This one's for you...

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1:13:46
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31/153/1,000
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I realize that on each one of my walks, I reflect quite a bit. I do a sort of meditation to focus on some positive thinking that I hope transcends the boundaries of where I am and reach out to those in need. I also try to do a "request" list for myself of people I know who cannot walk for whatever reason. Today's walk added a sweet boy named Harold. He is 15 years old and he collapsed this morning on the way to HHS. I even heard the sirens as my son closed the front door at 7 am. KJ has known Harold since kindergarten and they are both in band together. Harold is a big, strong boy who has a heart of gold. He played football until he found out the he has an enlarged heart. (Go figure, a kid with a big heart and it's also enlarged!) So, he started to play trombone in the band as an activity more to his ability. He is extremely popular and they had a couple of announcements throughout the day today updating on his condition. The last word I received was that he was in critical condition but stable. He is in ICU and the family is close by his side. I can only imagine the ache that goes on in a parent's head as the child is lying in limbo, not knowing the outcome.
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As I walked today, I was in deep thought about him and what was probably going on as he fell to the ground in the middle of the busy Lockwood Blvd. And as the two men who jumped out of their cars to race to his rescue and perform CPR until EMS could arrive, I can only send thoughts of thanks to them for their heroic efforts to save this precious, gentle soul.
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I often ponder, as I walk, "why". "Just why". I never seem to come up with anything more than "just because". I don't have answers of any higher intelligence. No direct contact with the Ju-Ju up above giving me reasons. It is just an acceptance of what is and what I can do to not sit in silence but be active in my belief of what is and has to be. My walking is so much more than a physical activity to make my body stronger. It makes my mind stronger, more at peace with me and the world around me.
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Today, I said my usual positive thought for Hamza, the boy who almost died while in a car that flipped across the street and onto the sidewalk right where I walk (everyday that I walk), for Bobby, who's life was cut way too short for his family even though it was too much for him (the celebration of his life was at the country club that I walk by), and today along with them, Harold, who collapsed at the crossing between the elementary school and the high school that I walk by. I also said a few words to Uncle Phillip who took his last breath on Sunday, after a long, chronic illness of COPD and emphysema. He is now at rest. No more breathing problems.
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Every walk, everytime, I commit myself to being as healthy as I can...because I can. And I want that commitment to continue to my end. So, to all those who cannot walk, cannot commit, for whatever reason...this one's for you.
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