Milestone. Or Two.

Today I ran two miles, and I didn't stop to walk.

The whole time I was thinking, "What if today I did it? What if today I just ran the whole thing? How would it feel to say, 'today I ran two miles, and I didn't stop to walk'?

It feels GREAT. I think I was just trying to go too fast, too far previously. When I first began this running journey, I would listen to fast-paced music and try to have a good "stride" and keep up the pace with the people around me... and I hated it! It was painful, hard, and humiliating.

I started listening to slow music and to pay attention to the pace my body could maintain. Today, I finally got everything synced up right, and I. Ran. The. Whole. Way.

Patience

"And the second thing I wanted to share is, that if you’ve found the right person, and you know you want to get married, the engagement is worth waiting for. It’s worth the anxiety and uncertainty of the pre-engaged state, it’s worth that feeling of bitterness when you hear that kid you babysat is getting married, and it’s worth those aching feelings of powerlessness you feel when you’ve told your partner you’re fed up and he says “be patient.” Because the second it happens, all of that goes away. Instantly."

---from A Practical Wedding

I needed to read this today!

Crest Kid

Aaaaahhhhhhhh... Crest.

Last night at the store I bought Crest Pro-Health Clinical Gum Protection Toothpaste, new toothbrushes, and Listerine. My gums and mouth feel sooooo much better.

While I was using Trader Joe's brand toothpaste - I was flossing -  and my gums were incredibly sore. Typically, when I go on a flossing kick, my gums stop bleeding and feeling sore after a few sessions. But for the entirety of the time we were using the Trader Joe's brand, my gums were bleeding, sore, and deteriorating! It was awful.

After brushing and flossing and rinsing with Listerine last night, and brushing and rinsing with Listerine this morning, my gums don't hurt! Seriously, maybe I'm allergic to something in the Trader Joe's brand. Or maybe it's just bad toothpaste.

Trader Joe's Toothpaste...

Trader Joe's opened up shop in my neighborhood, and we've been trying things here and there. The most recent thing we've tried is the toothpaste. We got the"anti-plaque toothpaste with fennel, propolis, and myrrh".

Honestly, I hate it. It tastes weird (I'm not a huge fan of fennel), and my gums have been hurting ever since I started using it. Is it possible that a toothpaste could make your gums worse? Seriously, I think the stuff has given me gingivitis. We've toughed it out for a few weeks now, but I think I'm going back to my chemical-filled Crest.

Anybody else tried this stuff? What did you think?

One Week

I have one week left of AmeriCorps.

It has been an awesome experience. I didn't think I was going to be able to do it financially, and while that has been a great struggle, it actually wasn't the hardest part about AmeriCorps.

The hardest part was doing service alongside apathetic people who couldn't be bothered to try, or give more than was asked (and in some cases just give what was asked). And these are the types of people who make you feel bad for caring.

My whole life I've been told that you get what you put in. I've been told that when you cheat, you're only cheating yourself. I've been told that people get what's coming to them. And maybe that's true... but my experience has taught me that life is pretty unfair. And sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes bad people come out on top.

My philosophical friend Harrison posed this question recently: "If Heaven and Hell don't exist, then why should we be good people? What's the point? Why not just be bad and greedy and live your life and then die? Is there anything within life that makes being good matter?"


Why should we be good if there's no reward? This is the attitude I have experienced from so many people. I say be good for the sake of being good. Because when you do a good job, everyone benefits, including you. (Example: when I make sure I enter orders correctly at work, our drivers have an easier time, and the receiving department has an easier time, and then people who are hungry get to eat, and everyone is happy.) Because things are going to go wrong that you cannot control. But you can control so many things! Use your power for good.

Yes, it's hard. Yes, it's not glamorous. Yes, most people won't notice or care. But why would you ever want to be a mediocre person? If you don't care about what you're doing, then you're doing the wrong thing. And if you don't care about anything, then you're doing it wrong.


"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Because the world needs people who have come alive." -- Howard Thurman