Undo - Grey's Anatomy

'There's no 'Undo' button. There's only hoping we can learn, we can change. Right? We can do better'. - Meredith Grey

Today's Choice:- I find some great 'Soundbites for Life' in the strangest of places sometimes. Grey's Anatomy has been a firm favourite boxed set in the Coleman Household for 13 seasons now. Over the years, it's creator, Shonda Rhimes has conveyed a complete spectrum of medical and ethical scenarios and has deliberately heavily featured characters regardless of race or sex that can convey the messages and life-lessons  her audience can easily engage with. If you've never seen the show, it's well worth a look and most heartwarming at times.

At the start of each episode, there's a narration usually by lead character, Meredith Grey. The 'Undo' comment above is in one such narration that really caught my attention when I saw the show..

You see, if like me you design your own newsletters and website content, have you ever considered during that creative process just how many times you hit the 'Control + Z' keys? Without the 'Undo' facility it would be virtually impossible and the occasional 'Control + S' keeps what we've designed safe as there's nothing worse than things crashing unexpectedly.

Without those commands, the whole process would be a nightmare, just like it is in real life where the 'Control + Z' simply doesn't exist.

I mean,what things would you 'Undo' if you had the chance. Not the big ones, the massive life bloopers we all have rattling away in our cupboards or the accidents that by no fault of our own gave us the fright of our lives at one stage or another. Yikes, I can remember a couple of bicycle fails that really smashed me up at the time which I would have instantly 'Undone' - Then again forty years on, you'll never see me on a bike so I must have learned something from hitting the front of that Austin Maxi!

Therefore, perhaps have to 'Learn' rather then 'Undo' and Meredith finishes this episode by saying 'What's done is done. But the future is ours to choose.' 

So choose wisely folks...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,590 Days' Alcohol Free - 436 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Head Full of Dreams - Coldplay

Lyrics:- 'You can see the change you want, to be what you want to be' - Berryman, Buckland, Champion & Martin

Song Choice:- Well Coldplay surpassed all of my expectations and probably those of the all the 70,000 people crammed into every inch of the ‘Principality Stadium’ in Cardiff I’d say, last night. Yikes, how concerts have moved on in the last few years and this easily overshadowed my hallowed memories of seeing INXS and U2 in the 90's as the sound, lights and colours were so electric, as was lead-man Chris Martin – He simply gave it 100% and his enthusiasm throughout was totally infectious.

This being the last concert in the UK, (for ‘some time’ he said on a couple of occasions), did make it feel like a 'Chapter' was being closed for the band and a ‘New Dream’ was possibly being developed as the performance and stage-management would be hard to surpass - it's as bigger show as you'd now ever get. The whole flashing wristband that co-ordinated with the songs lit up the stands in a way I’d never seen before in any arena.

So how one would go about changing at that level? Well I’ll never know but maybe every change process jumps through a similar number of hoops when we want to make things happen.

In my experience, I like to get things straight in my mind first. Get some real clarity about what I’m trying to do and how I’m going to do it. Having a clear mental picture of me completing the task in hand makes a huge incentive.  With perfect 20-20 vision on where I’m going, I find I can get my foot hard to the floor and drive-on ‘Goal-Bound’ free of distraction at speed. The only drawback with my method is that it takes a lot of time and patience to get things perfectly lined up, ready for action.

Seeing ‘The CHANGE you want’ through ‘The Fog of Life’, well there’s the rub but isn't so hard perhaps once you get to grips with where you are going next, once you know where that is.

At the end of the day – It’s your life and your journey, no one else’s... So 'Live' the Dream don't just leave them in your head eh?

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,590 Days' Alcohol Free - 436 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Always in my Head - Coldplay

Lyrics:- My body moves, goes where I will – Berryman, Buckland, Champion & Martin

Song Choice:- On a day that I’ll see Coldplay at the Principality Stadium in Caerdydd, it seems only right to choose one of my favourite Martin penned tracks. Hopefully I’ve picked one that reflects how I feel today as I sit on the train, London bound on the 0512hrs ‘Red-Eye’, ready to engage in being ‘Awesome’ rather than ‘Average’ at Threshold Sport’s first ‘Net-Walking’ event.

‘Always in my Head’ is yet another example of Chris Martin’s enduring magical songwriting genius which has produced hit after hit and success after success for nearly twenty years. As a modern-day ‘Rock Band’, their continued success is unparalleled.

