avatarMarcus aka Gregory Maidman

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Abstract

/p><p id="abd6">One foot after another, deep breath in and out, sometimes it can be difficult and sometimes it can be easy. You can’t question whether you are doing it right or wrong, you just have to keep going. The same is true with writing; you need to type one word after the other for the ideas to flow.</p><p id="042d"><b>3.“A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk.”<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Dunmore"></a></b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Dunmore">Helen Dunmore</a></p><p id="d2e9">Stepping away from your copy helps you find new connections to ideas, to structure a thought differently and tighten sentences. As you are out running your mind is busy at work forming connections you might have missed as you were writing. Running acts as the catalyst to the ideas that were marinating in your mind.</p><p id="66dd"><b>4.“In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.”― Haruki Murakami, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2475030">What I Talk About When I Talk About Running</a></b></p><p id="fa36">There is only one person you need to compete with: yourself. You need to compete with the version of you that showed up yesterday, to tweak the process and learn new ways of getting better. Each day is an opportunity to better yourself.</p><p id="86b1"><b>5</b>.<b>“The twin activities of running and writing keep the writer reasonably sane and with the hope, however illusory and temporary, of control.</b>” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Carol_Oates">Joyce Carol Oates</a></p><p id="78b1">Life can be unpredictable, messy and dark. Your best-laid plans might flop in ways you had not foreseen. But in between the stimuli and your response you get the choice to control your reaction. And therein lies your power. In writing and running you get to step away from the heat of the moment; to find solutions to the problems you are facing.</p><p id="f5a5"><b>6</b>.<b>“If you don’t acquire the discipline to push through a personal low point, you will miss the reward that comes with persevering. Running taught me the discipline I need as a writer”.</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wrecked-Broken-World-Slams-Co

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mfortable/dp/0802404928">Jeff Goins</a></p><p id="a41c">The challenges we face can feel insurmountable and we might be tempted to give up. But in pushing past the pain and discomfort, we are building resilience and patience. Through running, writers deepen their ability to focus on a single, consuming task and enter a new state of mind entirely. The deliberate act of moving forward each day reminds you that everything will work out in the end.</p><p id="9554"><b>7.“For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my level…The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday.</b>”<a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0307389839">Haruki Murakami</a></p><p id="3fc7">Word by word, mile by mile. All you can do is trust the process and put in the work despite your doubts, excuses, and fears. Once you start the fear begins to dissipate. You realize that the only way to<b> <i>finish</i> </b>an article or a race is to start. Just take one step and keep at it.</p><p id="5e50"><b>Creation, self-awareness and freedom. </b>Running offers writers escape with purpose.</p><p id="c042">You start with a blank page or a blank trail and end up with a creation of your own.</p><p id="6b50">You might also like:</p><div id="9b5a" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/building-a-writing-habit-for-beginners-by-a-beginner-e50a88508099"> <div> <div> <h2>How To Build A Writing Habit For Beginners, By A Beginner</h2> <div><h3>The world is still hungry for more great work</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*IzL6kfk468UzxQeqT3OO_g.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="64b4">As always thanks for reading. Keep the comments and corrections coming.</p><p id="6a86">Stay in the loop. <a href="https://rb.gy/0bfahg">Join my newsletter for more articles.</a></p></article></body>

A Lesson in Spiritual Decoding

by Healing63 licensed from depositphotos.com

Two weeks ago I had the most unpleasant experience. I was at my local spot, a restaurant/bar that I love and I love the staff. Some guy I did not know and his date sat next to me. He started chatting with me and my guard was down. I should have read his bad energy but I was in my comfort zone. He said he was from Hampstead NH, which is where Lindsey is buried. I said to him that’s where my girlfriend is buried. He asks me her name and proceeds to shit all over me and my relationship with Lindsey saying he knew (which was probably a lie) her and no way in any way was she my girlfriend except in the figment of my crazy imagination. I quietly and then loudly called him every name in the book as he pressed and pressed. If I had realized I had a bottle of wine in my bag I might have cracked him over the head with it. When he did not care what an ass hole he was being I had no choice but to sit there and take it, or leave, but that satisfaction I would not give him.

I started wondering then what was the life lesson in this--why had the universe put that asshole in my path. For a while, I thought it was simply a message to spend less time there. I discerned the true message yesterday in the shower. It was to prepare me for the negative reactions to my truths that I will reveal,

and to my opinions that flow therefrom.

NON-EXPLOITATIVE transactional sex between consenting adults should not only be destigmatized, it should be decriminalized.

Is substance abuse a personal failure of willpower or a disease that deserves medical treatment — the answer does not matter. The problem affects all of society so society must stop the binary assignment-of-blame-approach and simply accept that the problem affects millions of people touching the lives of all and costs society hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Substance abusers have the ultimate accountability for their actions and a duty to do what they can to recover. Society needs to do its part to understand addiction, remove the stigma, and make proper care affordable not only for addiction but for mental health generally. 12-step programs and rehabs are salves between relapses. A new paradigm is required. Until we destigmatize substance abuse, the cycle of failure will never end.

Any discussion of suicide requires extreme caution. The specter of suicide has touched the lives of many and haunts both the living and the dearly departed. Thus, I state at the outset, if you start to read my story, please read it all the way through so that you do not lose sight of nor take anything out of context. This story does not glorify suicide. It abhors it and my intent and purpose are suicide awareness and prevention.

Thank you Lady Foxx, Janice Arenofsky, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, ILLUMINATION, Holly Kellums, Anthi Psomiadou, 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘊., Jean Carfantan, Ane, Melanie J., Claire Kelly, Keri Mangis and others for helping me to grow spiritually and as a writer.

Extra special thanks to Esther George for being the best mentee and best friend I could ever have hoped for and only the universe knows what the future may hold.

In Rama I create,

Marcus

Spirituality
Synchronicity
Spiritual Decoding
Destigmatization
Unconditional Love
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