RESOLUTION

How do we rectify our ongoing inadequacies in ourselves and society at large? How much time do we dwell or ponder before we simply overwhelm ourselves and drain the exact energy we are trying to protect and conserve? How far does a runner push themselves before it begins to have an adverse affect on their performance and race times? Sounds a bit like "Who am I and why are we here" doesn't it?

Conflict resolution is a subject dear to me. I often wonder what is the right course of action to take in a given situation. How far to push the envelope or raise the bar and what approach will produce the desired results. When I run I am always thinking about the proper amount of miles or strides or pace to accomplice the desired result from that days workout. When I am confronted with a social issue or a situation with a family member or offspring I am doubly convicted to obtain the right course of action. My upbringing is always in constant battle with what is suitable now. It is a tug of war inside me and it pulls me into darkness and it is hard at times to make a rational decision when I am compelled to take the path of my "Familia".

It is often said there are many paths to the top of the mountain and the path of least resistance is the wiser choice, but I also know there are times when I simply can not and will not take that course. I can run the flats and more easily traversed roads and trails, but I opt for the brutal North Shore runs and volcanic trails that sometimes elevate 700 ft. in the first mile. There is a part of me that will not take the easy road simply because of  sheer brute stubbornness. I also have been reared as a child in a very old school system of conflict resolution that simply relays on force and violence to obtain a goal. It is a cycle I am trying to break in the rearing of my son. I have never hit him and do not, under any circumstances use corporal punishment as a means of discipline and expect the same in anybody I entrust to be his care givers or educators. Breaking destructive cycles in my estimation is the only way we can evolve as a species and garner a better world for our children and beyond. I have broke the cycle of sloth in my running and visits to the gym and am trying to deal with certain situations in life differently than I was taught as a child from my family, either directly or by example.

Many of you will disagree with me on my next series of thoughts here. I have embraced a very counter cultural approach to life, starting in the late 60's, 1968 to be exact, and have basically lived my life with these principles, straying immensely at times, but inherently understanding that this path is mine and the status quo is theirs. "War" in my estimation is the result of total and utter ignorance, complicated by our obsession of having to be better than everyone else. Yes, the hypocritical runner speaks as he guts it out to place as high as he can in the standings whenever I race and settle for nothing less that my best least I beat myself up afterwords for slacking. I am very far from a perfect citizen, and border on what the status quo would define as treasonous. How can we ever teach our children to use peaceful conflict resolutions when we are obsessed as a country and society on being number one? Patriotism and Nationalism are the death of any free thinking society. The glorification of War and our superiority complex as a society clearly sends the wrong message to our youth and it is backed by our government and the corporations that control it. Telling a child not to be violent when we bomb countries for not playing by "OUR" rules is the spiritual equivalent of genocide. It is not possible to advance a peaceful agenda when we use violence to obtain it. Guns permeate our culture and have slowly crept into our school systems and as students are taught to strike another to resolve a conflict, be it by cultural war mentality or the ever present use of Corporal Punishment in our school systems, we lose the ability to foster good will in our children and the cycle of war and violence continues. The 2nd. Amendment will never be addressed or stricken as this country is run by corporations and not the people, and until the day that guns are banned once and for all we will never know peace nor will our children learn to respect the rights of ALL other beliefs and ways of life. Being the worlds' police department comes with a very heavy toll and price to pay. That price being the decay of our most precious resource, that of our children. I live in what is deemed a "Paradise". As beautiful as it may be here, the fact remains that we have a 47% failure rate in males going into the 10th grade. 47% will not go beyond the 9th grade here at out local public school. That is in itself a direct result of a war mentality government and a local public school system that uses Corporal Punishment as conflict resolution on our children. When that same kid comes back to school or the playground or a party or a sporting event or wherever with a gun, you can be rest assured he learned that violence solves his problems from his educators and the government itself. "Paradise" has a very dark side and as these kids filter into society and have kids of their own the cycle starts all over again.

Resolution can only be obtained when we begin to realize that the current system of global dominance and staunch patriotism is not working and is morally reprehensible. We have robbed our youth of too much for far to long and time is running out. As a runner time is of the utmost importance to me so in closing I will say to you, find a destructive cycle in yourself and in this lifetime promise wholeheartedly to break it. When I race and run it is literally one stride at a time in the completion of my journey. Thanx and Be Well.