Enjoy the thrill and learn to chill
Karin Evans spent more than a year writing her book, the recently-published The Race to Grace, with an 80-year-old nun. So what did she learn from Sister Madonna Buder, who happens to be the world champion Ironman competitor in her age group? Enjoy the thrill and learn to chill. Karin elaborates:
"Sister Madonna and I went to the beach in San Francisco one day. She was like a child at play—photographing jellyfish, loping down the shore, eating pastries and enjoying the view. Then she spotted some hang gliders floating over the ocean.
"‘Oh, let's go watch,’ " she trilled. I hesitated, worried about driving home close to rush hour. But she was so enthusiastic that we went to find the cliff where they were jumping. She watched, fascinated, for an hour, while I fretted. By the time she announced, ‘Well, wasn't that wonderful!’ we were deep into rush hour. The trip home usually takes 40 minutes—more with traffic. Strangely, the roads were almost empty. We got to my house in a record 25 minutes. ‘See?’ said Sister Madonna. ‘Everything works out. It always does.’”
Now when my thoughts take their familiar route to dire predictions, I take a deep breath and entertain a new thought: Maybe, it’ll all work out. The real traffic jam is in my mind.
--For more on Karin Evans and Sister Madonna Buder, check out The Race to Grace: The Wisdom and Inspiration of the 80-Year-Old World Champion Triathlete Known as the Iron Nun at books.simonandschuster.com.
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