Monday’s Prayer: Remind me that all I have is the moment that I’m in and allow me to make the most of it.
Running is as much of a mental exercise for me as it is physical one. I get up at 4:15 a.m., hit the road when I am exhausted, attack hills I could avoid and usually feel my lungs and legs burn. My mind wanders (one of the benefits of running that time of day is that you dodge fewer cars). I think about all the problems in the world. I think about my own problems and ways I can solve them. Sometimes my mind wanders too much. I try to focus on just my breathing to pull it back in. Running is almost like meditation for me. For one hour, it is just me and my breathing. I try to live in the moment. I try to seize the day.
As I am getting older, time seems to be passing faster. I’m trying to learn how to grasp onto it for dear life. My dad and I spoke a few minutes this weekend about aging. He’s now getting to the point physically where he remembers his dad being when he got older. Dad’s still in very good shape — but it is a lesson that is not missed on me. As I get older, I want to make sure I’ve taken good care of myself. I might die tomorrow or I might life to 100. But if I do live to 100, I want to make sure I have some quality of life. I don’t want to be a comatose person sitting in the corner of a nursing home. Hell no. I’ve seen that before and there is a big difference between living and being alive.
I want to live.
So I exercise to live. I eat well to live. I live to, well, live.