Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
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Hello world!
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Viktor E. Frankl
Hello world: Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Respite Reminder: I’m Taking My Advice. Will check occasionally. Back soon!
Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
Mirth and Motivation is a lifestyle and motivational blog offering an eclectic mix of mirthful and motivational pieces: Life Tips / Advice, Affirmations/Wellness, Women’s Lives, Food, Travel, Interviews, Inspirational posts, Reviews, Peace, and social media ruminations on people, places, and events that shape our lives. I invite you to stay awhile, read some posts, and share your thoughts with this growing online blog community.
I started this blog 17+ years ago, as a way to help agents/staff at the company I worked for stay motivated. This was my first blog post on the WordPress site, hence the dodgy title. After the market crashed and we were downsized, I decided to keep it going. The main goal was, and remains, to encourage myself and others to keep moving forward with our lives and embrace the ups and downs we all face. Creating and writing MirthandMotivation has been a long and rewarding journey.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?
Over the years, I have learned a lot about blogging, its many positives and pitfalls, and how important it is to stay focused on our own Why or raison d’être. We can choose to focus on one of the fundamental rules of blogging: making connections with others by adding value through our message/content, comments, and social interactions. We can also choose to turn our attention elsewhere. It is entirely up to us.
One thing I know for sure is that if your heart is invested in what you blog about, you will stay the course. Remember to stay true to who you are and why you blog. It can’t just be about monetization. Add value. Help others. Stay Encouraged.
Another thing I know for sure is that we all want to be heard, appreciated, and respected; empowering messages are far more appealing than incendiary attempts to attract blog attention. If your blogosphere surfing brings you here, relax, kick back, and share a positive tidbit on your worldview.
HOW DO WE STAY MIRTHFUL AND MOTIVATED?
Read more…
“To write in service of the writing, not the ego, is a radical act.” Beth Kempton, The Way of the Fearless Writer
Motivation Mondays: Breathe. Write. Live. Repeat.
The breath of the world flows through you.
Don’t let it stagnate.
Inhale.
Be still.
Exhale.
Be still.
Keep on breathing.
Keep on writing.
That’s all you have to do.
Flowing in rhythm, in sync with life itself.
Beth Kempton, The Way of the Fearless Writer
BREATHE
I am still reading Beth Kempton’s The Way of the Fearless Writer, so this isn’t a review of the book, but a reflection inspired by the passage above, which was recently shared in a writing class. “The breath of the world flows through you. Don’t let it stagnate.” Those words stayed with me. We breathe without thinking, yet when we stop to notice our breath, we don’t overthink it. It is the natural rhythm of our soul guiding us through life’s daily chores. We can choose to become present and witness the movement of our breath. We inhale. We pause, and we are still. We exhale. We pause, and we are still again. Memories flow in and out.
In the study of breathwork or pranayama in the yoga tradition, the pause, space, or retention between breaths is called Kumbhaka in Sanskrit. Every time we breathe, we experience Antara Kumbhaka, an inner pause held after a full inhalation, and Bahya Kumbhaka, an outer pause held after a full exhalation. The stillness between our in/out breath is called Madhya. This stillness, and each pause, sharpens our awareness and connects us to the source of life. Each pause, each still moment, confirms that we are still here in the land of the living, and connects us to the divine within. Take a moment to notice your breath; let its beauty calm and speak to you. Perhaps, writing asks the same of us: to pause long enough to take in the world around us, listen to what is stirring within, and go freely with the flow, expressing it through a medium of our choice.
WRITE
“Keep on breathing. Keep on writing.” I love the simplicity of that instruction. Sometimes the hardest thing about writing is allowing ourselves to write freely. We censor a thought before it reaches the page. We worry about grammar, structure, whether something is good enough, or what someone else might think. But what if we let the words flow? What if, like every breath we take, we let the words flow; we labor less over being perfect or over writing a perfectly constructed sentence. We write as we breathe. We’ll have time to revisit, rearrange, polish, or even discard some of our words. The first task is to write, trust the flow, and allow the words to come. Last week in my writing class, I got so into the flow of a story I was writing that time flew by, and I came out of my peaceful reverie when a pop-up warned me that the class was ending in 3 minutes. I had spent 90 minutes engrossed in my writing.
