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.

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.