So why is that? And why do I think it’s relevant to me and today’s blog?

Well, I was asked to ‘Distill’ my ‘Mindset’ as part of a ‘Personal Development Programme’ that I’m on right now. Getting this down on paper in one sentence or soundbite, is proving virtually impossible as it’s a totally natural process that’s hard-wired into my DNA – but I’m going to give it a real go. It’s going to take me a few days to compose and I’m going to need Lady C’s help to get it just right for sure.

And that’s where Coldplay come in. I mean I’m not Chris Martin but in their analogy what makes Coldplay, Coldplay? – Hmm, well that’s simple, it’s a blend of Chris Martin’s ability, musicality and personality supported by the rest of the band and a producer and engineer that can take that ability and give it the 100% Elite Star-Quality we have become used to.

At the heart of things, Chris Martin’s ‘Unique’. And I can’t quite put my finger on quite what it is as he’s not an outstanding vocalist or performer but somehow there’s a ‘Magic’ and ‘Stage Presence’ that’s infectious. Maybe it’s his enthusiasm that’s the key to their success and I wonder what his ‘Mindset’ might be as they start developing ideas for their next album.

Has he ‘Distilled’ his ‘Mind-set’?’ or is it just hard-wired into his DNA too?

Maybe it’s something you’ve either got or you haven’t. I mean what is the ‘Magic Sauce’ that makes things happen? Means that you never give up, that people find intimidating, that drives you on at all costs, that if you could bottle it would be worth millions…

Well that’s my mission to find out, articulate and deliver. Something I’ll be considering of course when I’m watching Coldplay tonight as the core-elements of my ‘Mindset’ are ‘Always in my Head’.

Amen

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,587 Days' Alcohol Free - 435 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Skyfall - Adele

Lyrics:- 'Where world's collide and days are dark' - Adkins & Epworth

Song Choice:- I saw on Breakfast TV that singing megastar Adele has today pulled out of her final two Wembley gigs with damaged vocal chords. A really tough injury for someone who's fortune has been made using her incredible singing ability and I hope for her sake she gets to do the performances she personally hailed as 'her biggest ever shows'.

Having suffered previously with terrible stage-fright, she must feel a sense of relief as she now won't have to face such a large spectrum of fans and critics. Being SO famous with SUCH a well known repertoire of songs can be so dangerous for the ego. It leaves no margin of error at all and it's easy to see why her confidence has been knocked over the years.

If Adele were a tennis player, it would mean not only winning set but every game and every point in a match too. And as there is no possible change of doing so, there's only one way out -  and that's to do a 'Kate Bush' and just not perform live again, which of course is a real shame - not because I'm a big Adele fan, I'm not. I just feel sorry for her and where her singing talent has taken her.

To NOT singing...

Having ones confidence challenged about the thing in life you love the most, by some idiots that don't even know you, because they are intimidated by your talent or confidence really sucks. These folk aren't even 'Average' in my book and if you have a few 'Confidence Knockers' orbiting your world right now, maybe it's time to set them free and move on to your own 'Oh oh Heaven'...

We might not have Adele's cash but we've got the same spirit and hold your head high, light I do and be confident in being Awesome and don't give a damn what anyone else says as they're just scared... of you and of themselves.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,578 Days' Alcohol Free - 426 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

These are the days of our lives - Queen

Lyrics:- 'Sometimes I get to feelin', I was back in the old days - long ago’ - Taylor

Song Choice:- I'm always saying to folk that 'These are the best days of our lives'. It's TRUE. It's just that we don't realise it right now. Take-a-look at the 'Lump in the throat’ Queen video that accompanies this track if you need to see where I’m coming from. It’s super sad… It was the last video to feature frontman Freddie Mercury as he was in the final stages of his battle with AIDS filmed on 30th May 1991, just six months before he died on 24th November 1991 - nearly 26 years ago... His last words to camera were ‘I still love you’ and I’m sure he did.

Since then, so much has happened – We’ve all lived a lot of ‘Life’ that I’m sure Freddie would also have lived to the full, with its roundabout ‘Ups and Downs’, ‘Successes and Failures’.

‘The days were endless, we were crazy - we were young. The sun was always shinin' - we just lived for fun’ – Taylor

You see, we never thought about getting old when we were young – The ‘DFS Sofa buy-now-pay-later' mentality hadn’t been invented and I for one thought that my battery life was endless rather than slowly ebbing away at 1% annually.