“It (Rhabdo) can kill you. I’ve always been completely honest about that.” Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit
Motivation Mondays | Rhabdo: Warning Signs for Runners
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys, ultrarunner: During the 2026 UTMB, experienced ultrarunner Sabrina Pace-Humphreys became so seriously ill that she had to be airlifted from the course. She was later diagnosed with exertional rhabdomyolysis. Her experience is a powerful reminder that rhabdo can strike highly conditioned endurance athletes, too. Rhabdo: Real Runners, Real Stories: Listen to Sabrina’s story on the Runner’s World UK Podcast
Until I experienced a nightmarish Rhabdo episode, a medical condition that almost cost me my life, I had never heard of Rhabdomyolysis. Runners are often conditioned to believe that “grit” is the ultimate running virtue. We wear our blisters like badges of honor, celebrate pushing through the wall, and romanticize the mental toughness it takes to keep moving when everything hurts. I was one of those true grit runners, but at around Mile 19 of the Boston Marathon in April, I learned a terrifying lesson: sometimes, the very grit that gets us to the starting line can become dangerous when it keeps us from listening to our bodies.
Frankly, I wasn’t feeling tired. I wasn’t experiencing what some might see as normal late-race marathon fatigue. It was my 14th marathon, not a bad day or training cycle. I trained for it as I did for my other marathons. Yet, suddenly, I was losing control of my body, and I had no idea why. I was terrified. Up until Mile 19, I was having a typical marathon day, pacing, fueling, hydrating, jeffing to my run-walk-run Galloway method, when BOOM, I was listing to the right like a plane in free fall.
My muscles were no longer responding the way they should, and I couldn’t fathom what was happening to me. Other runners around me understandably thought I was exhausted from the marathon. I didn’t know enough to tell them otherwise. I only knew it felt frighteningly wrong. Cheri Whitt, my running coach, was equally baffled and concerned. She helped steady me as we headed for the finish line. As I stumbled, slowing with each painful step, another runner (a runner’s guide), Joe, stepped in to help hold me up. None of us knew my muscles were rapidly breaking down. By the time I crossed the finish line, I was unconscious.
What followed was a serious medical crisis, a three-day stay in the ICU at Tufts Medical Center, and a diagnosis I had never expected or heard of in my life: severe exertional rhabdomyolysis known as rhabdo. I narrowly survived.
Today, part of my Motivation for sharing this post, other rhabdo stories, as well as my story, is to make sure all runners and other sports enthusiasts know something I didn’t know that day: what rhabdo is and how its warning signs can present. My wish is that runners learn the causes, hidden risks, and critical Rhabdo warning signs. As a long-distance runner still in recovery, I believe we all need to learn to differentiate normal marathon fatigue from a life-threatening crisis.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about 26,000 people develop rhabdomyolysis every year. Additional research has shown that from 2020-2019 the numbers were as high as 40,000. You may not know what is happening to you. The runners beside you most likely won’t know and might assume you have bonked, hit the proverbial wall, or crashed out from fatigue. Some of the symptoms might even be mistaken for the exhaustion, muscle pain, weakness, or physical distress associated with endurance events. That is why recognizing when something feels different, sudden, severe, or profoundly wrong matters.
Rhabdo: Real Runners, Real Stories
Research on exertional rhabdomyolysis, the statistics above, and the 5 stories I have shared show what rhabdo can do. The experiences of runners who have lived through it, and those whose stories ended tragically, remind us why recognizing the warning signs matters. Blockquotes throughout this post summarize five athletes’ publicly reported experiences, with links to their full stories. Here is a link to a 6th story shared by Kyra Fancey. I’ve added a new summary to this post. Read them to learn about our unique stories and experiences with rhabdomyolysis, aka rhabdo.
