This is the PERFECT way to kick off our Easter weekend, with some good ole inspiration.
Check out Larry the whale as he motivates surfer Jodie Nelson to keep paddling her nearly 40 miles as encouragement for her best friend with Breast Cancer to keep fighting.
Click on the photo to read the whole article.
Cheers Larry, Jodie and Jodie’s best friend. You have brightened our day.
Week 1. Check. Only 51 remaining. I would insert a big, appropriate “Bring It On!” right here, but truthfully today it’s more of a gentle “Let’s Do This”. Well, maybe something in between because I do feel frisky and excited for all this unknown stuff.
Saturday evening I volunteered to take photos for the annual L.A. LEGGERS dinner and awards program. Not a bad gig for me considering I will soon be armed with ponytail and Brooks stability shoes ready to take on their marathon training program. It was actually a great way to meet folks and get the chance to talk to them about their running experiences. Now let me put this into perspective. I was hanging out in a crowd where one man finished LA in 3 hours 4 minutes, another woman walked it (yes, walked it) in 5 hours 35 minutes and one more guy had just finished his 171st marathon. Huh? And those were only the ones I knew about!
My personal highlight though occurred when speaking to a ‘longtime Legger’. I asked him how this all worked because it appeared a tad bit daunting (understatement) to think of running 26.2 miles at this point. He gave me a bit of a smirk and basically told me that new runners needed to think of it as 1 mile done 26 times instead of seeing the 26.2 as a whole. And they are looking for the pace at which you feel you can run 1 mile several times over.
“What’s your pace?” he enthusiastically asked. Perhaps a runner inside pick-up line? I had a quick internal giggle before answering an honest, “I don’t know. But I can see the finish line. I just don’t know how I get there!” (Basically I did not answer his question). 
He laughed and I remembered AGAIN of course that this whole marathon thing is such a metaphor for life goals. Set them, see the finish and don’t get caught up with the in-between ‘hows’. That’s the job of the universe. Just take it step by step (in this case literally) with deliberate action and intention…and find YOUR pace. Then keep your pace. Then improve it.
When I walked into spinning class this week after my last post announcing my newest adventure, my teacher high-fived me with excitement and support and said, “Why not?!”
Exactly. Why run the marathon? Well…why not?
Thanks Reilly and LA Leggers. Now it’s time to say, BRING IT ON!
Oh, and Mr. Legger man also reminded me that he too started at the beginning. The place where everyone starts……
I love when I get email from Heart Is Hot members telling me what the hearts specifically mean to them in their lives. There’s nothing better, really.
Today I received a note from longtime fan, member and supporter, Rebecca in Hauppauge, NY. She’s sending a heart to her cousin (read below) and asked if I would post a picture of the two of them together. I was of course more than delighted at this request, and hereby dedicate this post and my entire day to “Cousin Dina”. Thanks for making a difference in the life of someone who means so much to us, Dina. And may you enjoy following your heart…..in a brand new way.
HEART 1692, JOURNEY 1
March 26, 2010
All the hearts that I’ve shared have been special, but this one is especially special(If that makes any sense) because I am passing it along to a dear cousin of mine…my cousin Dina in North Carolina. She is more than just a cousin but a girlfriend. Someone I can talk about boys with, life with and our mothers. We are so similar in certain ways. We share frequent morning chats, text messages etc and if one of us is having a bad day we know exactly that the other will know the right thing to say and cheer us up. I love you more then words could express and I hope you will hold this heart close to you and think of me every time you look at it or hold it. I hope you will think of the special family bond that we share as well as the special friendship. I was grateful when you sent me that note card a year ago, when we lost touch and then when you came with your brother and mom this past summer to NY. I hope we can take a trip soon together. In the meantime, hold this heart and think of me close to you and when your ready you can pass it on to someone as special as you are to me. Know that I love you and even though we may be miles away, we’re only a phone call or text message away and I love you with all my heart and soul! This is for you to, to us…L’Chaim… XO
Ok, the ungrounded (but fun) excitement makes its way back down to earth today as I approach the afternoon of day 4 (of 361 days to the LA 2011 marathon). Days 1, 2 and 3 were spent in some Willy Wonka type factory in my mind, ranging from the bliss of flight via belching bubbles to the horror of being sucked through a tube, and getting stuck.
I of course woke up today with phantom muscle pain. Aren’t our bodies and minds AMAZING! Just the thought of committing to such a foreign goal for me has caused my body to act out in the oddest ways. But Ha!…I see you body. I see you mind.
Does that make me any more motivated to run tonight? Hmm….Part of me says no. But the part that gets it says YES!
I’ve always used the phrase “I feel like I ran a marathon”. Really? Wonder what that actually feels like. Guess I am going to find out. I’ve got the golden ticket.
So I am sitting here writing this post thinking…WTF have I gotten myself in to?
Let me back up.
Sunday (3 days ago) marked the 25th Anniversary of the LA Marathon. Until this year, that would have really meant nothing to me. Don’t get me wrong, I deeply admire marathoners. I just hadn’t really thought too much about them because in my mind they were “out of my league”. They do run 26.2 miles after all! And I have never witnessed a race in person, though hear about them on TV periodically.
