Good | Bad | Rad #40 – A rad of few words

A look back at some of the best, hardest and most surprising parts of my week.

The Good

Perspective. There’s this professional photograph I’ve seen of my favorite bridge with one of my favorite mountains in the background. Mt. Hood always looks so huge behind the St. Johns Bridge, I’ve long suspected there was a little photoshopping going on. But this last weekend, I decided to hike into Forest Park and see if I could find that exact view. I did, and wow, was it spectacular in real life!

Placing. Remember how last week, one of my Goods was about being surprised by my running performance? Well, happened again. That 10k I mentioned? I finished second in my age group! I’m like a kid when it happens. I make my friends get a picture. I hang my ribbon proudly on the refrigerator. I share it with ~~anyone who will listen~~ my friends and followers. And every time I think, “wow, I get to do this. I can do this.”

The Bad

Late nights. And those mean not enough sleep. And you know how I don’t like that. The good part of this bad is that it’s self-induced. I’ve had too many late nights with friends, having fun. I’m feeling a little blergh-y, which isn’t good, because I have a long training run and a couple of big social events this weekend. So, early night for me tonight! And also, a note to future me to help me remember that four nights in a row is too much.

The Rad

HH the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is in Portland for an environmental summit. I was absolutely thrilled to be present at one of his first public events here. Seeing and hearing him was emotional and inspiring. His message was simple, to care for and have compassion for everyone and our world. I was most surprised by his laugh and sense of humor. He really seemed to be enjoying himself!

The experience has left me a bit beyond words, or if you’ve happened to talked to me in person about it, trying out lots and lots of words that all just seem inadequate. I’ll leave it at that. For now.