Looking forward to....

From the Introduction of "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Once I received the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a disease deemed by Western Medicine Standards to be a progressive neuromuscular disease, I worked hard to live by Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy and the philosophy of many luminaries of the New Age. In December of 2006 life as I had come to know it came to a screeching halt. I was not going to take the diagnosis sitting down.

Sometimes it feels as though life is going to crush us but then we have the opportunity to turn around and crush goals in life! At first I was afraid - very afraid and then I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. The answers came through my pen, what I came to call my divining rod for healing in the form of inspirational poetry; powerful words that inspired mind, body and soul to heal. I was creating my future; a future very different than the one the doctors predicted for me harnessing the power of my imagination to heal. I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, and to anticipate an accelerated decline in functioning as I aged.

I traded in my wheelchair, leg brace and cane for a pair of running shoes. I went on to become an endurance runner. My adventures as runner girl 1953 (the year I was born) launched when I was 54 years old.

I could have easily gotten pulled into the vortex of fear paralyzed by what I was being told. No one would have or could have judged or blamed me for accepting the diagnosis and prognosis. What we hear from the 'experts' can have a powerful effect on our minds which then affects our bodies.

Despite all appearances to the contrary, I created my future through the power of my imagination that flowed through my pen. I had a yellow legal pad with me at all times writing the poems that flowed from Source. I kept a journal for my future. Yes you read that right. Every day I would take 30 minutes out of my day to create a day in my life for after I left the VA. I felt the feelings of joy, gratitude, wholeness, health, well being as though they were happening right then and there. I created an environment of healing through my imagination while working in outpatient physical therapy and then with a personal trainer.



While I acknowledge feelings of anxiety and fear that wash over me, I am also looking for ways to feel good while navigating these days of uncharted territory. I feel incredibly blessed that the portal to writing poetry has once again opened to me.

Spring Cleaning
Scrubbing out the corners of my cluttered fretting mind
cobwebbed covered fear and doubt seek and ye shall find.

Cleansing breaths transform the dark no longer can they rule

lightness ease and joy and Truth my journey now they fuel.
Planting seeds of possibility rebirth burst forth with life

rooted in my faith of Source weeding out the worry strife.

Shake off the chill of seasons past Loving warmth must now prevail

whatever the adversity trust through it we can sail.

Time for moments of transition transform embrace new day
thoughts of healing health well being are here to light the way.

Heart and soul's delight now blossom path clear for flying free

take off and soar unlimited Being all we're meant to be!

I am looking to the future and bringing it into my present by imagining how great it is going to feel to:
Go grocery shopping and experience ease and calm (and toilet paper on the shelves)
Go on a shopping spree at Paper Fiesta with the gift certificate we purchased
Meet our friend and her son for lunch in Natick Center Cultural District
Enjoy soup, sandwiches and salads from New England Soup Factory
Lunch with friends at Legal Seafood Chestnut Hill
Be a part of rescheduled races
Dining in at Golden Temple
Run with friends with hugs and high fives
Appointments with my chiropractor Dr. Lizzie Sobel
Taking Ruth Anne for her acupuncture appointments with George Leung and for her OT appointments at Spaulding Rehab
Seeing Spring in full bloom and having picnics outdoors
Give high fives and hugs for runners training on Heartbreak Hill
Experience Boston Marathon Weekend
- Speaking at the Expo as part of the Runner Seminar Series
- Welcoming friends from near and far
- Being outside for HOURS with more cowbell

I imagine all of these wonderful experiences with exquisite detail to savor the sensations right down to the peanut butter sandwiches with carrots and chips we eat while cheering on the runners at the Boston Marathon.

The subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is being imagined and what is real and so I have the same feelings happening in my body as though these experiences were happening right now. It's a wonderful way to transform the grief, worry and fear that is pervasive at this time. Instead of looking to the news for when we will receive the "all clear" and waiting to celebrate and experience all that joy and relief, I choose to look forward to that time right now.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
With love
Mary

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

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