Running

Found this quote from a story in Hemispheres Magazine (yes that is United Airlines' inflight mag...and it's so good!), and it really resonated with me. I feel much the same way about running, and it has been quite a fun adventure training so far. I am a bit nervous and also very excited to see how much I've changed come October!

Shortly after my mom died, my dad and I went fishing, but I was in a different world. My dad hugged me and simply said, "Son, you have broken wings." I started crying, and he said, "I'll share something with you, and if you follow it, someday you'll have the wings of an eagle. Close your eyes and look inside your heart. What do you find? Well, I was too young to understand, but he said, "I''ll tell you want you find: anger, because you just lost your mom; hate, because people have expressed hatred toward us; jealousy, because we don't have anything of value; self pity. All of those emotions will destroy you." He said, "Look down deeper, where the dreams lie. Find your dream, son. Pursue your dream. It's the pursuit of a dream that heals you." I remember him saying at some point, "I hope you try sports," so I took sports as my passion when my dad died. I tried all different sports. Running--even though I wasn't fast in the beginning--brought me tranquility. It was almost spiritual.

It's important to pursue a dream that heals you. With dreams come desire. With desire comes self motivation. With self motivation comes work. With work comes success. Where do you find your positive desires? Sports? Drama? Music? Art? Dance? Writing? Work with the elderly? Anything that's constructive, jovial. When do you know you've found that positive desire? Something happens in your heart. You feel it. You're able to accept defeat, not failure, but because it's a passion.

-Billy Mills, Olympic gold medal winner (1964 in track)