Ultra running ..... and other challenges

I've been meaning to write a blog post for a few weeks, but felt a bit uninspired. The drudgery of lockdowns and restrictions can feel heavy, even as we begin to come out of them! 

Then today I read an article about Ultra races. In general 'ultra' denotes super long distances, but in this case, the race has a twist. There is no set distance. Instead the idea is to run around a loop of 4.16miles within an hour, and repeat it the next hour, and the next, and the next, and the next, until there is only one person left standing. The last person wins, whereas all the others are classed as 'did not finish'.  The current record is 75hours, or 312 miles. That's a huge physical impact on your body. At the same time, there is the monotony, and boredom of repeating the same loop, but also the challenge of refueling and resting enough in the inbetween moments to carry you through the next loop. Literally a case of run, eat, sleep, repeat. 

More than a year into a global pandemic with lockdowns, and loosening of restrictions, and more lockdowns, and second and third waves, an ultra race like that seems an appropriate analogy.

I am definitely not a runner. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I think running is unnatural for humans (unlike swimming!). But I was more interested in the psychology of these runners. Competitors start the race not knowing how long it is, or when the finish line will come. Actually the 'finish' banner at the end of the loop had been changed to read 'There is no finish'!. That wouldn't be out of place for how many of us are experiencing the pandemic. So how do you keep motivated when you don't know for how long your motivation needs to last, when there aren't any goalposts beyond getting through the next loop?

Those who created their own goalposts to look forward to ("it'll all be over by the summer") have generally been disappointed as dates come and go, and the situation hasn't changed, or has changed in a very different way than expected. Even as the roll out of vaccinations might be a game changer in this country, for anyone with links in other countries and who's lives involve international travel, the picture (or the finish line) is still far from clear. So what do the successful ultra athletes advise?

One runner, who came 'third' after completing 216 miles in 2019 said "We're crippled by the past and the future. What's happening in the next 10 seconds is all that I can control." 

It's an extreme example of focusing not on the finish line, but on the race itself. Not on the goal or the prize at the end, but on the present moment, or the very immediate future moments. I think it's that lesson that we are learning in the midst of the pandemic: to focus on the steps right in front of me, rather than to think or plan too far ahead. And to refuel ourselves and rest enough for the next loop. Maybe with that mindset, we might even be able to enjoy the present - in the same way that ultra athletes enjoy a gruelling race without a finish line!

 

 

Walking forwards (and backwards) into the future

Next week will mark a year since I came to the UK for a short visit and ended up staying for a 'bit' longer than expected. For most of us it's been a strange year - with unexpected changes and limitations. Apart from the concern for health, this year has also striped us of much sense of being able to plan for the future, or have control over our lives. 

Last Sunday, I was privileged to be able to share (virtually) with my local church about Joseph's life of faith. He was also someone who was robbed of his capacity to plan for the future, when he was sold as a slave. He was able to mature, be faithful to God and use the gifts he had been given in several twists and turns in his life. Yet he came to the end of his life, and asked his family to take his body back to the land that had been given to his great grandfather. He knew that God had been faithful in the detour of his life, but that there was a greater promise that he was a part of. 

I shared the modern(ish) example of Joni Mitchell. Best known as a singer songwriter from the 60's she sees herself as a painter, who was derailed by circumstance. Her songs expressed an angst and disappointment that she couldn't fully articulate in everyday life. But once the circumstance that had derailed her passion for painting was resolved and came full circle, she stopped writing songs and returned to painting. 

Many of us have put things on hold this last year, or have felt derailed or detoured by the pandemic. But there are passions and dreams that we hold which will come back to the fore. 

We try to plan for the future, but are frustrated with the niggling feeling that perhaps we can't control the future (*spoiler - we can't!). So I tried to learn a trick or two from the Andean worldview. The Quechua and Aymara groups in the Andes visualise the past in front of them (as opposed to behind us like the western culture), because they know what happened in the past, they can see it clearly as if it's in front of their eyes. They visualise the future as behind them - because they can't see it, and they don't know how it will develop. So they talk of walking backwards into the future.

In preparation for Sunday, I practiced walking backwards. I might have got a few strange looks whilst I was on my daily walks, but here's what I learnt! 

