Running

If you’re a runner, you know how it feels to lace up your FILAs and jog off into the brisk morning, or if you prefer, the calm evening. Running is an exhilarating blend of exercise, thought, and overall satisfaction. It works you out physically, obviously, however it also gives you an opportunity to be alone and think about all the things you’ve been neglecting to ponder, for whatever reason. The cold air flowing around your body relaxes you, and is the best environment for getting things off of your chest and shaking the monkey off of your back.

Those who agree with the above statements, imagine this. Imagine going out for your morning or evening jog like usual, yet, instead of your everyday sleeveless tee, you are instead wearing a fifteen pound iron breastplate. Rather than your training shorts, you find yourself wearing what seems to be, in essence, a giant sewer pipe on each leg. Instead of your headband or visor, you’re wearing the helmet of a gladiator, and on your feet are not the FILAs you’ve grown so fond of, but rather, a pair of eight pound iron shoes with pointed toes. Needless to say, you’re virtually indestructible. If you fall, no harm will come to you. Despite that, it would be an understatement to say that your outfit is less than ideal for running. How far would you get wearing this attire? You would quickly get exhausted, and the air that you breathe would rapidly become the air that you choke. Furthermore, the feeling of the outdoors is eliminated by the fortress you’ve surrounded yourself with. In addition, good luck thinking about all your issues while distracted by your efforts to run effectively. Your running experience has been destroyed.

Let’s relate your running experience to your life experience. So many people live life in the armor, afraid to let their guard down and laugh, as well as be laughed at; love and be loved. Heartbreak is a terrible, miserable thing to go through. It truly tears people apart. But every single person in this world goes through it; it is simply unavoidable. Instead of running expecting to fall, enjoy your running experience for what it is, running. Enjoy life for what it is, your life. Will you chomp the asphalt? Yes. Violently. Yet, when you look back at the end of the race, you may remember the occasional slip-up, but you will remember more so the enjoyment you received from it.