It started as running away from life, and now I'm running towards life.
In the beginning, I started jogging to run away from my problems. I was going through a very stressful time in my life, anger was eating at me, and I found that I had excess physical energy that I needed to burn. One day, last spring, I was pulling weeds from my backyard flowerbeds when I heard a lot of people in the park, which is behind my house. It suddenly hit me that there was a track right beside the park, which I had never used before. I quickly changed into yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt, filled a water bottle with ice and water, and threw my ID into a backpack, before heading through my backyard towards the track. For almost an hour, I jogged around that track. My mind became energized, as my body ran closer and closer to exhaustion.
When I returned home, my body ached, my mind was content, and I knew at that moment that it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between me and the ground beneath my feet.
Now, over a year later, I’m still running almost every day. My body has shrunk from a size 8 to a healthy size 2. I am able to play sports with my son and not feel close to dying. My problems all seem to work themselves out when I run. For an hour a day, I spend quiet time alone with my own thoughts, to reflect, recharge, and remember that life is what it is. There is peace within me now and I use running as a kind of meditation, when I put headphones in my ears and block out the world. It is my time and I protect it.
Because of running, I’m happy, healthy, and I’m a better person (inside and out). I no longer feel the need to run away from my problems or difficult situations that may occur. My confidence has returned when facing life's little issues. My family and friends have seen obvious changes in me and they are happy for me. My appreciation for life has returned and it shows every time I smile.
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