Your Race is Your Own | Moments of Perspective

Yesterday I was in the pool with Addy. 

We were on hour two of swimming and Mimi had just taken Finn back to the house (he tends to get cold quickly…not sure what it’s like to have zero body fat lol!) so it was just Addy girl and I. 

She is a little fish. Actually she probably more resembles  mermaid. She loves to swim under the water and she is FAST.

There are some times that she’s trying to “get me” that I can’t swim away fast enough. It’s seriously impressive.

So when she wanted to race across the pool, I knew that I would have to actually try, at least a little bit. But the thing was, she wouldn’t just swim. She kept looking to see where I was… if I was behind her she was slowing down to look at me, if I was next to her she would swim towards me instead of straight, and if I was ahead by just a little, it would make her want to give up.

This revelation was pretty clear, and something I have been thinking about quite a bit. This quote popped up years ago when I was at a boudoir retreat/workshop and it has stuck with me over the years. I often find myself comparing in some way or another, to other mammas, photographers, bodies, stories, and this little quote pops up in my head.

It mostly works as a reminder, but doesn’t always work completely… old habits die hard…and all that jazz….

And in talking to anyone really honestly, I find out that I am not alone. A lot of us seem to be doing this. And while maybe MAYBE in some cases it’s benefitical (ie I am not an Olympic coach or anything so maybe sometimes you have to see where your competition is) but for me and my life, comparison doesn’t add anything positive to my life. And old Teddy agrees :

Swimming with Addy reminded me that instead of focusing on what I shouldn’t be doing (comparing)….which, in fact, I shouldn’t be doing…what I need to focus on is my very own race.

I can’t worry about who is in front, who is behind, where anyone else is. It doesn’t matter if I am first or last as long as I am running the race that I am called to the very best that I can run it. So lets run/swim/walk/paint/dance our way along the path we are meant to take.

Your path is your own and just as no two fingerprints or snowflakes are the same, your race is not going to be the same as anyone elses’ and neither is mine, and that is  ok.

Am I right friends?

Well I know that I am on this one! Here’s to being uniquely ourselves!

I am taking some time this week to think through exactly where my race is meant to be and make sure that my daily life is lining up with getting me trained up to do my very best. I hope that today you can feel content with where you are, it’s a challenge I know, but so much joy can be found in contenment.

 

Have a blessed day!