Monday, May 19, 2014

The Tao of Distance Running- # 79






Failure is an opportunity
                                             *


~
Our steps may falter...yet our stride
remains infinite in its
potential.

The world is ours to wander.



Failure is ours to define. We run distance not to reach a certain limit but to reveal the limitless within us. To fail to reach an arbitrary distance - even in a race - is an opportunity of awareness and the potential to expose a thought process that may keep us bound to a purely physical world. Running is much more than the performance of the body. It is greater than the mind alone. Running literally delivers us into the realm of spirit. For centuries aboriginal tribes used running as a means of prayer and seeking visions. It is no less so today. Yet visions have been redefined as speed and numbers, qualifying times and others beaten. We can hold onto these visions, as they remain important to many and they provide fuel to get many more out the door. Perhaps though, we should reimagine the primordial runner within each of us, to reawaken the native of the earth and let loose the passion for motion as an expression of the soul. We need to allow our stride to speak again as sacred prayer. And with this, once again, our every step remains a victory. 




Peace,
Eric


*
Portion of the Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell

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