MINDFULNESS

After a fairly physical leave, I am back in the home's safe corner. Feel good!

On my Big Lake Run 2013
One way try to try out Conscious Presence in the real life.

I've written a bit about different words and it will continue for a while. Until I finish so to say ..

Last week's words, wisdom, was nice, and before that there was perseverance that applied. This week I will use a word (or rather two) a little in the time that I will try to live up to as best I can.

The word is "Conscious Presence" or as it is usually written and pronounced: MINDFULNESS

On my own.

This means that I should try to live with consciousness and reflection in thoughts, words and actions. Waking up to the world around us, we experience feelings and moods fully and are extra aware of the needs of others.
Refuse to hurry myself. Living attentively can make life a little easier by helping me get distance to feelings.
Anger must turn into justice!
I will seek joy instead of desire and develop my interior and pay attention to the homework Life teaches me.
Presence provides peace of mind.

Just do it!

Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) is the oldest and most famous record of the daoism, and you can read the following:

"Can you cleanse your inner vision so that you see nothing but the light? Can you take a step back from yourself and thereby understand everything?"

I am grateful for the gift of conscious presence. It constantly makes me present.

Great Lake Run was my run around the lake
where I come from (222,5 km or 138,256 miles)

Well, you choose for yourself what you want to do but never forget:

Dare to laugh!
Dare to say hello! to a stranger!
Dare peek around the corner!
Dare to be present!

/Flexirun

WISDOM

THANK YOU from the deepest part of my heart!

Everything except what is not supposed to hold when running 42195 meters WITHOUT actually more than keeping the body up with something that resembled running 😉
But I am pleased to be able to run the first 25 kilometers completely unobstructed and in a fairly easy way. That it then became a powerwalk and "intervals" to get to the goal was just a tactic that I took in the need ..
So, therefore, I am pleased to know exactly where the body is physically and what is required is exactly the word of the week.
Well, then the basic training begins for next year's marathon in Stockholm. 🙂

In Stockholm I celebrated Kenya's Independence Day (1/6) by running a marathon today (6/6) I celebrated my own country's national day with 10 km of running. 10K is enough in Sweden.

The word of the week is WISDOM and it is our guardian's guardian. It gives us clarity of thought and a deeper understanding.
Try to use your judgment before your impulse actions (dare, however, look around the corners).
Wisdom gives us the maturity and patience required to make sustainable choices.
Find knowledge, reflect and then open up the inspiration!
Wisdom can take us farther away than the very thought, to a deeper insight and knowledge.

I'm going to be grateful for the gift of wisdom for the rest of the week.

As a winner of DM (district championships) in M55 last fall
a friend received the medal to me just now..

Dare to laugh!
Also dare say a hello! to strangers!
Dare peek around every corner!
Dare to trust your wisdom!

NOBILITY

Good Sunday evening for all of you!

The week that went was tough but also nice and fun.

I have run but not as much as before, which actually doesn't matter much. I have chosen not to set up any direct training goal for marathon in Stockholm on June 1. Only that I should run may suffice.

The running I have done with Malte has felt good and it just goes better and better. What I lost in fitness, I must take back with experience and forehead instead 😉

In addition, I have not only run but also rolled a little with my motorcycle. Among other things up to the annual Springmeet farmhouse which is a nice arrangement with lots of bikes and cars from all periods (The pictures are from a running race with Malte and partly from Springmeet 2019).

The Castella in Brunflo
#whereIcomefrom

Word of the week:

Nobility is to be true to our true values as spiritual beings. It is to live up to the virtues, the divine treasure that is within us. Treat yourself and others with dignity and respect. Speak and act with love. Choose the high moral path no matter what it costs.

An old, but beautiful, shed.

 If others try to downgrade you, remain steady in consciousness of your true value. Do not choose the least resistance law but live a principled life.

Live the good life!

From a run up in the forrest with Malte.

Green but all trees do not have leaves yet.

I do not only run.Sometimes I do "roll"..
I run my Indian Scout too!

I am grateful for the gift of nobility. It is my moral compass!

Easy, Light and Smooth!
/Flexirun

HELPFULNESS

Once again a really nice evening at you! I will write a little about "helpfulness" a little further down in the post for those who might be able to get there ..

Me on one of my runs :-)

I have sometimes resembled my feeling at a tree without leaves. I have always known that spring will come. It has done it four times now and finally it is all that it should again.

It is not true for me not to chop, bite and stick as well. I just wanna do what I love so much. I just can't quit simply!

The only thing missing is well .. the fitness that you once had. But I usually think like this. I'm almost 58 years old and have run 50 of them.
It doesn't go as fast or far BUT it goes and also gets more fun and fun. What more could you ask for?