‘You can't turn back the clock, you can't turn back the tide - ain't that a shame?’ – Taylor

And ‘Yes’ it is a shame we can’t wind our clocks back to make amends or live life’s highs all over again but I believe it’s our duty now to make the most of what we’ve got. Not of what’s left as none of us know how long that particular piece of string is.

We’ve just got to do, what we do – BETTER… as Freddie says, ‘Cos these are the days of our lives’…

Make the most of YOUR DAYS… Please.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,574 Days' Alcohol Free - 423 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

Sign O' the Times - Prince

Lyrics:- 'Hurry before it's too late' - Nelson

Song Choice:- Yikes, can you believe it's thirty years since this Prince track was in the UK Charts. It surprisingly only peaked at #10 yet it's so memorable as it comes to mind every time the world we live in is attacked by mindless fundamentalists.

The problem is our world, this amazing place of wonder we are so lucky to be part of, is at it's most extreme right now, and will only continue growing to be more and more extreme in the future until one day it completely explodes.

It's 'Human Nature' it seems and hard-wired into our 'DNA'. If we continue the way we are going, one day soon our path of destruction will eventually see us all off.

You see, you and I don't really have a clue on what's going on outside of our own World - and the real World of Jack Bauer's '24' maybe a lot closer to being real life in the future than we think.

We only know what we're told - I mean, I've always been wrapped up so much in what I'm doing and those around me - I've left it to those in power do the 'Big Thinking' and have always felt safe.

The thing is, none of us feel safe now. We live in hope, hope that it won't happen again and especially that it doesn't happen to us or our nearest and dearest.

Is it a 'Sign O' the Times'? - Yes it is. Who's fault is it? Well it's ours, yours and mine as we are doing nothing to stop so far.

'So hurry before it's too late'...Do what you've always wanted to do and be what you've always wanted to be as I don't think Jack's going to help us...

Rory Coleman - 992 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,551 Days' Alcohol Free - 400 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:- Cardiff, Wales

Lilywhite Lilith - Genesis

'The Real Rael'

Lyrics:- 'The chamber was in confusion - all the voices shouting loud' - Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett & Rutherford.

Song Choice:- If you are ever confused, my advice is to listen to some Genesis from their 1974 concept album 'The Lamb lies down on Broadway'. Watch out though, as it won't make things any clearer but hopefully it will relax your mind into accepting what you are experiencing and where you might be travelling in your life next. Don’t ask me where I'm going or where they were going back then, as I don’t know and I don't think that the band knew either. By that stage they had become a very disparate collective and although it’s probably their finest work, the Album and its creation went on to implode their very existence, sadly right at their peak. You’ll have to listen yourself to see where I’m coming from and just how great and alive the tracks are.

Now, I’m going to write a trilogy of blogs to try and exorcise my current thoughts. Don't ask me where this blog is going to go over the next three days, because I haven’t got a bleedin’ clue but the of 'Chamber of 32 Doors, Lilywhite Lilith and Anyway' are tracks that I've always enjoyed as they seem to offer a higher mental plane of thought and absentiesm  Sometimes the music helps me explore the depths of my grey matter and I thought I’d try and use these tracks to unscramble some of my current scramble…

Well it’s a worth a go as I'm confused. Or maybe just ‘Brain Fogged’ is a better analogy.

Well it’s the best I can come up with right now as it’s hard to put a phrase on it and even harder to explain. I could attribute it to being my ‘Big elephant in my head-space’ as a sort of bi-product of last year’s,‘Guillian-Barre Syndrome’? But that sounds like a bit of a cop-out to me. Or is it just my ‘Non-cop-out’ stiff upper-lip denial that’s causing my confused state. Whatever that confused state is, or even if there is one to be confused about, can you appreciate why I feel ‘Brain-Fogged’.

When ‘Googling’ about it I read, ‘Many people who suffer GBS, whether they make a full physical recovery or not, will also make a good psychological recovery. They will find ways of coping with any ongoing problems and will put behind them the fears and stress associated with the acute illness. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that in GBS, as in better-researched illnesses such as heart attack or stroke, a significant proportion of sufferers do continue to experience severe emotional disturbances.’ 'Fuck me! That didn't help much...

