While reading Zen and the Art of Running, the author asks the reader to be very mindful and answer one question; "why do you run?" This question has been posed to me many times before, although, at those times, I was not as serious about running as I am now. Why am I a serious runner? Why do I even use the word serious do define my running? This post is most likely going to be edited numerous times...maybe edited until the day I die as my philosophy on life and running evolves.
Of course I enjoy running, it keeps me in shape, I look and feel better etc, but more importantly, running and exercise help balance my life. When I first started working retail at EMS, I quickly realized that the "working world" was not for me. I find it absurd for a society that calls itself advanced, civilized and intellectual to have inhabitants that spend the vast majority of their waking life working hard to just barely make ends meet. The U.S. is recognized as one of the most disconnected and unhappy cultures in the world by numerous scales of measurement. Yet we still have a phobia of government and refuse to implement a robust social safety net for fear that it will mimic socialism and communism. I cant even begin to count how many times socialism was used as a fear inducing propaganda word to poison Obama's potential election, and the mere fact that it was used in an attempt to induce fear in the American populace illustrates that politicians recognize just how ignorant American's tend to be. Instead of socialism, currently, the big fear is U.S. debt. Democracy only works when the populace is informed! Of course, you will only hear my complaint if you feel that improving the overall quality of life should be our primary goal as human beings. If this is not your opinion, what is it, and do you vote with compassion in mind?
I see exhaustion, fear, depression, anger and a loss of spirituality in the faces of many customers at my job. It is not because these people were born this way, their minds and spirits have been broken by the everyday grind of a poor economy, no job security, failed marriages, lack of exercise, extremely poor diet etc. So far, I have been extremely fortunate in life but I recognized that I had started to take on the characteristics of these 30-55 year old workhorses due to my own job.
Once I recognized this, I refused to accept life as it is known to most American's as the way that it has to be. As humans, we are gifted with one of the most complex structures in the universe, our minds. With this tool, we can imagine and implement a better way of existence! Many of my co-workers look at me like I'm crazy when I bring topics like these up. They have already accepted their "fate" and believe that humans are inherently evil and self-serving, hence our current state of affairs. I reject this too! Yes, we can be extremely selfish, but we can also be extremely compassionate. As a matter of fact, we are neurologically wired for compassion and love. We have no choice but to feel the pain or joy of other people...it is part of our human condition.
When negativity surrounds me, I try to remember one thing, as a species, we have not been on this planet long. Our existence is but a splinter in the forest of time. We are going to screw things up along the way but, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Is it not possible then to bend this arc as much as possible in our own lives? To live more freely, more compassionately? This is why I run.
Each and every morning I get up to greet the morning with an energetic "Good morning!" I throw on my running gear and make the conscious choice to be the artist of my day and start it off with physical and mental exercise. It regulates my diet and helps regulate my mood. Running gives me the choice to remain dedicated to my life and its health and to embody a fraction of the change that I want to see in this world. I don't rely on politicians, scientists, artists etc to improve the quality of life, I rely on myself. If I can dedicate myself to compassion, physical and mental health and other people, than I have succeeded in becoming an example of what is possible! Running every day is not just healthy, it is symbolic of my dedication to improving the quality of life of myself and the world around me.
Of course I enjoy running, it keeps me in shape, I look and feel better etc, but more importantly, running and exercise help balance my life. When I first started working retail at EMS, I quickly realized that the "working world" was not for me. I find it absurd for a society that calls itself advanced, civilized and intellectual to have inhabitants that spend the vast majority of their waking life working hard to just barely make ends meet. The U.S. is recognized as one of the most disconnected and unhappy cultures in the world by numerous scales of measurement. Yet we still have a phobia of government and refuse to implement a robust social safety net for fear that it will mimic socialism and communism. I cant even begin to count how many times socialism was used as a fear inducing propaganda word to poison Obama's potential election, and the mere fact that it was used in an attempt to induce fear in the American populace illustrates that politicians recognize just how ignorant American's tend to be. Instead of socialism, currently, the big fear is U.S. debt. Democracy only works when the populace is informed! Of course, you will only hear my complaint if you feel that improving the overall quality of life should be our primary goal as human beings. If this is not your opinion, what is it, and do you vote with compassion in mind?
I see exhaustion, fear, depression, anger and a loss of spirituality in the faces of many customers at my job. It is not because these people were born this way, their minds and spirits have been broken by the everyday grind of a poor economy, no job security, failed marriages, lack of exercise, extremely poor diet etc. So far, I have been extremely fortunate in life but I recognized that I had started to take on the characteristics of these 30-55 year old workhorses due to my own job.
Once I recognized this, I refused to accept life as it is known to most American's as the way that it has to be. As humans, we are gifted with one of the most complex structures in the universe, our minds. With this tool, we can imagine and implement a better way of existence! Many of my co-workers look at me like I'm crazy when I bring topics like these up. They have already accepted their "fate" and believe that humans are inherently evil and self-serving, hence our current state of affairs. I reject this too! Yes, we can be extremely selfish, but we can also be extremely compassionate. As a matter of fact, we are neurologically wired for compassion and love. We have no choice but to feel the pain or joy of other people...it is part of our human condition.
When negativity surrounds me, I try to remember one thing, as a species, we have not been on this planet long. Our existence is but a splinter in the forest of time. We are going to screw things up along the way but, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Is it not possible then to bend this arc as much as possible in our own lives? To live more freely, more compassionately? This is why I run.
Each and every morning I get up to greet the morning with an energetic "Good morning!" I throw on my running gear and make the conscious choice to be the artist of my day and start it off with physical and mental exercise. It regulates my diet and helps regulate my mood. Running gives me the choice to remain dedicated to my life and its health and to embody a fraction of the change that I want to see in this world. I don't rely on politicians, scientists, artists etc to improve the quality of life, I rely on myself. If I can dedicate myself to compassion, physical and mental health and other people, than I have succeeded in becoming an example of what is possible! Running every day is not just healthy, it is symbolic of my dedication to improving the quality of life of myself and the world around me.
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