Running Your Own Race

          "Everybody is running their own race..." though few, these words spoke to me last Sunday morning at church. Sometimes it is truly difficult to see how much we limit ourselves from attaining what we are capable of. We are in some way "blinded" by our own expectations of  living up to the successes of others, and yet fail to see what we ourselves have accomplished. I too do not fall short from this truth.

          I have to admit that this has been on my mind lately and the word "impossible" tends to creep up on me like a vulture waiting for it's prey to die, to finally give up. And this leads me to believe that we are in fact our own worst enemies. Because in reality, we set in our minds what we can or cannot do. No matter what one may say or believe, the simple truth is that we have the authority to do it or not. At times we may tend to feed into what others think of us, which lead us to believe we can't, we're not capable, not good enough. But at one time building the highest sandcastle, pretending we were sailing on a ship to find lost treasure, and flying to a magical world was only the beginning of what was possible with our wondrous imaginations. 

          Why then does this change sometimes as we get older? Why can't we just take the chance if it's what we love, and see what happens? It can be terrifying jumping into something and not knowing the outcome. Not knowing if there will be a net to catch you. But everyone gets scared. I admit that I am guilty for thinking this way also, but I want to change that. Which brings me back to what prompted me to write about this..."Everybody is running their own race..." It's true. We are all running our own race, some may take the the rocky road with detours which lead to other paths, some may take the road that is faced with more obstacles than others. But in the end we are running OUR race, which doesn't necessarily mean who finishes first will win. Yet, the reward is finishing the race regardless of all the obstacles one is faced with. What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

"It's not what you are that holds you back, it's what you think you're not."

-Denis Waitley