VARIATIONS

I have been wondering as of late where all this will lead. The intensity of my runs are heightening and the state of our nation and world seem to be on a rabid, fluctuating , and out of control joyride. I control each stride as my legs propel me, and I can literally feel them strengthening at times as I push the limits of my mind and body to reach the next level. Change and progress are not always sought after but occur nonetheless. Seeking them however allows us to be involved in the process that we solely answer for. So where will my legs take me in these runs, now that the training can be amped back up after my first marathon last month. Where does one set the bar? We have done something for ourselves and for the generations to come, something people said would never happen in their lifetime. The dust settles after my feet disturb the ground below me on my nightly journeys up the north shore, rearranged only to settle elsewhere. So I say to myself and to all of the people who actively participated in the election process and also to those on the sidelines that are beginning to realize they too must partake 'WE must take back what has been eroded over the decades and participate in our democracy'. Give this a chance, the dirt will settle, and then begin to shape it.

There are as many reasons for running as there are for any other activity in life. Great runners and elders of my sport knew that each stride was a straw in the hut, a block in the pyramid and an antidote for their mind. Variations, in respect to class and culture, will be as diverse as the thoughts meandering from my brain as I glide along the roadways and trails, but will all arrive at a common yearning to better ourselves and leave the next generations with the comfort of breaking the cycles, both personal and political, that have crippled this world for my lifetime and then some. It is really quite simple, either participate and change what you do not like about yourself and our world or do nothing and blame yourself, not your government or your brethren, when it all comes crashing down. I blamed myself as I was dry heaving at mile 24 of the Portland Marathon for not being fully prepared for my undertaking, no pun intended, but I finished and learned from it. With all the vast experience of all the people in this country and abroad it behooves me think we can not obtain societies that work for the vast majorities of people. Variations offer multitudes of ways to the end, and the means are as diverse as the clouds that grace the sky at sunset over my head, and as my nightly runs define my being, I will relish and never languish in knowing we can all change and make a change.