the fastest
Toward my destined Goal.

From: Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 91 - by Sri Chinmoy.

Thursday:

Today was one of those beautiful days, clear skies with a slight breeze to cool you off while you are running. On my way back from my run today I was reminded of a meditation class I attended in Wellington, New Zealand. One of the presenters talked about the vastness of our spiritual heart. He said that the next time there is a clear sky stand and look up at the vastness of the sky and try and imagine this vastness inside your heart.

Today I looked to the sky and was overcome by its utter vastness. It totally touched my heart and gave me a glimpse of this higher part of myself. And that all these insignificant things that upset, anger or worry me, are just that - utterly insignificant.

I am simply astonished
To see that my tiny mind
Has imprisoned my vast heart.

From: Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 141 - by Sri Chinmoy.

"...The mind is very limited, but the heart is the home of the Infinite. The whole world can stay inside our heart..." From: Mind-Confusion And Heart-Illumination, Part 1 - by Sri Chinmoy.

Friday:

Today I could feel myself getting fitter; the dreaded Valley Road hill - about a two kilometre climb - was not as bad today as it is some days. My run was broken up into four shortish runs making running that much easier and also giving me the opportunity to get out there more! I don’t know about you, but sometimes days can drag and you can start to feel tired and sometimes a wee bit irritable. But being able to break my day with short runs gave me extra energy and let me ‘run out’ any stresses that had accumulated throughout the day.

Question: "Can running help get rid of frustration and anger?"

Sri Chinmoy: "Running is an excellent way to rid oneself of frustration and anger. If you are really angry with someone, go and run. After a mile or so you will see that your anger has gone away, either because you are totally exhausted or because the satisfaction that you gain from physical exertion has replaced your anger.

In India one of my mentors used to say that if we were angry, we should jog in place and curse the other person. Instead of telling us to pray to God to take away our anger, he told his students to jog. He always said that we didn't have to cover any distance, just jog in place. Within a minute or two all our anger would go away. He knew that running could be an effective method of ridding ourselves of negative emotions." From: The Outer Running And The Inner Running - by Sri Chinmoy.

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