Vaccine, Princesses, and Orca Whales

"Dad, when I get big like my sister, I want to get vaccinated. I won’t cry when I get the shot."

This proclamation by our 4-year old Sihasin came on the heels of showing me her princess-themed drawings and telling me about the dream she had about riding on the back of an Orca whale.

In summary, our daughter’s brain read:

1. Getting vaccinated

2. Princesses

3. Orca whale rides

And since 4-year olds are gifted with the ability to imagine without restrictions of reality or linearity, here is what I guess that her mind was really saying:

"I will be dressed as a princess on the back of an Orca whale when I roll up my sleeve to get the vaccine, suppressing my tears."

For me, currently at the American Public Health Association conference, her interpretation of the news over the last week about an imminent rollout of the COVID vaccine to younger ages, was beautiful. No long explanation needed. Just aspiration to be amongst the vaccinated. (Side note: I firmly believe and recommend bringing toddlers with you on business trips.)

Taking Sihasin’s lead, here is a short writing exercise for us all today:

* Get out a writing utensil and something to write on.

* What is an aspiration that you have today? Write that down.

* Now think of two other things that have recently (in the last minutes) crossed the ticker-tape flow of your thoughts. Write these down.

* Put the three items into a sentence. Correct grammar not necessary. Extra points awarded for silliness, zaniness, and anything that is hard for your realistic mind to comprehend.

* Share your sentence for us in the comments to this blog post.

* Have fun repeating the sentence in your head throughout the day. Smile uncontrollably while doing drawing the sentence in your mind. Dance in the street while imagining it. Forget your officemates as you act it out from your cubby. Etc.

Bill and Ed's Excellent Adventure

The picture floated across my screen. I was in my daily “clean out my inbox” mode where 94% of the brain goes to sleep, eyes glaze over slightly, and the delete button gets tired out. You know that mode – you might even be in that trance as you encounter this piece.

Well, this was one of those moments where something grabs at your heart and flings you out of the “clean out my inbox” mode back into sweet reality.

Here is the picture, sent to me by my momma.

The setting is the 125^th Boston Marathon, which took place on Indigenous Peoples Day this Monday. Usually set in mid-April, this was a unique moment for the race to highlight Indigenous runners. This race, possibly the most famous running event in the world, had told elite Native American runners in previous decades that they were not welcome to run at the Boston Marathon.

Bill and Ed, seen in this picture, ran the 26.2 miles as a duo.

Bill is blind, and Ed served as his guide.

Both are from my hometown running club, the Howard County Striders outside of Baltimore, MD.

Soak in that picture one more time.

I still cannot decide whose feet/feat I am more impressed with. 

Bill having the trust in someone else to guide them over 26 miles of terrain, amidst 30,000 runners? 

Or Ed having the ability to focus for hours upon hours to be the guide?

I know that the question is irrelevant.

The bond between these two, something much stronger and deeper than Bill’s hand laid upon Ed’s wrist screams at us, coaxing tear ducts into action, energizing endocrine system to pump out dopamine and the feel-good hormones.

Today and in each week of our lives, we will be Bill, needing someone else to guide us and shield us from harm. When I asked Bill about his race, he said something incredibly simple and beautifully profound:

"As long as you have a guide you don’t really need to see."

We will also be Ed, given the chance to support someone else in their journey. In that guide role, we are gifted with one of life’s greatest gifts – the chance to serve.

When we are Ed, we are not in a position of power over another; instead, we are a student to Bill, letting him teach us, allowing life’s blurriness to come into crystal clear focus.

Embrace both! To be a guide, and to be guided are perfect complementary parts of today’s journey. Tomorrow’s as well.

What gave me the biggest goosebumps in this picture is actually something not in the shot. I think of how this beautiful Ed-Bill team affected the thousands of runners and spectators around them. I think of the ripple effects of joy that they caused with each step along their journey. Yes, there were runners who inspired awe a few hours ahead of them by their speed, but I doubt that any of those athletes had the effect that Bill-Ed did on those around them. When we serve life’s greatest purpose, the effect on others becomes the primary outcome. When we do something beautiful ala Bill-Ed, we become the vessels for goodness (and dopamine) (and tears) to flow.

Take in this picture one more time. Breathe deep. Imagine running beside Bill and Ed and what you would feel, taking in their glow and the smiles they induced in everyone around them. Let the dopamine and tears flow. Write your own piece about what it means for/to you. Share it with others as an antidote to the "clean out my inbox" daze. 

