Author Haruki Murakami is, like me, an avid if not a fast runner.
Surly Trail Half Marathon
“Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest.
If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive then in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that.
Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life — and for me, for writing as a whole. I believe many runners would agree”
Haruki Murakami
Running is a passion I developed in the past decade, and realized, like Haruki, it is a metaphor for life.
When I don't run, I can tell the difference in my mood and thinking. Much like when we aren't living out our Ikigai, we are not ourselves.
Stresses build, and frustrations increase. Running releases that for me. My wife will sometimes say, "You need to go run."
And she is always right.
🌀Do you have a release?
🌱 Is it connected to your ikigai, or is it a part of the real you expressed another way?
🌱 If you don't have one, I'd recommend using your Ikigai reflection to find one.
🌱 It might even be running.
The WHY with running for me has shifting drastically for me over the years, which isn’t surprising...as we go through seasons in life. I’m rediscovering what running means to me and I honestly don’t know where it will lead me. It’s exciting 😁