why do i do what i do?

The age old question right? Well, right now I am training to run an olympic distance triathlon and trying to raise $2900 for an organization I am not particularly tied to. So, of course, I have had to ask myself why. This morning, in a fundraising email, this is what I have come up with (and I wanted to share...):

Why I Jumped Into This Whole Shindig // By: Me

"This is not only my fourth week of training, this week I also celebrate my twenty fourth birthday. As benchmarks often do, planning for my birthday has sparked up a healthy amount of self reflection. What am I doing at age twenty four? For who? Why? In honor of my twenty fourth year, I have decided to share a bit of my mission with you.

Recently when I have asked myself, ‘Why am I running an Olympic distance triathlon? Why am I raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society? I am not personally affected by Leukemia or Lymphoma and nor is anyone close to me, so why?’ I have reflected and I have answered:

Because I can; because I am healthy. I have been given this body that is able, this body that allows me to physically participate in my life. It is wild when I think about it; I am able to bike across the Brooklyn Bridge, I am able to go to yoga in the mornings, I am able to ski on the snow in the winter and the lake in the summer, I am able to go on runs in the woods with my mom, and I am able to take lunchtime walks in Manhattan with my friends. I am so grateful. If I desire to do something (with enough hard work) I am able to make it happen. And while I am able, my health doesn’t come for free; I feel a responsibility to maintain my health (training for this darn thing…) and I feel responsibility to use my health for good.

So then I have asked myself, ‘Why do I feel responsible? For what good? For who?’ And after some time reflecting, I have answered:

Throughout my life y’all have raised me in communities that take care of each other. You have shown me that I can create good; that I can contribute. You have also taught me that my skills and talents are not only mine, they are not meant for isolation. You have created me to be a person who wants to be an active, positive part of this world. After all the Catholic schooling, after all the Justice and Peace Studies, after all the trips to foreign countries, after all the Yoga training, my fundamental faith is that we are all in this together; there is a thread that binds us. The gifts that we each have been given are meant for us all to profit from; we aren’t islands. Our life’s work isn’t to become someone else; it is to become our best selves; to develop our gifts and to use them to help each other. Whether I hear it from the Gospel or the Yoga Sutra, we are made to love one another and love means hard work, sacrifice, empathy, and responsibility. I believe we are each other’s responsibility, each other’s support, each other’s brothers and sisters, and that we are made with abilities that allow us to support each other. Someday I will suffer; I have no doubt of that. I may not have Leukemia or Lymphoma, but I will suffer, and I hope that there will be an organization like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fighting to end my suffering; that’s how this all works right?

In response to my self-reflection, I am raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society because I believe that it is my responsibility to use my gifts to alleviate the suffering of those around me, and today I can use my health to alleviate the suffering of those in my community suffering from Leukemia and Lymphoma."

There it is, something to love (or hate) today. If you are interested in learning more, check out: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyctri12/mryantdiup