Do you remember hearing about the some of the survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami? You know, the ones who tied themselves to a tree to keep from being swept away? I remember wondering how they had the presence of mind to do such a thing in the midst of such terror. It would have been so easy to just give into the terror and try to run or give up.
One such survivor was Dorothy Wilkinson. She had been (and still is) a marathon runner. Here is a quote from her story: "When you are running a marathon, you learn to block out the pain and focus on what you have to do to cross the line. I instinctively got into that mode...."
I think we can learn from her. No, we can't all go out and train for the Boston Marathon! But St. Paul tells us that we are running a race. We do need to train ourselves to "block out the pain and focus on what [we] have to do to cross the [finish] line."
Another tsunami survivor, Mark Brandon, wrote of the focus and tenacity of the doctors treating the injured. "The local hospital staff was incredible and all of them, plus one European doctor, were so overwhelmed by the drama unfolding, but yet they really maintained their posture and went about helping people in order of prioritized injuries. I will never forget that." Apparently there was a good reason for the 36 hour shifts during doctor's residency training...
So, how are we to focus ourselves enough to ignore the pain until we cross the finish line? How are we to focus ourselves enough to maintain our posture and clear head in the midst of life's problems? St. Paul tells us to run the race, to fight the good fight of faith. What does that mean to us, today?
Life's trials are our training ground. We cannot run from them, nor should we even try. We must run toward our problems, allowing ourselves to hold onto God-as-we-understand-him in the midst of them. The more we embrace our challenges, the more we can do as Dorothy Wilkinson did: We can instinctively "get into that mode" because we know how to do it. We know what it feels like to hang on and outlast. Since these trials are what make us need God, we should learn how to play this game.
There are many ways for us to train for this: scripture / holy book study, gratefulness, giving Love existence through our actions, centering prayer.... We can learn how to center ourselves on God and learn how to hold on. The more we understand what it feels like to be centered, the easier it becomes to remain centered, focused, and clear-headed while we treat the sick and injured around us. The more we practice "getting into the mode" of outlasting, the easier it is to actually stay centered enough to outlast the tsunami coming at us.
I can train my mind by replacing my negative thoughts with God's thoughts. I can train my body by making sacrifices & fasting. And I can train and reinforce my awareness of God's nearness by practicing Centering Prayer.