This year not only did I have friends running in it, but the course wound practically right past my front door, just before mile 22. One of my friends running was my neighbor, Shannon. She plays a significant role here because she recently coerced, uh I mean gently persuaded me to join our neighborhood run club. She and I are spinning buddies, but I have always told her I hate running, so she smartly only mentioned the club once in a blue moon…until I joined no doubt.
So, a slight (very slight) curiosity about running has been developing over the last few months. But nothing could have prepared me for this week’s whopper of a decision! Yes, I have committed to running a marathon! Let’s discuss.
Sunday I walked down to my neighborhood Lululemon store that hosted the mile 22 80’s cheering dance party. Folks, this is RIGHT up my alley. So me, my neon pink sparkle skirt, green retro glasses with attached earrings and pretty in pink flip flops had the time of our lives dancing and cheering on the runners as they passed. What I didn’t expect is to feel is, well…feelings. I thought I was just in it for the cheesy music, energetic rah rah’s and the occasional sip of champagne. But as life would have it, I had a tremendously deep, personal and opening experience. And the beautiful part was that I wasn’t ready for any of it.
As the runners began to pass, a sense of intense admiration welled up inside me. Every part of my being was cheering them on, and each of my dance moves for them showed my enthusiasm. I was SO proud of them that I could barely stand it. And they were happy! Actually happy as they passed, and were fed by the sound of the music and our voices. At mile 22? This was astounding to me. I pictured people dropping left and right by that time.
Then IT happened. In the midst of an attempted break dancing sequence, I had a flood of my own beliefs pass right before my eyes. And I realized I had a CHOICE whether to buy into them or not. These runners cruising by were waking me up to my own self-imposed limitations. I had actually bought into the belief that I could NEVER run 5 miles, let alone 26.2. And even if I did happen to run, I would hate it, my body would break down, I would fail, etc, etc. Geesh, no wonder I’ve avoided the sport all these years.
I started thinking to myself, “If I have all these beliefs just about this one thing, imagine how many I have about life in general”. Wow. Wake-up-call.
I went home from the marathon that day feeling so exhilarated and inspired, and I began to literally feel belief after belief fall off me. The freedom in that is almost inexplicable. I became curious to find more illusionary beliefs to challenge and question and extended my gratitude for the realizations I was having.
So, here’s how it went after that. I kept this all to myself Monday and let my inner world grow and prosper, and actually process the events of Sunday. I felt a strong push to say YES to this inner journey…so did. I completely began to see that running a marathon for me is probably 95% mental and 5% physical. And I started translating those statistics to anything in life I have had “fear” of. It’s almost as if my mind was beginnign to re-program itself.
By Tuesday, I made a scary (and let me reiterate scary!) yet freeing decision to run the 2012 marathon. In fact, I made it real by tweeting it out to my friends at Lululemon and making it my status on Facebook.
MY ACTUAL TWEET:
Ok @lululemon, I’m gonna run the 2012 LA marathon. Just decided! This will b my 1 thing a day that scares me 4 the next 2 years! LOL 
4:14 PM Mar 23rd via TweetDeck
See how the time says 4:14pm? Well, by 6:15pm that same day I was at run club and found myself volunteering to run the 4.5 mile course as opposed to the “safe” 2 mile one. WHAT? Who was speaking those words? I thought I didn’t really even like running! Not only that, I vowed to myself that I was going to enjoy the experience and actually relax with each step.
And I did! Who is this new person?
By 7:30pm a few friends of mine encouraged me not only to run the marathon (with them), but to do it next year in 2011 instead of 2012. Yowza! Alright-y then! I say YES! I can do it! Now don’t think I am any less afraid here. I am just choosing not to give that part of myself the energy, because the part of me that DOES know I can do it is much more interesting to me now.
And today I changed my tweets and FB status to match the even more, as Lululemon stated, “big hairy audacious goal” to solidify the new 2011 reality.
I share this story because this is an insightful community of people who are looking inward to create from the heart, not the mind, and I feel you can relate to aspects of this story that are “between the lines”. Whatever your “marathon” may be, I encourage you to say YES and follow what Lululemon says….“Do one thing a day that scares you”. It certainly is freeing and worth it.
I intend to spend the next year blogging about the inner and outer journeys of preparing for the marathon, which is a daunting 362 days from today. It won’t always be pretty, but it will be my “yes”.
I leave you with my favorite sign held by a spectator on Sunday:
Glad the marathon is only 26.2 miles.
26.3 would be CRA-ZY!
With tragedy comes choice.
I was so struck by Oprah’s “What I Know for Sure” article this month that I just had to share it with you.
May it turn you upside down and inside out as it did me. Enjoy.
One thing I’ve learned for sure over the years: Your relationships with others reflect your relationship with yourself, wherever you may be in your personal development.
The key to meaningful connections with people in your life is making yourself whole by honoring your body, mind and spirit-filling the voids that cause you not to love yourself. You can’t give love if you don’t have it. And you can’t receive (or even perceive) it because you won’t recognize it when it shows up. You’ve got to care for yourself in order to be able to care for others.