So feeling only more confused, I returned to the lyrics.`You see, I get the ‘All the voices shouting loud' reference as that’s a definite contributor to my ‘Mental Tinnitus’. It’s still there ringing away more as a dull white noise all the time if I’m being honest and perhaps my own brain is my ‘Lilywhite Lilith’ helping me through the crowd. It’s more like the blind leading the blind though and even though I feel that I’m in a ‘Tunnel of Night’ I am hoping that one day or some-day soon I’ll see the corner of the tunnel lit up by whatever’s coming my way… Well that's what happen's to Rael on the album...

The thing is it’s more like a ‘Land of Confusion’ and it’s one that I’m trying to escape from but right now I can’t literally run fast enough from or even at all some days. The feeling or being lost or loss in fact is the one that is clouding my thoughts.

It’s easy to say look where you’ve been and look how far you’ve come but it’s doesn’t make things any better. 

Nothing will until a blaze of white light fills the air - Let's see if the Chamber of 32 Doors will shed any light tomorrow.

Rory Coleman - 982 Marathons - 241 Ultras - 13 Marathon des Sables 

9 Guinness World Records - 8,447 Days' Alcohol Free.

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cymru

Red Hill Mining Town - U2

Lyrics:- 'We're wounded by fear, Injured in doubt' - Hewson

Song Choice:- As I hurtle on through 'The Joshua Tree', U2's classic 1987 album and arguably best offering, we hit on Red Hill Mining Town. Written with the Mining Strikes of 1984 in mind again it paints a bleak picture of angst and fighting between embittered people and political parties.

The only mines I've ever been through are the disused precious metal working ones we go through on the Marathon des Sables, which I expect to be experiencing again in less than nine weeks.

The purple sand looks very toxic and no doubt is - It makes me think every time I run through it how many hours of toil it took to create as it has all been dug out by hand using pure sweat, hand tools and hard labour.

It underlines just how safe our existence is in the UK where red tape and pure stupidity rule our lives and where folks inner souls are wounded by fear and injured by doubt.

I had a great day speaking with some of my clients who have experienced life, well past death's door, not just to it, and survived to tell the tale. They totally get the running like I do and they'll totally get the 'Purple Hill Mining Town' in Morocco which is really rewarding as nearly everyone else won't.

FYI - I write these blogs the night before I publish and on reading them the next morning, I often think WTF was I on about - With this one however it was pretty clear to me as I was totally enthused by my clients enthusiasm for life and desire for the mind-expanding desert experience the MdS offers, that you don't have to go digging too far to find.

Rory Coleman - 981 Marathons - 241 Ultras - 13 Marathon des Sables 

9 Guinness World Records - 8,436 Days' Alcohol Free.

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cardiff

With or Without You - U2

Without Clayton or Mullen it seems...

Lyrics:- 'Nothing to win and nothing left to lose' - Clayton, Evans, Hewson & Mullen Jr.

Song Choice:- A weird one perhaps for my 55th Birthday but as I'm working chronologically through 'The Joshua Tree' album, I'll try and make some sense out of what was at the time U2's biggest selling single. I remember playing it on the way home from the Maternity Hospital the night my eldest daughter was born some 29 years ago. That puts it firmly in a time and place for me back in March 1988 and a mental trigger every time I hear it.

Which is simply 'YEARS AGO' and I did laugh at Richard Davies comment on my FB earlier of 'Fuck me you're old'... and so right he is too. But then we all have to go through the ageing process and hopefully with it, comes wisdom. He'll know sooner than later as he's not far behind me and I look a lot younger...

Anyway, I felt more 90 than 55 this morning and I wished that my butt muscles would have woken up with me but it took them most of the day to get my legs moving in the right direction. Not since the 'South Downs 80' in 1997 have my legs been so battered I'd but then I only have myself to blame. It doesn't matter anyway as I'm only too glad that 'Foxy Bayley' allowed me to gate-crash his marathon around the lake to make my 981st marathon completion. Learning a slower pace management and having a realistic goal time of sub 5:45hrs helped keep my focus and didn't stop me from running past another runner with just 5 metres to go before the finish.

Well, you can't take the run out of the runner can you! After all, I've got nothing to win and (certainly) nothing to lose. It's taken me some time to recognise this tand I believe it will lead onto much greater and far different horizons.

More tomorrow...

Rory Coleman - 981 Marathons - 241 Ultras - 13 Marathon des Sables 

9 Guinness World Records - 8,433 Days' Alcohol Free.

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location: Caerdydd, Cardiff