You can make it up as you go...



Some days it's best to read your devotional in the morning, before you start your day...and on other days it's best to read it in the evening, when you can look back on the day and see how it fits...in retrospect.

Today was just such a day...a wonderful day...a beautiful day! Sunny and warm, unlike it has been for most of the past 2 weeks, it was the kind of day that calls for outdoor activity...if you were in Dallas, and didn't spend most of your day outside, I'm a little sad for you, because it was the kind of day that can heal the wintertime soul!

As I write this, it is early evening...the sun has set, and the weather is cooling, without being cold. I have a fire of pinion wood in the fire pit, and am listening to my windchimes sing their beautiful song...in the distance I can hear the ambient sounds of traffic, helicopters and airplanes overhead...and even a distant siren. I never cease to tire of this time sitting on my deck, listening to the sounds of the city around me. I have just finished reading today's Daily Inspiration for Runners, and once again I sense the profound connection between the things that make running special, and the things that make life special...a man named Altshul has done research on the nature of running as a sport, and has coined the phrase "contentless character" to describe running.

Unlike other sports, there are really no rules in running. You simply show up, lace up...and then put one foot in front of the other.
Life has lots of rules...we all know that. Perhaps we need activities with few or no rules, in order to help us manage the stress of all the rules that govern our daily lives. Kevin Nelson says that running is like jazz...you can make it up as you go.

Today, I decided I needed a little adventure...and for me and my running, adventure means that I've stepped off the treadmill and into the outside world! I have a friend who lives about 3 miles from me...and so I laced up my shoes, strapped on my iPod, stepped out the front door...and starting running. I ran up hills and down hills, through neighborhoods and past bus stops...I stopped and waited at intersections when the lights turned red...and I ran to the house of a friend.

Tomorrow I might go back to the gym and run on the treadmill, but then again, I don't know...maybe I won't...and the fun part is that I can make it up as I go.

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