Running
Running Sept 4 2007
Before I jump into the shower I need to try to explain a few thoughts that plagued me during my morning run in the rain. The first is your oneness, thoughts, your Dupreeness, or Lindaness in this case (as in "You me and Dupree"). I remember thinking a lot about this as I cycled-toured around the South Island of New Zealand. I had left for New Zealand running from a few things. I knew that and had accepted this running for what it was. But I mostly had wanted to run from myself; and run from my thoughts. However, that did not happen. Instead, I went to a place where I needed to live in my own thoughts more than ever; having not planned anything and only bringing my bike, a tent, and a sleeping bag (oh, and my visa card). It was kindof a cool opportunity to get to know myself; to observe my reactions and to try to learn how to live in my head. Not an easy thing to do, and believe me I spent quite a while try to counter that before accepting it. That's a lie. I still try to get out of my head all the time.
The last few days in China have been scary and fun. But as I explore, meet new people, start a new job and learn a new language, there is one constant. Me. I still have the same thoughts as I ever did. I still have the same desires and values. I still wake up in the morning and go for a run or practice yoga with an intense inability to focus on it in the moment and do an entire Asana practice without stopping for some reason. I still constantly want to improve at whatever I am currently obsessing about. I still live with the memories that I will take with me everywhere I go (my current favorite is when Hana and I pretended we were from the Bronx at a bar on Maui to try to get the DJ to play some hip hop). So really, yes I am here and in a new country doing all these new things, but to me nothing has really changed. I am still living in my thoughts, struggling with learning what I am here to learn in this life, and all the while trying to help others in some way.
The other thing I thought of quite a lot during my run was running. That is, the physical act of running, and how lucky I am to be able to do it. I remember thinking about this quite often as I would head out for runs in Victoria. Down in the harbor, right next to the 'needle exchange.' I would leave my house with a new lease on life...it was a new day. I would begin to run up the hill, passing beggers, drunks, prostitutes, and the unwanted. They were all hurting and starving, and here I was living in such luxury that I have to run for an hour every morning so I don't get fat because I have so much access to so much food and time to relax. Today while I was out running in the pouring rain through an old Chinese park, my thoughts were similar. Where my school is there are quite a few factories. Pfizer is one of them...don't they make viagara? I digress. There are six lanes on the street in front of my house. 4 for cars and one on each side for bicycles. Thousands of people rode by me today on their way to work. Today they will make around $5CN. More than likely they will not have had any breakfast, and they likely didn't have a shower with clean water this morning. And here I am running around trying to burn off calories because I have too much. (that's not the only reason why I run, but it has become a lifestyle thing for me as much as a spiritual practice). There is obviously a global problem here. But what do I do about it? What can I, as a well educated, aware, Canadian woman, do to bridge this massive chasm between the world's wealthy and the world's poor, while at the same time not being a socialist goofball?
Well, I don't have an answer yet. Maybe I will need a few more hours on the pavement for that one...or more likely a few more lifetimes. But until then I guess all I can do is be thankful for my healthy knees, legs, body and soul and trust that the factory workers that pass me in the morning here, and the bums who I pass in the morning in Victoria also have things to be thankful for.
Before I jump into the shower I need to try to explain a few thoughts that plagued me during my morning run in the rain. The first is your oneness, thoughts, your Dupreeness, or Lindaness in this case (as in "You me and Dupree"). I remember thinking a lot about this as I cycled-toured around the South Island of New Zealand. I had left for New Zealand running from a few things. I knew that and had accepted this running for what it was. But I mostly had wanted to run from myself; and run from my thoughts. However, that did not happen. Instead, I went to a place where I needed to live in my own thoughts more than ever; having not planned anything and only bringing my bike, a tent, and a sleeping bag (oh, and my visa card). It was kindof a cool opportunity to get to know myself; to observe my reactions and to try to learn how to live in my head. Not an easy thing to do, and believe me I spent quite a while try to counter that before accepting it. That's a lie. I still try to get out of my head all the time.
The last few days in China have been scary and fun. But as I explore, meet new people, start a new job and learn a new language, there is one constant. Me. I still have the same thoughts as I ever did. I still have the same desires and values. I still wake up in the morning and go for a run or practice yoga with an intense inability to focus on it in the moment and do an entire Asana practice without stopping for some reason. I still constantly want to improve at whatever I am currently obsessing about. I still live with the memories that I will take with me everywhere I go (my current favorite is when Hana and I pretended we were from the Bronx at a bar on Maui to try to get the DJ to play some hip hop). So really, yes I am here and in a new country doing all these new things, but to me nothing has really changed. I am still living in my thoughts, struggling with learning what I am here to learn in this life, and all the while trying to help others in some way.
The other thing I thought of quite a lot during my run was running. That is, the physical act of running, and how lucky I am to be able to do it. I remember thinking about this quite often as I would head out for runs in Victoria. Down in the harbor, right next to the 'needle exchange.' I would leave my house with a new lease on life...it was a new day. I would begin to run up the hill, passing beggers, drunks, prostitutes, and the unwanted. They were all hurting and starving, and here I was living in such luxury that I have to run for an hour every morning so I don't get fat because I have so much access to so much food and time to relax. Today while I was out running in the pouring rain through an old Chinese park, my thoughts were similar. Where my school is there are quite a few factories. Pfizer is one of them...don't they make viagara? I digress. There are six lanes on the street in front of my house. 4 for cars and one on each side for bicycles. Thousands of people rode by me today on their way to work. Today they will make around $5CN. More than likely they will not have had any breakfast, and they likely didn't have a shower with clean water this morning. And here I am running around trying to burn off calories because I have too much. (that's not the only reason why I run, but it has become a lifestyle thing for me as much as a spiritual practice). There is obviously a global problem here. But what do I do about it? What can I, as a well educated, aware, Canadian woman, do to bridge this massive chasm between the world's wealthy and the world's poor, while at the same time not being a socialist goofball?
Well, I don't have an answer yet. Maybe I will need a few more hours on the pavement for that one...or more likely a few more lifetimes. But until then I guess all I can do is be thankful for my healthy knees, legs, body and soul and trust that the factory workers that pass me in the morning here, and the bums who I pass in the morning in Victoria also have things to be thankful for.
Categories
Musings0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Running.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.lilimcg.com/mt-tb.cgi/5
Leave a comment