How can we find joy and strength during hardships

i recall

one of the last conversations i had with

my father

when he woke up from morphine where he

was sitting with

an oxygen apparatus he said

that he was dreaming that he was a

marathon runner

and that he was dancing with mrs janino

hoyska

a well-known polish humanitarian

activities in poland

i thought his dream was all fictional

and did not have any merits because he

has never run before in his life

i didn’t think about my father’s dream

for a long time

but after several years i realized

that i was living my loved father’s

dream

in a way his dream furthers the purpose

of my life

which is to help others in whatever way

i can

i combined my passion for extreme sports

and the purpose of helping others and it

brings me

the utmost happiness in life my life

purpose

of helping people regardless of who they

are and what they have motivates me from

my hardships

and i found so much joy

when i achieved the purpose the most

important thing

to push your boundaries is motivation

because when you have great motivation

inside of you your own personal goal

you have the power and you can really

keep

on pushing forward

i am not superhero hero with extreme

speed or strength

rather i am an ordinary polish man i

have a loving wife

wonderful children a prospering company

and passions which i share with my loved

ones i am an expert in emergency

shipping and overall

i have a tightly organized schedule

after work i want to feel something

different

and sports give me endorphins enthusiasm

and zest for life

when life gets complicated sports also

help me to be more

centered and focus in the unstable

unpredictable environment

in the world of uncertainty i appreciate

a sense of peace

i always like to push myself to do more

when i can the day before

i like to take risk because i think when

we do so

we discover our limitations and decide

on the things we would like to improve

i believe my childhood is the source of

my strength

i grew up in a poor rough dangerous

district in warsaw

prague i realized that

not in spite of that but because of that

i’m more sensitive to the

needs of others i remember

there was always an element of

solidarity

that is very close to me being

surrounded by alcoholics

thieves the teenage drama when i had to

financially support my widowed mother

and my little brother all these

experiences

made me sensitive open and emphatic to

other people in my district

helping was nothing extraordinary as

even an alcoholic

who probably had nothing wanted to help

it was natural for people to try out and

help in the

way they could people who had nothing

were still able to give

when i help i feel useful calm

fulfilled and joyful it makes me life

in 2014 i completed the mara from the

sale

it is regarded as the toughest food race

on earth

it is sixth day 251 kilometers

or 155 six miles for you american forks

this charitable ultra marathon is held

in the sahara desert

it has the length of approximately the

distance

of six regular marathons the temperature

reached

nearly 50 degrees celsius or 122 degree

fahrenheit

fatal accidents have been reported in

the history

of the competition mara from the sale

is associated with the noble cause

of helping the local community

thanks to the organization of this ultra

marathon

eight pumps were installed solar school

supplies distributed

in isolated village they modernized

toilet

showers with solar heating a craft

complex

for women was built in jidad with a

workshop school in kindergarten

conference room kitchen toilets

and clinic i tell you one thing which i

don’t like to admit

when i was packing for my trip to the

race i was trying to explain to my wife

that everything will be fine and i will

come back safe

unfortunately i forgot the shoes in

which i prepare

myself for a year when i was

already in the desert i realized

that i didn’t have them fortunately

one of the participants lent me his

shoes they were exactly three numbers to

pick

i looked funny but it turned out to be

beneficial

in such conditions the legs well nails

go down

and huge prints were made

my feet were blistering and like my

heart was racing

however the physical pain was income

incomparable to the mental exhaustion

thoughts of doubt rushing in my mind

will i able to finish the this race the

wind is too harsh

and the scent is flying everywhere i

cannot see

i will go blind if i continue running

maybe i should quit i remember the

runners who were given a drip lying down

of exhaustion i also saw anna’s calling

for help

by firing a flirt that everyone got from

the organizer of the race

in my darkest moments i was envisioning

all the people who will benefit from the

marathon

women and children who will get to go to

school

for the first time we leaders who will

have

electricity modernized housing equipment

and health cleaning

envisioning all these images motivate me

