31st Oct 2020, the final day of my five-marathon weekend fundraising journey.
Towards the last 37K, the final toll of the last five weeks seemed to have finally come home to roost. During the last four weeks of the marathon, the hurting, the fatigue, slowly lingered just under the surface, hiding from the light but still quietly existing and growing. The mind was growing ever darker and the negative thoughts were setting in. I wondered if I could actually complete this distance at all, where every step was a struggle.
My thought process was getting to be a blur, mentally & emotionally started feeling drained, my body and mind started cramping. It was then I remembered, “Rising Phoenix” (Netflix) a 2020 documentary film that covered some of the struggles the Paralympics had faced. I remembered a statement: “We are all superheroes because we have all experienced tragedy, something that didn’t allow us to succeed, and that’s where our strength lies.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W7Bek4jvos
Another name came up ‘Lata Bhagwan Khare’ which changed my level of energy, clarity on the focus for the cause I was running (Terry Fox Foundation – Cancer Research), and a resurgence in my stride. This is the story of Lata Khare, I had received it a while back, and that had left an indelible mark of inspiration that I would like to share with you.
Lata Bhagwan Khare, a 65-year-old resident of a small village in Maharashtra, India, lived a life of poverty with her husband, son, and three daughters. She and her husband worked very hard throughout their lives and used all their hard-earned savings to get their three daughters married. Post daughter’s marriages, she and her husband started working as daily wage workers on the nearby farms, they used to make enough to survive.
One day her husband felt uneasy and was diagnosed with some serious life-threatening issue. When the doctors suggested there was a needed MRI scan, immediate medical attention & cost of 5,000 Indian Rupees. Money was a problem. Some people in her village told about a race, which had INR 5,000 rupees as prize money. On the day of the run, everyone lined up, geared up in their sports shoes, running shorts, and tees.
And there she was, the 65-year-old Lata Bhagwan Khare, wearing a torn Saree (Indian traditional wear), old sandals, tears in her eyes.
She had argued with the organizers previously, they weren’t ready to let her participate in the seniors’ age group mini Run (3KM), she pleaded, she begged, she convinced them to approve her participation and her sincere emotional appeal touched their hearts and they decided to approve her participation just for a lark, not even giving her a ghost of a chance to win. The run started and she hitched her saree just above her ankles. People standing alongside the path were totally taken aback by this sprightly old lady sprinting and broke into a loud cheer. She could just see her husband’s life hanging by a slender thread and the winning amount in front of her eyes. She didn’t care about the hard gravel and pebbles on her way, as her sandals broke. Her feet bled, but she just ran and ran.
She accomplished winning the race and won the prize amount. She had tears running down her face but this time she knew she had won a battle, and it meant life to her, she was going to see her husband cured, with the right diagnosis and medicine. The prize money of 5,000 Indian rupees (@68 USD) may not be much compared to rewards associated with other runs or marathons, but it’s a lot for Khare. She didn’t blink an eye, she never thought about how she is going to win the race, how is she going to run nearly barefooted, how’ll she survive. She only ran with one motive, to save her husband. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-51413750
To achieve a goal, there has to be a genuine motive, a will & what can you do!
My story continues…
Nov 26th, 2020, as I had come to the end of my fundraiser, I managed to bring in CAD 2600+ more in donations! As a respect, dedication, and acknowledgment to all the donors and everybody that had supported me for this endeavor, a silent way I wanted to salute and thank them was by doing a Marathon – 42.2K. Though I was taking on this long-distance after a few weeks of a sedentary lifestyle, it was with a sense of determination and commitment, as I have always believed in my faith, support of near & dear and myself, to dig deep within to take on the challenge.
“Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” is an old Yiddish adage meaning, “Man Plans, and God Laughs.” Despite our most careful planning, the Road of Life is unpredictable. We might have driving and destination strategies, but unforeseen roadblocks can deter us. At @18KM, I got a call mentioning a project that I had invested a lot in, professionally, time, mentally, and emotionally, was shot down. My slow trot came to a complete halt, shocked beyond words, body, and mind hitting a spasm of immovability, and then the rains began. This marathon was my own commitment, nobody would know if I had even attempted it.
It’s easy to say high lofty adages such as “Accepting responsibility for your life is a must… & once you take the responsibility, real change is within your reach.” In spite of possible calamities, I have created a mindset to think positively, maintain a spirit of optimism, and not dwell on negative possibilities. But this advice was difficult to follow, at that moment. The blip of positivity, that usually blinks was in darkness and the incessant rain also did not help. Pondering thoughts, forget the run, go home, dissect why the project failed, whimper in a corner, or continue to complete the rest of 42.2K. A pause, a call, a few deep breaths, rethinking why I started to do this specific run. The answer: gratitude, sense of self -accountability, and commitment. The moment between giving up or taking the next step is a fragile time in ambiguity.
As purported, a quote by Winston Churchill “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” How we face our setbacks, with resilience, and accept our successes, with grace, are important measures of our worth as individuals. Not every day will go according to plan and that’s okay. Strive to make a decision when faced with challenges, reminded me it’s ok not to be perfect & to drop off, but I chose to continue to run. In due course of time, though the distance continued with its challenges, my mind cleared, the rains became more pleasant. Rudyard Kipling put it beautifully in his poem “If.” – “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same…You are a better man than most.”
After nearly 5.45 hrs., with deep satisfaction and gratitude, I completed my run. The athletes from “Rising Phoenix”, Lata Khare, realized they had to push themselves because no one else would do it for them. A motive that dangled between life and death, a will to rise above. Life presents a lot of challenges, but we’re tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths. Success or goals can be defined in various ways. To rise above, you have to use each day as an opportunity to improve, to accept great things never come from comfort zones.
Remember the more you push yourself, the more you’ll want to do, the higher you’ll want to reach. So as long as you have the hunger to grow, you will always have the power within you to achieve it. Dream it. Wish it. Do it.
I end this article with a quote from one of my favorite movies: Rocky: “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that.” – Rocky Balboa
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