Why I Run
I love to run. Here’s why.
Since a teenager, I’ve been aware that I’m not one of those folks who effortlessly celebrates the current moment. We have a constellation of words with which we describe such people: jovial, congenial, attentive, compassionate, fun. All of these point to the capacity of persons for what I call “be-with-ness.”
Folks who exemplify be-with-ness have what seems to me an extraordinary ability to live in the present moment. When they are with you, they are — well — with you. Their minds are not elsewhere. They see you, and you know you’re seen. Their minds are neither re-living the past nor mired in the future. As a result, they rarely miss a blessing or an opportunity to bless. In body and mind, they are present.
That’s a growth edge for me. While I, too, can enjoy or be touched by the beauty of the current moment, it takes some effort. Too often, my eyes are locked like a radar on the horizon.
My puppy, Sadie, teaches me everyday. And here’s what I’ve learned: the only reality we know is the present. Life is now. If I’m elsewhere, I’m missing out on real life.
Only the here and now is real, only this moment. The meaning of what happened before and what the future promises or threatens is given always in the present. For my life to be filled with meaning, I have to tune my eyes and ears so that I’m alive to the current moment.
I love to run because running re-connects me with the present. No matter how much the future may furrow my brow, running requires that I set worries aside to respond to the concrete challenges actually before me: changes in the terrain, the weather, my cadence, my energy level, my thirst, my struggle to breathe. Running demands attention to the present, to what’s real.
In that sense, running. like yoga, is a spiritual discipline. When I run, I strive towards the depth that summons me, yet remain rooted in the reality before me. My mind and body are one.
Alert on the trail, I’m alive.
If you liked this, click the💚 below so other people will see this here on Medium.
