Sunday, May 18, 2008

Bay to Breakers, Oprah and the Cosmos -- Now what do they have to do with each other?



Here's a video showing photos and footage from today's San Francisco Bay to Breaker's race. This is an annual event which draws thousands of participants, many in costume. I dressed up in a hawaiian hula outfit and Art dressed up as the devil. It's become an annual mecca for those who love the free atmosphere of San Francisco where many can express their joyous freedom and feel part of a larger community.

The race is 12 kilometers, which is about 7.46 miles. A few years ago, I would've thought this was a feat I could never accomplish or even enjoy. Running wasn't in my fitness routine. In fact, I wondered how anyone could enjoy running because it seemed so boring -- where was the competition, the intense contact? what was the goal?

But in 2003, I made the decision to run a marathon. Da'Mon had signed up to train for the Honolulu Marathon through the AIDS Marathon training program. If he could do it, so could I. Six months later, I ran 26.2 miles in the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon and raised over $2,500 in support of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Since then, I've run races in San Francisco, Honolulu, Dublin Ireland, and Florence Italy, and personally raised over $25,000 with the generous support of family and friends.

Even though I've trained countless hours and disciplined myself to be able to run these races, I recognize that what made each of these races a done deal was the moment I decided to do it. In my mind, once I made the commitment, everything came together and I simply had to just go with the flow.

It's like that with anything in life. If you really, really, really, really want something, whether that's doing something or having something, you have to commit to be the kind of person that would do or have that. If you want to have your book as part of Oprah's Book Club, what kind of person would you have to be in order to unleash the creative forces and to draw together the team that would make your book an international best-seller? If you want to be a successful multimillionaire, what kind of person would you have to be in order to attract that level of wealth and to be a good steward of that money? For each instance, what habit or idea about yourself would you have to let go, and what idea or habit would you have to embrace?

It usually means stepping beyond who you are in this moment in order to become the person you want to be. It means letting go of self-imposed limitations and allowing yourself to be open to the greater possibility. The Universe then aligns with this higher vision and it becomes a seemingly miraculous event as people, things and ideas show up to manifest this higher good. When you achieve what you consider success or personal greatness, recognize that it simply is a process of a greater becoming of who you really are. This is what I call the Cosmic Unfolding, which is the title of one of my books to watch out for in the future.

Look at each moment as an opportunity for a fresh start. As Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said over 2,500 years ago, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Thank God today's race was only 12 kilometers!
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1 comment:

Welcome! said...

I can't wait to read your book! Very inspirational!

May 19, 2008 at 10:05 AM

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