ABC Nightly News interviewed a 78- year-old woman tonight.. Her name is Sister Madonna. She is a nun, a triathelete, and one of my new heroes. She has been a nun since she was 23 because it was her calling and life-long dream. Then she started running at age 47 when the priest suggusted she take the time to run and spend the time getting closer to God. She was so good at running, she did a marathon. She had discovered a new-found aptitude and love for sports, so she added cycling and swimming and soon started training for a triathalon. People question her on how running & such conflicts with her faith. Her response ( in front of a clip of "The Bionic Nun" trail-running) was "Not at all - I train in the middle of his masterpieces every day. It doesn't get any better than that!"
I admire her because she has obviously has taken care of her body well... I often wonder how so many people do it. I love eating junk, fatty foods (they just taste so good), and all the good traditional southern foods. I, like many, emotionally eat as well. Maybe I need to find out what nuns nosh on? I also love watching movies & TV, surfing the internet, readaing, scrappbooking - none of my main hobbies burn a lot of calories.. This is why I am not a triathelete.
I admire her because she turned an commonplace exercise and turned it into a spiritual experience. I admire the she makes prayer active, part of body, mind & soul, something that I strive to do, but haven't really mastered. I am trying to do yoga as of late. I like that is quiet, relaxing, and low impact. Yoga is very adaptive, so it conforms to my MS for that particular day. Some days I do it all with ease; some days I can't even get my foot off the ground for tree pose. I also like yoga because I can pray & meditate but that will only happen when I learn to clear my brain. This is why I'm not a marathon pray-er.
I wish I knew more about this woman...
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