along the way i made a promise to myself

that i cannot quit

i cannot quit because i’m not running

for myself

i cannot quit because i’m i’m running

for these women

children other leaders and the resources

that will make their lives better

after six exhausting days i finished the

race

and met the people i was trying for

their smiles

made the blistering feet all worth it

then one

runner from london came to me and

thanked me for my supper during the race

i saw him when he was exhausted

and i told him don’t give up follow me i

remember

he told me the story of his life during

the day and night stages

of the race i just listened to him

and he was busy talking walking step by

step another mile

in 2015 i partake in the baikal ice

marathon

across the frozen baikal lake the

deepest body

of freshwater it is a unesco world

heritage site

which holds twenty percent of the fresh

surface water on earth i was running for

chemic voyda

a very talented and intelligent young

man

who i have known since this his birth i

started

with his father so i had the opportunity

to see

what difficulties he face on a daily

basis

he moves in a wheelchair due to

meningitis

my main goal was to support chanek and

continue his sports passion

and to obtain funds for rehabilitation

money from the baikal supported shanks

rehabilitation

he was also invited to polish tv

where he could comment on a volleyball

match

so in a way his sports dream came true

from the race i remember two things

the ice cold temperature of about minus

30 degree celsius

or minus 20 degree fahrenheit and the

blastering

wind the terrifying creeks on the

glacier surface

so loud that everyone thought

that ice was cracking and participant

would have to squad

during the race in those moments to

avoid from falling down to the freezing

water

when i’m there in harsh conditions

i need to master my mind to convince

myself that the race is going to last 12

hours

and i am able to manage that

there is no going back it’s a simple

situation

either or survive or i die so there is

no space to fear

or over analyzing there is only one way

to go forward

you create some kind of space in your

mind

that you can resist all these hard

conditions you don’t accept any things

that bother you like pain injuries you

don’t care about anything

just making to your destination in one

piece

it’s physical exhaustion overcoming your

own emotion and beyond

but it’s your inner motivation to get

there

to reach your goals

both my dad and my friend passed away

because of cancer

i remember well how this disease

destroyed my father

that is why i sign up for a voluntary

course at

the home hospice it is the largest

hospice of this type in warsaw

they also care for orphaned children as

a result one of their parents illnesses

in 2016 i ran the tenzing hillary

everest marathon

the world’s highest straight marathon

for the home hospice

in order to start in the marathon you

have to get to the height

5400 meters above the sea levels

this race started from the base camp at

the foot of everest

i remember having a terrifying headache

lack of appetite and strength i start

feeling a pain of the right side above

my stomach

and below my lungs the pain slowly

intensifies and

as i run along when the pain comes i

focus on breathing

breathe in through my mouth and breathe

out from my nose i listen to my mind

about my goal to run the faces and keep

running

now my brain scans my whole body

and identifies some pain in my calf

and tells me there is some problem

my mind says just ignore it and focus on

faces

i always visualize the faces of people i

would like to help

it helps me to deal with the pain and

make it easier

to achieve the goal when i run in

the himalayas i was thinking about the

children of the home hospice

where i was volunteering it’s like in

our life

when you patiently joke to reach the

goal

then it turns out that the roads you

pass

are the most important thanks to my

start intensive hilarious marathon

they managed to organize their summer

holidays for those kids

we were supported by storm group

organizing sailing camps and the

companies haribo

jaya which delivered products parents

from the local uk

as biowa orwe the football club attended

by my sons joined the action

i am very glad that the action had such

a response

running is a metaphor for life because

in our lives

we have so many of doubts it is

universal experience to struggle

during these hardest moments ask

yourself the reason

why you are doing what you are doing

don’t give up

have courage and try your best

helping others and making difference

doesn’t have to be something big like

running extreme marathons

connect to your purpose of helping

others you can help others too

in your own way it’s a beautiful journey

discovering how we can grow by pushing

boundaries

in breath and no paths and healing

each other so i ask you

what is your purpose and what is your

daily joy

you