During the past year, I’ve watched the Executive Producer of my show, Sheri, reorder her life. She gets up at the crack of dawn- 4:30am- to work out. She’s given up fast food. Committed to eating healthier. All the basics of self care.
Less than a week before last Christmas, Sheri lost her brother, John. Only 42, he died suddenly in his sleep, leaving behind a wife, four young children, his parents, and his sister. All of them in shock and mourning.
When I first spoke to Sheri after John’s passing, I was struck by her calm. She hadn’t yet begun to process his death, but she’d made the decision to remain open to whatever experience of losing a loved one could teach her. She said she was determined to see everything through the eyes of love because love is what had defined her relationship with John. From the day he arrived, when Sheri was 8 years old, he felt like a gift.
So, every phone call, every inquiry, every word of consolation, every memory of John she shared with her parents, even having to walk into her parents’ house and tell them he was gone-all of it, she perceived as moments of love.
During the funeral arrangements, and through all the difficult decisions that are part of dealing with death, she thought (and actually said out loud), “This is love.” The gut-wrenching pain in her mom and dad’s eyes: “This is love.” The profound sorrow on Jodi’s face: “This is love”.
At the memorial service, Sheri told us that a month before John died, their father fell from a ladder and broke his arm. After he was released from the hospital, John volunteered to help him around the house. They spent more time together than they had since John was a boy. Sheri said, “That too was love”.
It was a eulogy that made you want to stop wasting time, start living your life better and give what you can-wile you can-in all relationships that matter. My takeaway was that everything changes when seen with love. 
I know the reason Sheri was able to give so much in the midst of her own sorrow was that she’d been working seriously on giving love to herself. We can see through the eyes of love only when there is love in our eyes. And to be able to see that way while yet we live is the biggest gift of all.
Oprah Magazine
April 2010 Issue
“What I Know for Sure” by Oprah Winfrey
Page 202
T
Yes, we feel these are words to both sweat AND live by, Dana.
Thank you for sharing your kindness.
This once again proves that it is never too late to pursue your dreams.
Courtesy of momlogic….
Heart 1216, Story 2
Kirkland, WA.
Enjoy this touching story from Dad with love.
Dear Ecco,
It has been 10 years (!!!) since you were born. During that time you have taught me so many wonderful things! I have felt love like I have never known or knew that I could ever feel.
The love that only a parent can feel for a child.
You have brought me more joy and happiness in my life than I ever thought possible. Watching you grow has been the single most wonderful experience of my life. I love having you here with us and being able to spend all of our time together whether it is just sitting around doing nothing or out exploring mountains!
I am so proud of you! You are working very hard on learning to adjust to your new environment and all of the changes that come with that. You have made incredible progress since you have been here with us, and we both think that it is just amazing.
I can not wait to see what the future holds for you and for us as a family. I am sure that it will be one amazing journey!
I love you with all my heart Son.
Love,
Dad
Over the weekend I attended a meditation class that included a few speakers. One woman, Evelyn, got up to talk about how this particular philosophy has changed her life.
She and her husband adopted a child several years ago. The exact young boy they were hoping to care for in fact.
Fast forward to present day. The young boy is now a young teenager and has developed some quite severe emotional instabilities. Evelyn went on to say that she and her husband have tried everything in their power to help their son. Some days are good, others bad. Every doctor, diet, medication, etc has been exhausted and the boy still continues to have extreme difficulties both in school and at home. It put a terrible strain on everyone, including she and her husband’s relationship.
Exhausted, guilty and completely helpless, Evelyn turned inward to meditation for guidance.
Here’s where the revelation occurred. Evelyn realized that in all her giving, caring and worry for her son, she had completely lost herself and her ability to be rational. And in losing herself, she was doing her husband, son and yes herself no good at all.
“There’s a reason”, she said, “that the flight attendants tell you to secure your own mask first then that of your child’s in case of emergency. If you cannot breathe, you cannot help your child breathe. If you are unstable and floundering you cannot really make rational decisions”.
I tell you this story because I find her message such a profound reminder in our lives. All of you reading this are certainly givers. And you should be proud of that. But don’t lose sight of yourself in your giving to the point that you no longer can function. Secure your mask first.
You have infinite giving energy inside you just waiting to burst out in every moment. It’s your nature.
And when it comes to children, you will do anything for them to help them. Period. But what Evelyn learned is that in the darkest hours of worry for her boy, it was only in quiet inner reflection and meditation that she found insight and strength to go on. She secured her mask so that she could help her boy with his.
Today, Evelyn still has better days than others. She and her husband finally made the impossible decision to send their son to a special school out of state to get the best assistance he could have. Though their big house feels empty she says, “I know I have done my best and made the decision from my heart this time. That I can feel good about. I have ‘myself’ back and I can now really be there for my son. What a gift”.
With love,
Sahara
In June 2005, I set out on a drive in San Francisco that would forever change my life. While passing through the city, I noticed a man crying on the street. Though I never interacted with him, my motivation to hand him something as a token of love and connection birthed the idea for HEART IS HOT. 