A Dry Season
Working through difficult times.
Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash
As I finished the run, something finally felt different.
Running is my release, art, and chance to connect with life.
Returning from a run, my stress is gone, my head cleared, and my creative energies renewed.
That stopped happening a while back.
It is tough to pinpoint when it started exactly, but I noticed I felt no different after a run one day. I had been under stress and dealing with frustration.
After completing the run, I felt the same as when I had laced up my shoes and headed out the door.
Hmmm.
The next day the same thing.
And the next.
And the next.
I did what I always do when I hit a dry season. I changed things up.
Started running different routes, changing the distance, varying the speed.
No change.
Then I did what I’ve only come to do in recent years when changes don’t work.
I decided to embrace or accept it as a season and then continue running.
Keep Going
The summer, my favorite season to run, passed, and still no change.
Each day I embraced running with no attachment to an outcome and, in the process, grew stronger. I accepted the run for what it was, a run.
Something was different
photo by David Marlow
The leaves started turning a few weeks ago. The season was changing.
The air was still summer warm as I ran.
While my post-run routine of toweling off and hanging my shirt out to dry was unchanged, something felt different.
My head was clear, my stress gone, and my creative energy restored.
Suddenly I realized the old season was gone.
It was a new season, and I was different from having experienced it.
