As I am editing, "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953," I am in awe of how signs and synchronicity appeared throughout my journey.
When I decided to take a leap of faith from my award winning career as a VA social worker to a poet and writer, I got "random" emails letting me know about the Newburyport Literary Festival. I found myself standing next to New York Times Bestselling authors who were delighted to give me tips on writing and publishing my first book of poetry, "New World Greetings: Inspirational poetry and Musings for a New World." Waiting to get a (non-alcoholic) drink at the bar, the person who interviewed NY Times Bestselling author Peter Guralnick at one of the seminars stood in front of me. I was compelled to share my story with him. "Oh you're channeling from the Divine," he said nonchalantly and offered to buy me a drink.
We found money while we trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon:
But every once in awhile, a little nagging voice asks, “How are we ever going to raise $9,000? How am I ever going to run 26.2 miles?”
And then, God answers in strange and delightful ways.
I had errands to run at Cleveland Circle; a turning point on the Boston Marathon course. After going through the hills in Newton and passing through Boston College, runners turn onto Chestnut Hill Avenue. Once runners get to Cleveland Circle, it is a straight shot to Kenmore Square with just a few small hills along the way. It's only 4 miles to the finish line from Cleveland Circle. Those little inner critics were chatting away. I dismissed them. My passport was no longer valid to travel to the land of negativity. I walked along Beacon Street to Boloco to get take out lunch.
“Excuse me. Do you have any spare change?”
I handed him a dollar bill.
After coming out of Boloco I noticed that the man who asked for the dollar had gone. I looked down 'for some reason' and on the ledge of the Citibank there was change spread out. I picked it up. I knew it was for me.
It was hot from being out in the sunshine. When I got home I counted it. There were 5 quarters, 14 pennies, 3 nickels and 2 dimes. Five quarters is $1.25; 26.2 by adding the 1 and the 5 and scrambling the numbers a bit. We were scheduled to run 14 miles, 15 miles and then eventually 20 miles for our long runs. God was letting me know we have everything we need to go the distance in miles and for our fundraising!
We found a Helen Keller quarter stuck in the mud in a crack between the asphalt on Heartbreak Hill during another training run.
I found a nickel and a penny on our last long run while training for Boston. It was six cents inviting me to trust my 6th sense and that I would be able to meet (and actually exceeded) my fundraising goal and go the distance on 4/20/2009.
Speaking of signs ….
Bernie Siegel, MD, one of the pioneers in mind/body medicine, and a dear friend since the 1980’s, sent me an email telling me to look for the penny. It would be from him and God telling me everything was all right. I found a penny in Wellesley. I told Janine this story as we were walking from the finish line back to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. At just that moment she looked down and there was another penny. I added it to the 27 cents and the six cents that I carried with me in the back pocket of my capris.
Perhaps one of my favorite stories happened at the 2016 Hyannis Marathon Weekend Race Expo. One of my friends texted me from the Race Expo saying she was so excited that my table was across from hers at the Expo. The 2015 race weekend had been cancelled and I had not thought about having a table at the 2016 Expo since I was going to run the 10K. Not one to miss an opportunity to share my inspirational journey with others, I threw some things together for my table and at the last minute grabbed my Bermuda Half Marathon medal:
“It’s a sign!” a group of runners exclaimed as they walked by my table at the Hyannis Race Expo.
They picked up my medal from the Bermuda Half Marathon.
“We were just talking about how we have to run Bermuda. We are putting it on our bucket list.”
The Mystic Runners from Wakefield, Massachusetts were deeply moved by my inspirational journey. In that moment of synchronicity, we became fast friends.
In January when we returned for our 3rd consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon, this happened:
No alarms were set for Friday morning and it felt wonderful to sleep in and awaken to a Bermudaful day.
We opened the door to our balcony to see palm trees and hear Bermuda bird songs. We went to Windows on the Sound restaurant for breakfast where floor to ceiling windows overlook the ocean. I wanted to stick to my pre-race fueling plan breakfast of oatmeal, banana, juice and toast. We brought our own packets of oatmeal and the breakfast buffet supplied the rest. However, I could not resist the melt in your mouth poppy seed muffins. After all, I was on vacation and you only live once! We read the Royal Gazette while savoring our breakfast. I placed my spoon down on the table and paused from looking at the newspaper. I reminisced with Tom about our dear friend Herb. With a jolt, I was drawn to look outside. I noticed the contrast of the sun and the mist coming off of the ocean. It was as though time stood still. My gaze was drawn to look up. There was a rainbow! I cried tears of joy and gratitude.
“Are you okay?” the woman at the next table asked us.
“It’s a sign from a friend of ours who introduced us to Bermuda,” I said without concern for what this total stranger might think of my declaration.
“Oh I totally believe in signs,” she said.
I love how the Universe surprises reminding us that there is something greater than what the eye can see within us and all around us:
I began my healing odyssey from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma twelve years ago next month. I began running in 2008. What a glorious ride it's been with the Universe supporting me with signs and synchronicity every mile along the way.
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary
My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.
No comments:
Post a Comment