Undeterred by Detours

 

I've recently encountered a lot of detours on my runs and on the roads. I was on a run around the Reservoir when a detour sign appeared. I turned to Ruth Anne, my running partner and said, "Well what shall we do?"

We came up with a plan to go into a familiar path under a canopy of trees. We would go to the halfway  mark of our 5K and return the same way we ran to get to the halfway point.

It started to rain; nothing like the downpour Tom and I experienced last week but a steady rain. The canopy of leaves caught the rain keeping us relatively dry. When we emerged from our detour, the rain stopped.

Ever since the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006, I have learned to find joy in the journey and embrace the detours. 

The detour of Post-Polio Syndrome led me to the most glorious destination of becoming a 2009 Boston Marathon finisher, motivational speaker, author, poet and one who shares a profound message of healing, hope and possibilities. 

The 2020 pandemic was a mother lode of all detours. We were extremely blessed to maintain our health and well-being through it all. We thought that after we were all vaccinated we could resume activities and see friends without any trepidation.

We are extremely fortunate in Massachusetts to have a high vaccination rate and a relatively low infection rate but the vaccination rate has dramatically slowed and there is an "uptick" in cases that is of concern to public health officials.

I focus on accentuating the positive, releasing fears and trusting in the Divine believing in my health and well-being and in the health and well-being of my loved ones. When I meditate, I send out well-being to all Beings.  I know the power of the mind/body connection and harness it to boost my immune system and continue to heal my life from the once devastating effects of paralytic polio and trauma.

This new "uptick" in cases in Massachusetts and around the country have given our family and me pause. The news that came out of the CDC that if you are fully vaccinated, you can go about your lives with ease and no masks was a cause for celebration. But given what's happening, one wonders if they may have moved forward too quickly with their advice. I know they were basing it on available data. They used it as a motivator to encourage people to get vaccinated based on the data at that time. We were not about to book a trip that would require traveling by air but we did book a trip to New York City. The words of Lin Manuel-Miranda on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon are now echoing once more. As Jimmy Fallon and he were talking about the excitement of Broadway’s reopening,  he said“And it’s all depending, right? It depends on how safe people feel returning to the theater and people continuing to get vaccinated…”

Tomorrow is the Voices of Hope Boston 11th Annual Barbara Byrd Memorial Golf Tournament. We were all set to go but with the uptick in cases, Ruth Anne expressed a lot of anxiety about being around a large group of people whose vaccination status was unknown and eating indoors for the luncheon. We presume that the majority of people would be fully vaccinated and everyone will be fine but it wasn't a risk we were comfortable taking at this time. The breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people is unsettling.

We know about the power of belief and trust in the efficacy of the vaccines we received. Our concerns lie with people who are unvaccinated and the risk of breakthrough infection which is what happened to me during the last polio epidemic. Even if that were to happen we know we would be fine but why take the risk right now? We have returned to hand washing and masks indoors and making choices based on our tolerance for risk, weighing the benefits versus risk of our choices.

We are taking life day by day which is truly the only way to be. We are aware that life can and does change on a dime.

We'll continue to enjoy life with an attitude of gratitude undeterred by any detours that may come our way. The beautiful destination we arrive at is the gift of the present moment where we have everything we could possibly need and more. 

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary

Visit my website to learn more about my journey of transformation in the wake of paralytic polio and trauma to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.

Be sure to listen to my recent conversation with Liz Brunner, award winning journalist, now CEO of Brunner Communications on her podcast Live Your Best Life. I share how I live my best life despite the challenges that I faced at an early age.

For all of my recent appearances, be sure to visit my News and Events tab on my website.

My books to inspire and uplift you are available on Amazon.