Dig deep and serve life's greatest purpose this sacred day.

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I want to share a few thoughts from Bill and Ed about their journey.

I run because I love to eat things that aren’t good for you that come from a bakery.  More seriously I run because I love the social aspect of it and as long as you have a guide you don’t really need  to see.  I love the outdoors and it’s a way to be outdoors and exercising.   For Boston I ran with a team called Team with a Vision which is a group of blind and sight impaired runners who mostly were way faster and way more inspirational than me.  There were some incredible athletes in that group,  one being a 28 year old named Chaz Davis who lost his sight at age 19 and who at 23 set the world record for a marathon by a blind person with a 2.31 time.  Guides like Ed and Sarah make this possible for people like Chaz and I.  Boston was a magical experience. Nothing like it in running competition.  The whole town is supporting you. 

- Bill Sciannella

Having the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon was an incredible experience and inspirational in so many ways. My wife Sarah and I both felt energized by the entire event; it encompasses so much more than just the elite runners you see racing on TV.  Between the amazing stories of the para and adaptive runners that we spent the weekend with -- to the numerous charity runners who raise millions of dollars for amazing causes -- the entire event is a celebration of the challenge of running and the power of the human spirit.  We both feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to witness it all first hand. 

-Ed  Beach

Mariachis and Peripatetic Meetings: Huh?

The morning was a beautiful one. We had just finished Running Medicine and I took a swig of water and began the 6-mile trek toward home. On foot, of course.

About halfway there, I caught up with Tim, a member of the Running Medicine community. I had talked with his wife earlier in the day and was told that Tim was a trumpeter in a mariachi group. I was thinking of new excitement we might bring to our Thanksgiving Day Gratitude Run/Walk/Bike, and having the sound of a mariachi band playing as we start and serenading us as we start and finish seemed perfect.

So, poor Tim who was enjoying the solace of running in our Bosque alongside the Rio Grande River now was pulled into a meeting. Meeting agenda: me begging him and the band play for us on Thanksgiving. Neither of us broke stride or slowed down – this was simply incorporated into the run. It was a peripatetic meeting, one done while moving.

Tim's group, Mariachis Amigos de Nuevo Mexico. I think Tim is 2nd to the right - I only know him in running clothes, so hard for me to tell.

As I came into the house after the run, I announced that both my run home and my meeting had gone well. Kids and wife served up confused looks.

The term peripatetic is a transliteration of the ancient Greek word περιπατητικός (peripatētikós), which means "of walking" or "given to walking about". The Peripatetic school was founded by Aristotle, stemming from Aristotle's alleged habit of walking while lecturing.

I hold 3-4 of my meetings each week in a peripatetic fashion. Most as walking meetings, with my favorite “office” being the trail around our UNM North Campus golf course. I find that there is a connection built in the movement itself that is unique, something that doesn’t happen in a sit-down meeting. I also find that there is a creativity that happens with movement meetings. If I want to brainstorm ideas with someone, the chance that we will hit on something great over a walk/run is far greater than over coffee.

One of my favorite peripatetic meeting colleagues is the Navajo Nation President, Jonathan Nez. He is someone who has gone from a sedentary 300 lb leader to a slim ultra-marathoner. He knows the power of movement. Well, when President Nez and me set up a meeting, it is assumed it is going to be 5-6 miles along one of our local trails. I come to the trail with a full agenda, just as I would if I were meeting him in a board room. We discuss collaboration in our mutual interest of getting people more physically active, intermixed with family updates, upcoming races, and looking at our watches for updates on our pace and miles covered. Unlike all of the other people who leave meetings with President Nez in a sweat, I have a decent excuse for the dripping wet shirt.

When possible, I will even teach a peripatetic class, getting them to move with me. One memorable one was a physical therapy class that happened to occur during a snowstorm. My thought as I entered the classroom? “How am I going to convince these students to move with me, outside in the snow?” A few minutes later…well, the pic below tells you what you need to know.

Have fun exploring the possibilities of peripatetic meetings yourself. At work and at home. Try it in low doses initially and titrate up as needed. Celebrate your movement together as an immediate, measurable outcome of the meeting. “Meeting recap: we talked through the health fair logistics and budget…and got 2,200 steps.” Look out for the connection and creativity that come from this approach, whether meeting a friend, neighbor or a work colleague.

And if you are in Albuquerque on Thanksgiving, come be peripatetic with us at the Gratitude Run/Walk/Bike.

Thanks to my meeting with Tim, there will be mariachis.