Georgia Tough Mudder

 OK, I'm alot slower posting about this than I thought I would be. I'll blame it on how sore I was after this race! I went to down to Georgia with some friends (not the devil) last weekend to run the Tough Mudder. WOW, did I underestimate how difficult it would really be. For one thing, it was seriously muddy-the entire time. The course was a  half marathon in the red clay mud with 18 obstacles sprinkled throughout.

 Obstacles involved scaling walls, climbing through drainage pipes, crawling under wires, carrying logs through the woods, monkey bars over mud pits, and more and more and more.

 Many of the obstacles involved a team effort. It wasn't as much an individual race as it was a group adventure. Only 71% of entrants actually finish; I'm proud to say my group ALL rocked it and came away relatively unscathed.

Here, we are
realizing we've gotten to the obstacle I was most afraid of, Electroshock Therapy". Yes, electric live wires that you have to run through. Some are only mildly charged, some have up to 10,000 volts. True story.
Being shocked was not as painful I as expected, more of a bizarre loss of physical control. My mind still knew to keep going, but when I was zapped by a strong wire towards the end I felt it shoot through my body and my muscles just locked up. When I explain it to people I realize it does seem strange that I paid a good bit of money and traveled 4 hours to experience this.
I feel this experience was epic enough for two posts, so stay tuned for part dos tomorrow!

"Compassion Fatigue," an art show

At Saturday's art crawl, I attended the opening reception of "Compassion Fatigue", a themed art show at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. One of the most striking pieces there was this photograph by my friend,  Tasha French. The statement below explains it brilliantly. Hearing the process of it's making was pretty vivid, as well. I wish/hope you get to see this in person- it is so strong.

"Outreach"

"In this work, Hindu mythology mixes with Christian imagery to explore the grace and destruction inherent in compassion fatigue. In the Hindu paradigm, Kali is both creator and destroyer. In her aspect as the destroyer, Kali is over taken by blood lust and begins to destroy the universe. Her destruction only ends when her consort Shiva throws himself on the ground in front of her. The supposedly slain body of Shiva brings Kali out of her frenzy. Kali is Shakti, the primordial universal life force which brings about liberation and salvation. Yet Kali in her dark aspect is a forbidden thing that haunts our boundary regions and cremation grounds.

Here, Kali (embodied by a woman who performs the roles of activist, chaplain, teacher and homeless outreach worker) is present in the midst of destruction, yet is not the cause of the destruction. She is the Christ bodhisattva; terrible to look upon because of the reality she embodies and reflects. Two hands, seemingly empty, hold the nothingness that is everything, that which she truly has to give, but is seldom recognized as enough in a world of material needs and desires. Another hand holds a bowl of both baptism and cremation ashes, representing the eternal cycle of salvation and destruction. Another hand holds a staff, the shepherd’s crosier, marking the seemingly futile watching and gathering of lambs that nonetheless are taken to slaughter. Everyone healed is eventually destroyed. Another hand, raised defiantly, clutches the holy palm branch of Passover; symbolic of the willingness to turn toward the city and embrace destruction. And finally, behold the Lamb of God, raised by the sixth arm, watching the goddess in the midst of destruction. This is the anguish of the human Christ, vessel of unending compassion whose slain corpse reminds us of the cost of true grace.

Her body carries the burdens of those she refuses to let go, one lambs head representative of a child who died in her arms, one lambs head she holds as a the head of a brother executed by the state, and one head, the head of a man whose charred body marked the very ground upon which she stands, the cremation ground of the destroyed Tent City: a holy, sanctified, terrible place where the world’s disinherited and unwanted found love and healing in equal proportions with beatings, mental illness and dis-ease. Behind the goddess and the cremation ground stretch the highways leading into and out of the city, yet all is utterly still in the eye of destruction.

The potential of unburdened resurrection lies before her, yet until she allows for the liberation from samsara; she remains, willingly, fixed within the destruction."

Weekend Wrap Up and Robust Gonads

How was your weekend? Lovely, I hope. Let me do a bullet point summary of  the favorite bits of mine, because I know you were sitting there at your computer, on pins and needles waiting for me to publish such a thing. The wait is over:

• Completed pieces and set up new window display at Rodney Mitchell Salon. Photos soon!
• Finished a suspenseful, lyrical novel- A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick.
• Ran the furthest distance I've ever run in my life (17 miles) with 2 sweet friends that made the whole thing fun.
• Enjoy the company and work of  fellow artists at the Downtown Art Crawl.
• Went out with the Mr. on Friday evening.
• Made some outdoor adventure plans for spring which may include caves and bodies of water.
• Ate 2 1/2 cupcakes in 24 hours.
• Read this article, felt thankful for my good health and things such as " a full pelt of fur", maintained brain volume, and muscle mass.*

*I felt like it would detract from the dramatic format of my bullet points to include these additional thoughts in the last bullet post, so here we are. I really wanted to share this article for two reasons. One, it includes the following sentence, "Their gonads were normal, as were their hearts. They could balance on narrow rods, the showoffs". Two, I certainly believe that physical health is tied to mental health. Exercise of all types brings such clarity, peace of mind, and strength to my life. It's a simple concept, I know, I think I've just gained a new appreciation for the impact physical activity- especially outdoors- on me in these winter months, when nothing else seems to give me any energy and then I read things like the article and learn it will  have an incredible impact even years down the road. May we all lead a life full of love, happiness, mitochondria and unshrinking testicles/ ovaries!

I Would Like to Share This Award With My Husband

Well, OK, there is no award, but if  I were to receive one and hence deliver an acceptance speech I would definitely like to thank supportive spouses. Specifically, JON SHEARER.
For instance, when I do inexplicably weird things like compose a ditty to the tune of a Folger's commercial that goes something like this "The best part of waking up is Sarah in your butt." and then sing it to him when we're hanging out at home he manages to turn it into something endearing by posting this:

Jon Shearer

The best part of waking up, is Sarah......

Thursday at 3:00pm ·  · 

• Travis Slagle, David E. Mitchell, Jay Evans and 7 others like this.
• • 

    Beard Evans I thought it was Folgers in your cup....

    Thursday at 3:06pm · 
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    Jon Shearer close second sir...

    Thursday at 3:07pm · 
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    Sarah Jane I get that all the time!

    Thursday at 3:36pm · 
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    Stephen Anthony You're a good man, Mr. Shearer
    

    Thursday at 7:18pm · 
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He also encourages me to go for my goals; even when some people think they are too much, kind of ridiculous, or just strange. As I get into marathon training and running clothes festoon the laundry area of our house like so much spandex decor and the alarm goes off at 5 am for early morning workouts- no complaints, just encouragement.
He even comes out to get togethers with my running group buddies and it occurred to me, that is an awesome thing which deserves a group of it's own!

Ashlee Horne

Jeffrey really liked you guys' idea for the spousal support group :-))))

about an hour ago via iPhone ·  ·  · See Friendship

• • 

    Sarah K Shearer Hahaha- they could be founding members of S.O.N.s (spouses of Nasties)

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Sarah K Shearer Other option:
    H.O.E. (N)
    Husbands of East nasties

    about an hour ago ·  ·  1 person

I think he would definitely be a S.O.N, not a H.O.E. (n). Seriously though, his support and involvement in all my endeavors is something that carries me through creative slumps and challenging physical goals, and inspires me to always pursue my dreams.

• • Also, thank you Facebook, for providing a forum for all my social networking needs.