Walking backwards means that I take every step with a bit more care and attention, and go slower! That's not a bad thing. 

Walking backwards uphill (I live in Devon!) can actually be much easier and a lot more enjoyable than walking forwards uphill. The big difference is that I can see where I've come from, and how much progress I have made already. 

The practice of remembering where they've come from and what God has done in the past is a key component of the Israelites walk of faith in the Old Testament. There are several times when they set up stones of remembrance to help them remember God's presence with them in specific moments so that they could walk into the unknown future with the assurance of his faithfulness with them. 

So what are the stones of remembrance in your life?

It also made me think of reversing a car. Some of us are better at it than others, but for most of us, we need a bit more concentration and caution when we reverse, compared to driving forwards. We might get a snapshot of what's behind us in the wing mirror, but it doesn't give us the complete picture. What's even more helpful when we try to reverse, is having a friend who can see everything that's behind us, and can give us some simple instructions to follow. We actually don't need to see the whole picture, we just need to trust the one who does. 

So as we begin to move out of lockdown (again), I'm trying to put into practice these principles - in the absence of certainty for the future, I keep my eyes on the certainty of God's faithfulness in the past. And as I can't see a full picture of where I am going, I'm trusting God, who can, and learning to hear his voice as he instructs me in the way I should go. 

How are you preparing to come out of lockdown?

Signs of Spring

 In the midst of coldness, I've seen a few signs of spring on my walks...

Long walks and short swims

 That's a good description of what I've been doing over the Christmas and New Year break...and there's been some great views.... here's a few of them..

 Before our swim on the shortest day of the year.

Christmas Day swim

And warming up afterwards

Loads of rainbows on my walks.... my photos don't do them justice!

Not quite a sunset, but saying goodbye to 2020 from Bantham Beach

(Burgh Island  - and a lot of rain on the way, from Bantham)

 

Too many clouds to see a proper sunset but still beautiful

Just before and just after the sunrise on 1st Jan 2021

Just before and just after my swim from Paignton beach

 

 

Wonderful walk and chat with friends to welcome in the new year. 

Christmas traditions in abnormal times - lessons from bi-cultural living!

Over the last 12 years spent in Guatemala, my 'normal' Christmas has actually been different every year. 

When you live in a country that does Christmas differently to what you grew up with, and when you are far away from family, you have to rethink things. There are often others around who are far from family too, and each one comes with different ideas of the special food or events that make Christmas Christmas. So every year we have created and enjoyed new traditions that are a mixture of the different cultures and family rituals and activities of the people who are around. Favourite foods aren't necessarily available, and we have to create something similar from what is available or find an alternative. I'm not sure that this is quite how you might define a 'tradition' but in my book it's OK that these traditions are a onetime only event, never to be repeated as you'll never have the same combination of people and nationalities together again!. 

In fact it can be useful to help us remember that Christmas isn't about the gifts or the food or the rituals, but about celebrating the coming of Jesus, God with us, the greatest gift of all. 

So as we in the UK are reeling from the announcement of new and stricter rules that will limit Christmas plans for many of us, I'm remembering the lessons I've learnt through spending Christmasses abroad. 

Celebrate with the people around you, whoever they are. 

Adapt your rituals and traditions for the circumstances you find yourselves in. 

Be open to learn from others - and join in with their rituals and traditions. 

Be thankful for all the good gifts that we have been given - not the ones in sparkly wrapping paper, but the ones that are deeper and connect us with God and each other.

Connect with people in any way you can.

Meanwhile.... back in Guatemala

Not much of this has made it to international news, but Guatemala has faced some difficult weeks recently. 

Of course COVID-19 has created a backdrop of suffering this year. With a severe lockdown early on in the pandemic, millions of people struggled to feed themselves, as they weren't able to work. My colleague, working in Solola, a rural region, with a development project told me that they'd recently made contact with villages who had been surviving on bananas mashed with maize flour tortillas for weeks. These were the only things they could grow locally, and they weren't able to work. Even if people had had money (most didn't), the members of these isolated communities couldn't get to any large towns which had markets in order to buy food supplies, because of restrictions on travel and the rising costs of public transport. The government had promised help for those in need, but the system is woefully broken, and didn't reach these communities. 

