Pink Parade

My commute this morning was significantly slowed -- but greatly enriched -- by virtue of running next to the first mile or so of the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk. I passed hundreds of women -- and some men -- dressed in ordinary walking clothes, pink hats, t-shirts, tiaras and pink feather boas, heading off to spend three days making a difference in the fight against breast cancer. Each one of these people raised at least $2200 for breast cancer research. They're doing something brave and beautiful. I had fun calling out and waving as the walkers went by -- and they cheered me back. Being cheered on the way to work is always a day-brightener! ;-)


Of course, seeing them brought back all my conflicted feelings about my own aborted participation last year. I signed up in February or March -- with a_bellestrist as my buddy, and enjoyed my early training with L&L. But Lohain's death, my move, and the overall upheaval of my life pushed preparations pretty much to the bottom of my priority list. I didn't walk -- although a_bellestrist did -- but I did raise the full minimum donation, which is something I keep needing to remind myself. I did make a difference, even without walking.



On Monday I have my first session at a one-on-one weight training gym for the first time in at least five or six years. I used to do this all the time, and I loved it. I'm so glad to have the chance to start again (although it's at a different gym).

Love

Seen via a link shared by tamnonlinear:

"Love is a blurring of the distinction between selfishness and selflessness." - cos


I really like this.

My father's definition of love is "The unselfish desire to meet the needs of the love object." And that's a great definition -- but I like the awareness of the first quotation that in loving someone we are aware of doing something wonderful for ourselves as well. When I make my beloved happy, I am joyous. Selfishly, I want the best for him because it increases my own well being. Of course there is also an unselfish, altruistic element. I'm willing to make sacrifices for my beloved, to give without receiving direct gratification. But yes, there is a selfish element to love.

The challenge and beauty of an ongoing love relationship (one of the challenges, I should say!) is keeping those elements in dynamic balance. The beloved should never become simply a vehicle for one's own pleasure.