Be Unstoppable
Last night, I dreamt that I was at my childhood home on Duke Avenue. A simple brick home painted white adorned with green shutters and a wire gate around the perimeter of the front and sides of the house. I made my way outside to our front yard decked with trimmed bushes in the flower bed with rows of lush green plants on either side of our walkway leading to the edge of the yard equally dividing the lawn. The freedom of stepping out of the house caused me to extend my legs with exaggerated lengths. I opened the gate to go across the street. I loved how much ground I was able to cover so I began to trot, then sprint and with each extension of my legs, I began to elevate, up and forward, up and forward. Was I running? Indeed I was but the ground was perhaps a foot under my feet; up and forward, now perhaps four feet? Now it felt that I bounced or rather catapulted on a trampoline but never touched back down, and I could feel glee churn in the back of my throat, little ripples of it pushed past my cheeks and into the air that I was pushing through; I looked down and I was above the trees and I knew that even airborne I had to continue to move my legs extending them in running motion against the wind. The glee now had no boundaries and the ripple of laughter at the realization that I was running without ground beneath my feet but propelling against the air, defying even gravity was exhilarating.
Oh, who was that calling my name? My old neighbor, Ms. Catherine Bowers, who was like a mom to me and my sister was motioning from her yard, was that a wave? No it was a gesture that I could read clearly, “Carmen come down from there”. I could not, for at this level, I knew no fear, no limitations, just me and open sky, trees below my feet, legs slicing through air, pumping them in running motion. Running to where though? To heights unknown; in this space I was unstoppable, I was without bounds, I could determine when and where I wanted to land, and I was free.
I have never been a runner, but I am a woman without limits. My son Curtis Gray ran with purpose, he was a disciplined athlete, pushing past physical limitations; including sustained injuries from a botched surgical procedure, a broken right foot and broken left ankle. He pushed past all unprecedented boundaries and even death could not stop him. His impact has been felt everywhere his story has been told nationally, internationally and across the globe. Many people from all walks of life have been touched by this unassuming young man. Curious readers have soaked in the details of his documentary, and searched him out keeping him number one on Google and Bing searches, encouraged by his audacious determination to be great. He was only 18 years of age upon death, however his inspiration lives on even past the grave.
I have never been a runner, but I am a woman without limits. My son Curtis Gray ran with purpose, he was a disciplined athlete, pushing past physical limitations.
For a time in my dream I experienced what it must feel like to be athletic with extraordinary zeal to push past limits, however, I am not athletic, that is not my gift. I am a dreamer, my pen is the track upon which I run, it is in this space that I am unstoppable and without limits, reaching deep and soaring high. And so it is with you if you are reading this, whatever your track is in life, run until you have crossed the finish line and if you are exceptional in your journey, running without limits, pushing past the hurdles of life even death won’t be able to stop your living, for your contribution to this world will continue to live on past your mortal existence touching lives for generations to come. You will become legendary, so please for the sake of the very air you breathe, be unstoppable, soar to new heights, don’t stop running. Be Great.
Written by,
Carmen Alexis Gray
Speaker • Author • Entrepreneur
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