Depak-Marathon Monks-Go In Faith

Depak Chopra Almost Killed Me

I listened to CD’s by Depak almost every night. His words are thought provoking, challenge my opinions and sometimes move me out of my comfort zone. They also put me to sleep. Last Wednesday I woke up at midnight and could not return to sleep. The floor moved me farther from my husband’s snores and seemed like a good idea at the time. Grabbing my pillow, I lay down on the floor next to our bed and put in the ear plugs with Depak. After a few minutes I was uncomfortable and turned to my side. The CD cord wrapped around my neck, pulling the CD player off of the nightstand. The CD player and “Knowing God” hit me in the eye, painfully. ARRRGHing for a few minutes, I touched my eyelid. It was swollen and bleeding. Drats. I manipulated my way to the mirror and saw a bloody gaping wound on my eyelid. Oh, no! The emergency room? No, my first aid kit has sutures. No, I have surgical tape in there too. Quickly cutting it to size, I cleaned the blood off my lid, held the wound together and clumsily closed the wound. It worked. I went back to the floor and left Depak alone. The CD’s did not energize my spirit anyway. After putting them away, I pulled out my favorite book on the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei. It was the needed change. The marathon monks strive for diligence, selflessness and compassion. Words and prayers do not sufficiently prove their service to their higher power. They must humbly run, twenty-five miles a day for one hundred consecutive days. Not an easy task, but a task that develops the ability to endure by drawing physical and mental strength from their higher power. Their feats of endurance are incredible.

I have accomplished athletic feats that rank high on the level of difficulty, but mine do not compare to those of the Marathon Monks. They are incredible examples of human capabilities. In as much as my accomplishments took every bit of physical, emotional and mental strength I could muster, the biggest challenge is always to accept that people may see the feats as no more than personal athletic challenges. Maybe I delude myself into believing that these accomplishments are not ego driven, but I do not believe it. They are too draining, too difficult and when complete there is only the relief that the mission was accomplished and reflective questions estimating the depth of its effectiveness. In the end, it makes no difference to me if the media uses my name or an anonymous, I play to an audience of one. What matters is that the people who worked together compassionately and selflessly are recognized as magnificent models of the human spirit and the positive traits with which God blessed us.
My coach and I had our last talk before Kelsey and I leave for the Mur/Drau swim. I expressed the usual parting fears and he send me on my way with his usual words of strength. As I laughingly and then solemnly relayed the previous story to him with a little natural animation, he shook his head at Depak and the Marathon Monks and said…
“Mimi, go in Faith and Get it done!” And that, is the plan; going in faith and following David's lead, leaving small but significant traces of my time time on Earth cultivating the seeds David spent his life planting.