My Running Chronicles: Whose Voice Do You Listen To? - Feel The Heal

During a meditation, as thoughts of running the 2016 Newport Marathon for the Arredondo Family Foundation drifted in and out, the image of me as a runner emerging from the potter's wheel came to mind. I experienced myself having the perfect shape and form for a runner; realizing that in fact I do have the perfect shape and form for a runner - for ME as a runner.





When I trained for and ran the 2009 Boston Marathon, I learned to tune out the voices from the past and tune into the Voice of Truth within me ... the Voice that told me I would, I could, I must do this and I did. And once you've run one marathon, you know you have what it takes to run another.

There is still much for me to heal and overcome; life is, after all a marathon and not a sprint by any means. As I have begun my training for Newport, I get to explore once again every inch of mind/body/Spirit and continue to heal the late effects of paralytic polio, 9 years of childhood domestic violence and having been at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on 4/15/13 across from the 2nd explosion.



Part of me hears the voice of the naysayers and fear grips my soul and shudders through me. But that's when my small self who identifies with all that happened to me takes over and allows the voices of others in those moments to be more powerful than the Voice of Truth. In Mitchell May's NPR interview, as he lay broken and shattered with life threatening injuries after a car crash, the healer Jack Gray told him, "You are a child of God and everything you need is within you. You can heal this leg. It's no big problem."

I ride the waves of fear and those emotions that surface calming and comforting myself, turning to poetry to allow my pen to be the divining rod for healing and Truth allowing the transformation that comes with training for and running a marathon to once again happen!



Feel the Heal

The Potter’s wheel with loving hands a figure forms brave and true
breaking mold cast by others, Triumphant Spirit emerges shining through.
In the likeness of Divine’s image, all excess baggage gently melts away
unbridled freedom, joy, resilience fired up whole without fringe or fray.
Rhythmic turnings ever so slowly, tender kindness she feels the heal
Potter pauses as work now finished, she gracefully leaps from Potter’s wheel.
Color and shape beyond compare magnificent in radiant sun
going the distance helps others to heal fueling her 26.2 mile run.
Transcending transforming no pain can last, grit and gratitude fill heart and soul
leave doubts and fears in dust of memories past laser focus on marathon's goal.
In the distance the Potter’s cheering that Voice so clear rises above the din
she feels in every fiber of her Being this race is hers to win.
Pacing, persistent and patient in each moment she feels the heal
reminded of her humble true beginnings blessed by grace on Potter’s wheel.



When you have a goal in mind and move forward to achieve that goal, whose voice do you listen to? Listen to the Voice of the Divine, your intuition, promptings from Spirit deep within you, feel the heal and move forward confidently in the direction of your dream. Remember those fears and doubts are no match for the power and Truth of the Divine.


Be blessed. Journey well. To all good things....

My latest book, "Journey Well" is now available on Amazon along with all of my inspirational books. 50% of book proceeds are donated to the Massachusetts Resiliency Center, a safe, welcoming space for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing to heal and stay in touch with one another; a virtual hub for a widely dispersed community whose lives have been impacted by the tragic events of April 15th and the events that followed.

When terror struck the world's oldest and most beloved marathon on April 15, 2013, it was a defining moment in Mary McManus’ life and the lives of all those in Boston and around the world. It was her wake up call to return to the sport and community that have been medicine and a lifeline for her throughout her marathon of healing the late effects of paralytic polio and experiencing 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent. Mary captures the essence of Boston Strong through her experience of the 2014 Boston Marathon and as she profiles the people who are Boston Stronger. Through her blog posts, poems and journal entries woven together with excerpts from her memoir, “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility,” you will experience, through one woman’s journey of transformation and healing, that no matter what happens to us, we can all learn to journey well.