Being

"It's not what you do, but who you are."

The quote was from a friend of Aron Ralston, who was not impressed by what Aron had accomplished as a mountaineer, but rather who he was as a person.

I know this nuance gets lost on many, myself included in that esteemed crowd. It's who you are not what you do that defines us. You can win the Tour De France 7 times, but if the person who did that is a cheat and a liar, then that defines the person no matter what accomplishments were achieved. The doing does not supersede the person, the being.

We all have failings, every one of us. We also have the ability to look within and decide...is this me? Self-promotion disturbs me particularly when I see it being done unabashedly by the disabled. Is this what I am, who I am? Sometimes things external to us cause this introspection. Whatever the source, the price of honesty can be very high...and most rewarding. But honesty must win or we lose. And when we defend the dishonest I see that as embracing and enabling evil. It must not be done.

My running, especially as my reconstituted self, has sharpened my eyes where they were once myopic. I see my most courageous and sweet friend Ashley Kurpiel, showing us all how to live life every day; I became friends with The Greatest, Jason Pisano, who defined precisely who a hero is; and then there is my amputee running mentor Kelly Luckett, who quietly goes about helping others without need for self-promotion.

It's not what you do, but who you are.

The way to do is to be.

- Lao Tzu