Sunday, March 6, 2011

Running - The Sacred Art:Preparing to Practice

Warren Kay's book on running is one of the best. I just finished reading it. An awesome book, so here is one of my favorite quotes from the book.

"This is my sacred space when I run alone, this is my ritual, this is my sanctuary! I find God here, waiting for me, matching my pace. As my breath gets less jagged and my stride settles in to my unique pattern of effort, I find inner stillness cradled in outer motion. Through the stillness I have found a great deal of peace. After of lifetime of panting, I finally caught my breath."

Throughout my life when things were troubling me or I was upset, running has been my prayer time. Getting up early in the morning as the sun is rising, I found God there in the silence as the sun broke the horizon and God's peace enveloped me. When life's problems presented no solutions for me, my run became that sacred place to share my thoughts and anxiety with God. Getting up after hours of setting at my desk for a late afternoon run on a warm summer day, often allowed my mind to drift to solutions that I couldn’t see early while trying so hard to solve the problem at hand. When the demands of others made me exhausted and I felt the emotional tank on empty, those quiet sunset runs provided a source of energy that allowed me to strengthen my hope in others.

So when Dr Kay talks about the run being “sanctuary” I understand. I understand that running is my movement towards God…more then any movement away from the problems of life.

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