“ Strenuous exercise, including marathon running, can result in damage to skeletal muscle cells, a process known as exertional rhabdomyolysis.” PM Clarkson
Motivation Mondays | Rhabdo: Warning Signs for Runners
Aaron Kuen, marathoner: Aaron was having what seemed like the race of his life and was approaching the finish of the California International Marathon when he suddenly collapsed near Mile 26. What looked like an extraordinary athletic performance became a devastating medical emergency associated with rhabdomyolysis. Aaron remains in a coma. Rhabdo: Real Runners, Real Stories: Read Aaron Kuen’s story at Outside
What Is Rhabdomyolysis? Exertional Rhabdo?
According to The Cleveland Clinic, Rhabdomyolysis occurs when damaged skeletal muscle cells break down and release their contents, including myoglobin, creatine kinase (CK), potassium, and other substances, into the bloodstream. In severe cases, this process can disrupt the body’s chemistry and damage the kidneys. Complications can include acute kidney injury, compartment syndrome, dangerous electrolyte abnormalities, and abnormal heart rhythms. Severe rhabdo can be life-threatening, and that is how I ended up in the ICU at Tufts Medical Center for 3 days.
Exertional rhabdomyolysis is rhabdo associated with strenuous physical activity. It can occur after unusually intense or unfamiliar exercise, a sudden increase in training load, or exercise combined with other contributing factors. Heat, inadequate hydration, recent illness, certain medications or substances, and some underlying genetic or metabolic conditions may increase risk. Yes, it can happen to trained athletes. It is a medical condition, NOT a disease.
“On this International Day of Peace, let us all be inspired by the courage of those who champion peace in neighborhoods, classrooms, and communities. And let’s call on world leaders to invest in a peaceful future for all people.” António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
Motivation Mondays: 12 Ways to Honor International Day of Peace & World Gratitude Day
Introduction to Peace One Day ( 2016)
Peace is not just made at conference tables, but in classrooms, neighbourhoods, and everywhere people meet with open minds and open hearts. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
It is only through inner peace that we can have true outer freedom. Sri Chinmoy
Every year on September 21, we have the opportunity to observe two occasions that seem especially meaningful together: the International Day of Peace and World Gratitude Day. The United Nations established the International Day of Peace to strengthen the ideals of peace within and among nations and peoples. The 2026 theme is “Invest in Peace — For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” It reminds us that peace is not simply the absence of war. We build it through dignity, cooperation, dialogue, compassion, and the choices we make every day.
We are living through a complicated global moment. Conflicts are causing tremendous human suffering, communities are experiencing deep divisions, and many families are dealing with economic pressures and uncertainty. In its 2026 Peace Day message, the United Nations describes conflicts as growing in scale and complexity, while emphasizing that individuals and communities can still build peace through dialogue, inclusion, service, and respect for human dignity.
Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace, Saint Francis Prayer via catholic.org
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Six Ways to Honor the International Day of Peace
1. Practice peace where you are.
Peace begins much closer to home than we sometimes imagine. Choose patience over anger, conversation over confrontation, and understanding over immediately judging someone whose views differ from yours.
2. Listen to someone with a different perspective.
We do not have to agree with one another to listen respectfully. Make room for a conversation with someone from a different generation, culture, faith, background, or life experience. Listening can be one of our simplest acts of peace.
3. Perform an act of service.
Volunteer, help a neighbor, mentor a young person, donate to a food pantry, or support an organization doing humanitarian or community work. The UN’s 2026 message reminds us that ordinary people from volunteers, advocates, and community leaders to peacemakers help build peace from the ground up.
4. Be mindful of the words you put into the world.
Before posting, commenting, forwarding, or responding online, ask: Does this add understanding or more hostility? Refusing to spread misinformation, cruelty, or unnecessary division is one small way to contribute to a more peaceful public square.
5. Make peace personal.
Is there someone you need to forgive, apologize to, call, or understand better? Not every broken relationship can or should be restored, but sometimes peace begins when one person decides not to keep feeding an old conflict.
6. Create a moment of stillness.
Pray, meditate, walk in nature, sit quietly, or observe a few minutes of silence for people living through war and violence. Let that quiet moment remind you that peace in the world is connected to the peace we cultivate within ourselves. #InvestInPeace.
READ: Motivation Mondays: International Day of Peace & World Gratitude Day
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