"Nike Claes" ;-)

After the day's run of about 10 km with Malte up in the forest, which was absolutely wonderful, it turned out that I had received a message right from Kenya.

Edwin, James, Samuel and Rodgers with their new shoes.
The sign really me me happy!

Edwin Kibet Maluche who is the trainer for the runners in Elgon Running Club had written and sent pictures of the new shoes that Rodgers and his companion James and Samuel had received after some help from my side.
Since Rodgers decided that he MUST hit the world record on the marathon, I thought he must have new running shoes and then his companion James must have a pair. Then I thought that even Samuel who will represent Kenya in the East African championships should also have a couple of new well-seated shoes.
I arranged a little and fixed some. Think less, do more was the motto.

(Left): James, Samuel and Rodgers with new shoes. (Right) Jams and Rodgers with that sign.

Yes, so it was that with the word of the week. The word is "Helpfulness".
The American author and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) is said to have claimed:

"One of the most beautiful pleasures the life gives is that it is actually impossible to help someone else while at the same time helping oneself."

Helpfulness is to make meaningful things for others, things that make a difference for them, in both big and small.
It is time to be thoughtful and think about what people really need and help them in a respectful way. It is usually easier to provide help than to receive and it takes courage to ask for help when we need it.

My lovely running pal Malte (Flatcoated Retriever).

So, help the week be a great week!

Dare to laugh!
Dare to say hello! to strangers!
Dare peek around the corner!
Dare to be helpful!

Easy, Light and Smooth!
/Flexirun

SIMPLICITY

Simplicity is to be satisfied with the basic gifts of life. We live reflectively and consciously, pay attention to what is important and not.

Not always simple out there!

 We value those we love and surround us only with what is useful or beautiful. We free ourselves from excesses, debris and complexity. Simplicity provides clarity and increased concentration. It also frees our minds from the stress of doing too much.

A "small" bear-track (cub).

More tracks ;-)

 We value small things, daily pleasures and opportunities to show kindness. We also live in the present and preserve what is right in front of our eyes.

We just enjoy being!

Malte just sit cool and watch the bears digging after "spring-food"

William Morris (a British artist, designer and writer) said:

"Just have the things in your home that you know are useful or think beautiful."

I will try to be happy with what I have and I will think that I know what I care about. I intend to clear out debris and excesses from my life and try to be faithful to my task.
I will value small things and then perhaps most importantly:

I enjoy living!

Dare a smile!

Dare to say Hello! to strangers!

Dare to peek around corners!

Dare to dare SIMPLICITY!

Easy, Light and Smooth!

/Flexirun

Humility...

...is something that can be difficult to live up to.

Humility!

 I find myself up in the blue sometimes which does not have to be any fault in any way. On the contrary, it can be a way to test the boundaries a bit.

Helen Keller (the very first deaf-blind person to graduate an academic exam) is supposed to have expressed humility in the following ways:

"I long to do great and noble tasks but the most important thing for me is to do simple things as if they were big and noble."

Humility is to be moderate, modest, and unpretentious. To consider the views and needs of others as important as our own.
If you hurt someone, you should have the humility to admit it and do good again.
Humility is NOT humiliation!
Humility reminds us that, rather than being proud, we should be grateful for our success.

Malte in the forrest with me on a run.

Soon there will also be an update from Elgon Running Club in Kenya by the way! A lot is happening there right now and so on the straight arm I know that new shoes are sought after.

The lodge..

Dare to smile humbly!!
Dare to say hello! to strangers in a humble way!
Dare peek humbly around the corner!
Dare to venture... humble!

Easy, Light and Smooth!
//Flexirun

LOVE..

.. is the essence of our existence. The vital force that gives us energy and direction and connects one heart to another.

Love!

Running is Love!

Love is an irresistible attraction and affection for a person, a place, an idea or for life itself.

Love is to cherish others and treat them with tenderness. Love grows with tolerance and appreciation. It has the power to heal. It obliges us continuous improvement while we are freed from the need to control or shape anyone in our image.

My dog, Malte, is Love!

Charity of commitment and seasoned with kindness is our greatest gift of love.

To practice love:

* I allow myself to have deep relationships.
* I engage wholeheartedly.
* I show love through good deeds.
* I accept and appreciate those I love.
* I work with myself in the way love requires.
* I care about what I love in my life.

Dare to smile!
Dare to say Hello!
Dare to peek around corners!
Dare to do what You think!
Dare to accept!

Easy, Light and Smooth!
/Flexirun

Hello friends out there!

Someone has wondered how I can have such "OPENNESS".

Always try a Smile my friends!

It may not be so weird. Admittedly, you never reach goals as an ultra-runner and you have to work with certain things constantly and throughout your life.

The road might be long but not impossible!