With the health services struggling (staff not being paid, lack of protective gear and medicines) to cope with the increase of COVID-19 cases, the government lifted lockdowns, so that economic activity could begin again. Case statistics are regularly reported for most areas - although I don't know anyone who trusts them anymore. In many small communities in particular, there is a stigma attached to having had the virus, so illness is under-reported so that people can continue to work and earn money and to not face judgement from their neighbours.

Then in November two hurricanes (Eta and Iota) passed over Central America. Honduras and Nicaragua bore the brunt of the devastation with widespread flooding in many regions. The long term effect of that will be felt for the next year at least, as crops and livelihoods have been destroyed. In Guatemala the damage was felt in the east and north of the country, where landslides affected many small communities and over 50 people lost their lives. The government (from the relative safety of the capital) was reluctant to send support. 

Just two weeks after Eta, and with Iota predicted to make landfall, the government decided it was a good time to set next years budget. In a secret midnight session of parliament, a budget was approved. It took money away from health and education services, and emergency responses, and gave it to big infrastructure projects and increased funds for the actual government structures - including inflating the budget for food within parliament itself. 

The callousness of that move got a strong response from the population, thousands of whom took to the streets to protest. The protests were generally peaceful and called for the resignation of the President (he's been in power less than a year). In the midst of the peaceful protest police fired tear gas into crowds and this is now subject to an investigation. A small number of masked protesters vandalised and broke into the Congress to start a fire. It's uncertain whether they were really protesters, or were in fact planted (and given easy access to the building) by government insiders in order to discredit the protest and justify a heavy handed response. A dozen or so were arrested for damaging Congress, but after 48 hours the cases were thrown out by a judge who saw no evidence that they were the people responsible. Many vowed to return to protest the following weekend. For now, the budget seems to have been put on hold - although no-one is really sure what that means. 

For my politically active friends, there is a clear sense of dejavu. Regular anti-corruption protests back in 2015, led to the resignation of the then President and Vice-President and both are now in jail awaiting trial in corruption cases. But now they are asking themselves if anything has really changed. The names and faces at the top might change every 4 years, but eliminating the systemic corruption at this level and achieving changes to the system of government are a lot more difficult to reach. 

There are small signs of hope, but the situation continues to be a challenge, as the younger generations in particular stand up for a more just system. 

Learning and Growing

Yesterday I wrote about the different rhythms of nourishment of this year. Another aspect of this year is that for me it has been a period of learning and growing. There's a certain element of COVID restrictions which has made it easier to take a step back and reflect on a number of things. 

I'm definitely doing that in my work role and it's been a good time to take advantage of all sorts of courses and programmes that help me to do that, and to make changes to improve. I am part of a year long course about caring for cross-cultural workers, which has been great to understand more about the pressures and challenges that we face generally, as well as the extra challenges that this year has brought. 

I've been a part of a Women in Leadership Coaching programme over the last 6 months. I am culturally the odd one out in the group, so often need a bit of translation but we've talked about personality types and how they can affect our leadership styles and interactions with colleagues. We also assess our own ability in leading relationally, strategically, spiritually, and visionary, and talked through how to find a balance between each of these aspects. 

To be honest I've been a bit disappointed with the lack of depth involved in the programme (culture is definitely a factor in that) but simply by participating in the programme has made me look elsewhere for further reflection and input. I undertook a 360 degree evaluation, getting anonymous feedback from several different colleagues. The experience can be a bit sobering, as how other people perceive you comes into clearer focus, but in the long run, it's given me insight into how to adjust interactions so that people receive what I really intend to communicate. I'm really grateful to a few friends who have helped in that process, as I reflect on the feedback and weigh it up in the light of my calling and cultural expectations. 

And this year hasn't just been about growing in my work role. I've also really appreciated regularly being a part of a small group for great spiritual discussions and challenges. I have added in other short courses to 'lean into' the gifts that I've been given in a greater depth and confidence. In the process, I'm excited and intrigued to keep on stepping out of my comfort zone and to push myself further in trusting God and growing in him.