I like to run. Not for the fitness, or the exercise, or to train for anything. I just like the freedom it brings. For me it is pure joy. I was introduced to running when I was 9 years old and ever since then it has been in and out of my life. I usually go with no set distance in mind. I run until my body is 'done' sometimes it's 5km, sometimes closer to 20km. I sometimes take break from running as well. It is not something I 'need' to do. It is more of an intuitive experience I guess. So I am by no means what people would consider a 'good runner. I do it for the Love of it.Here are 10 lessons I learned while running that also apply to life. Enjoy!1. BreatheBreathe thru joy, difficulty, discomfort, hills and even when you feel you cannot breathe. Breathing stills the mind, it let's us know we are alive, our heart still beats. We let things go with the breath and with the breath we breathe new life in.2. Support is RequiredIn running, shoes can make all the difference in the world between feeling good or not so good. They can prevent or provoke injury. In life we also need the right support. There are different kinds of support just as there are different kinds of relationships. Some things work for some people and not for others. Finding the support that is right for you helps you negotiate life with more ease. 3. Never Give UpAlthough there may come a time in your life where you have exhausted all options and may feel you need to give up on someone or something-Never Give Up On Yourself.
4. Power of The MindThe mind determines the outcome.Yes the body can tire, but it's the mind that will decide if your body can take you that extra mile.5. Lack Of Commitment Is FatalA plan is needed in running and in life. A route. A time set aside. Failure to plan is a default plan to fail. Lack of commitment will result in you eventually giving up: on your dreams, on your life, on your future and on yourself.6. Enjoy The JourneyI feel this one is the most important. Sometimes in life we focus on goals or results and we may miss the joy or adventure of getting from A-B. This applies to running and life. Look around. Feel that sunset, breathe in the fresh air, connect with the trees. In whatever you do, do it for the Love of it7. Sometimes Its An Alone JourneyLearn to be o.k in your alone-ness. You can run with another or a group but that requires sometimes altering your pace to fit in. We all have our own unique pace and when you run alone you connect to that. Sometimes in life we need to work in groups or if we feel we are changing our pace too much for others, we may need to go it alone. Having the awareness of which one you need at any given time is important.
8. No One Can Do It For YouNo one can live your life for you. Just like no one can run for you. People can love and support and cheer you on (just like in life) but you are the one who has to put your shoes on and walk out that door and engage it.9. Its O.K. To Take A Time OutThere are days you are going to want to not run, to rest, to sit it out just like in life. Take that time if you really need it but do not let days become weeks and years. Life is for living not to sit on the sidelines and watch it roll by.10. Switch Up Your RouteChange your routine. Keep it fresh. Keep a bit of the unknown alive. Say yes to adventure. That side trail may be a dead end or a magical trail to a place you've never been.Most of all have fun!Love,Kerri
The Journey of the Run
I realized today that I must be a runner. I have come and gone with running over the years..stopped and started here and there. But at this point in my life, I cannot imagine my life without it. It is so much a part of me..it IS me.In the past I usually ran with a goal..to go farther..to go faster...I even trained to run a marathon. I would end up pushing myself often to the point of injury..which would then result in my not being able to run at all (which was the very thing that I loved to do). It was completely ludicrous. Fast forward many years and add to that a lot of growing up,learning and healing. Today my relationship with running is one of freedom, transformation, balance, meditation, contemplation, journeying and bliss.As soon as my breath enters a rhythm, my feet begin to pound out the perfect heartbeat of the earth. I fall into a trance, deeper into this music and find myself travelling, journeying, through time and space as I run. I go to the past, present, future. I become unlimited. I travel to alternate worlds, different dimensions, alternate realities. I download information from these places and receive insights. I become one with everything. Problems are solved, illnesses are healed, creativity is boundless. What is unfortunate about this is when the run completes itself and I come back into my body I am left with impressions of where I went and what I saw and experienced and yet the information is not complete. It is as though it is so large that once I compress myself back into my body (this tiny container) there is not room for the expanse of what was experienced. Words fail to describe it. I thought of digitally recording my adventures as I run, but they happen so fast,I could not speak fast enough. And I think it would alter the rhythm and the organic nature of the run.And words really do fall short to describe it all. Perhaps I will have to get my paints out of the cupboard and dust them off and record the experience with colour and texture...Until we all have a device to record thoughts, sensations etc. directly from the brain, I struggle to fully convey the experience.But maybe I am not supposed to.At any rate, is it any wonder I love my time to run?..It is a magical journey into elsewhere and never fails to fill me up with joy and wonder.The body becomes merely the vehicle to help me get off the ground. So in a way I am flying. It is a beautiful experience...and I am grateful for my body to enable me to have it.