For me, OPENNESS means being:
Honest, clear and sincere. To show who I am and what I feel without disgusting me. I appreciate new ideas and opportunities. I have a sincere desire to get in touch and I have no hidden motives. I want to care about the opinions and feelings of others.
I am willing to receive the gifts of life!

My dearest friend, Malte, when running my Life!

The longer one wants to be able to run, the less one has to "seduce" himself. It's just honesty that works from 100km and longer ...

I'm running again even if it's not some extreme stretches ... right now. Slightly dragged with a cold and a slight inflammation in a health which is sketchy really.

Contact the nearest Life you have and:
Dare to laugh!
Dare to say hello! to strangers!
Dare peek around the corner!
Dare to try OPENNESS!

Dare to smile!
Dare to say Hello!
Dare to peek around corners!
Dare to do what You think!
Dare to accept!

Easy, Light and Smooth!
/Flexirun

Mars...

.. is in Roman mythology generally considered the Roman god of war.

I have been fighting for 55 years without resistance worse than having been able to master them. The last three years, however, have been so tough that before Christmas 2018, I had to enroll myself.
This was due to post-traumatic stress caused by all the stored thoughts I carried on after the blood infection I suffered.

Well, today I feel much better again, even though I don't run more than maybe 20% of what I once did each year.. 

During these three years I have still won a DM in marathon and have had another three marathons in Stockholm with my children so I am quite satisfied anyway.

One thing is that I started to accept, more and more, that I may not be able to run as I always could. It goes slower and right now I have a little boring inflammation in my right foot so I can't run for now.

Instead I have been doing som other nice things. Me and my wife went down to Stockholm to see our children and our grandson. We also went for a historical walk with a guide in the old part of the town (Gamla stan).

Hell of a weather but so interesting with history.

Today, 2019-03-29, I had my last conversation with my therapist. She is really good and I believe that you can't handle everything yourself. Sometimes you simply have to take help from experts.

Well I do feel alright once again and slowly I will build up my body for longer and longer runnings.

Me and Malte 2019-03-29
Little more than 3 years after my kidney stone and sepsis.
So nice to be out there again!

Dare to smile!
Dare to say Hello!
Dare to peek around corners!
Dare to do what You think!
Dare to accept!

Easy, Light and Smooth!
/Flexirun

What has happened since last time?

Well, not much but I really think I feel better which is the most important for me.  Last Saturday and Sunday I felt a little pain in my right achilles. Well, a lot of work on my step-machine and a lot of heel raises. One more week or so with some Aloe Vera ointment will do the trick I think.

Where I come from.. 

Me, my middle-daughter and my son will run the Stockholm marathon this upcoming summer (June 1). It will be, as always, so fun to run that race.

No, I'm not running to do a specific time anymore. The social part is so much more for me.

I'm on with my running even if it's just about 20% of how much I ran 3 years ago. Before the kidney stone and the huge blod infection. Well, if you're an ultra runner you got patience.

I think, even if been a bit low mentally, from post traumatic stress for about 3 month now I must say I'm doing a pretty good progress. That's one thing I'm happy for and must thank my family and all my friends for. Without friends things are much, harder I can say!

"Friends" are much more than humans. It can be a dog, the nature or just feelings. I believe in human mental strength. There is so much force in it that we neither know nor really master. We, learn as long as we live!

Malte my dog

Once again I want You all to dare a smile, a hello and to peek around the corners.

Easy, Light and Smooth!
/Flexirun

No matter where I go I will find me!

"There you go!" was my thought of the day when out running with my dog Malte.

When a dam breaks, a tidal wave is often formed. It basically rages EVERYTHING in its path.

After a while the wave settles and the calm comes back but with the difference that most of what has been is in disarray ...

Most of the time, most things can be rebuilt. So even in my case! It won't be, or will look like before, but it will be something new instead.

Today I ran around 1.5h with Malte up in the forest. I don't care about time or speed. Only I ran and managed more and more every day. Even a Ferrari runs on gear one and two ..

We met some pieces out there. Both people on walk, horses and riders as well as a dog owner. Of course we said Hello! to each other.

Also, we smiled! Something I learned is that even if you are smiling on the outside you might not do it on the inside ... and vice versa. Today I actually smiled on both sides.

I also chose to peek, and choose roads, around corners. Although a road I walked on three years ago almost led me to eternity and transformation into star dust.

Then I would like to thank all those who in any way helped me on my way through these three years. Family, hospital staff, friends, animals and nature. Great hugs to you!

Continue to dare a SMILE!

Continue to say HELLO! to strangers!

Continue to PEEK around the corner even though it can be a bit exciting.

Dare ACCEPT and RESPECT!

Dare to venture!

Easy, Light and Smooth my friends!

//Flexirun