The Tao of Long Distance - #41

The Tao is nowhere to be found.
Yet it nourishes and completes all things. 

                                                                      *

~

We run towards the mysterious. Even with a finish there is no

ending. Our stride offers questions and denies no answers - always

opening further in mind and miles. It's enough to

simply run and meet the mystery in the

spirit of paradox.

At once - every step closes a moment and gives birth to brand new worlds.

• Rely on the unseen. Many things will aid our steps through distance - water, fuel, shoes - yet it's the unseen that carries to our finishing steps. When all else ends there will always and only be the infinite. When we can relinquish one thing at a time - discarding comfort as well as discomfort - we reach the single point of freedom where there is nothing else to give away, nothing left to grasp and nowhere to turn but within. There's nothing left - yet everything is here for our existence and we exist for all things. When we reach this point, when the unseen pulses through the very ground of our being - we run. 

Peace,

Eric



The Tao of Distance Running - # 40

Return is the movement of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.
                                                       *

~
We unfold as a grace of motion from a still, calm pool of being. This is
our true nature. We run - and in a length of miles return again to
the place of our unfolding.
In between there lays a
lifetime.


The path is meant to bring us home.

• We don't fight the path - not of life and not the one we run. To yield is to find strength in the way things are within each present moment. Our strength lays not in fighting an immovable object or racing every hill. We yield outer force to return to the center of our being -where the nature of the self is to flow, abide and flow again. Efficiency over force is power. In this way we endure forever. 

Peace,

Eric

*Portion of the Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Tao of Distance Running - #39

In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creature flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.
                                     *

~
We run in the seasons of our own sense of being. Every mile brings an
ending and just as soon a rebirth into the wholeness of
form and spirit- blending perfect on the run.
There is harmony in our steps and the kiss of
earth beneath them.
The air itself takes pleasure in the
breath of our delight,


Run in the recognition that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

• Perfect. Each moment of every run is perfection. Our thoughts may judge otherwise however. Yet the simple act of recognizing the inherent "rightness" of the moment brings a speciousness of mind that can allow us to simply be within the experience without an attachment to our preferences. We bypass the judgmental mind with awareness of it's presence and good humor at its activities. Even our judgment is perfect within the moment - awareness smiles at this. The world is aligned for our steps and the air is ripe for breath. Simplify. Run, breathe, smile. Beyond this is complications and belongs to the realm of the thinking mind. We are pure. We are awareness. We are beings of motion - running. 

Peace,

Eric

*Portion of the Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell

The Tao of Distance Running - #38

Therefore the Master concerns himself
with the depths and not the surface,
with the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
and lets all illusions go.

                                               *

~
We run with spirit. And in this depth of being we have reached the
limitless stride of our true pursuit-  the absence of
self. In this purity we are grace expressed as
motion and even suffering holds itself
as a gift for understanding.
The world now opens before us and our steps pull in the
singular direction of an inward
journey.


We run - and allow the path itself to tell us where to go.

• Speed, time and distance are all means to plumb the depths of why we run - why we truly run. The reason we run is expressed as uniquely as each individual runner and yet is as common as the ground we run together. There is something silent, still, and peaceful that waits on the other side of thought and feeling. It is our essential self and it is beyond all means used on the path to reach find it - and still it is not separate from the means. It's all things. We're all things. Distance strips us of the illusions of I, me and mine. The path no longer unfolds before us - we unfold as the path. We may still take great pleasure in performance and competition - but we are unattached to the final outcome of all finite games. Running has delivered us to the infinite...and now nothing else will do but run in recognition of it all. 

.

Peace,

Eric

*Portion of the Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell

The Tao of Distance Running - #37

The Tao does nothing,

but leaves nothing undone.

                                              *

~

We give ourselves fully to motion - and this is our

salvation. There is no need to strive for

distance - for we have surrendered

ourselves to a single step and

the promise that it

holds.

Nothing more needs to be done.

Hold this promise - and simply take a step

• Run without effort. This is no contradiction - and doesn't imply that we won't work hard or run fast when it is time to do so. Yet even on the steepest hill and quickest stride we will remain without effort as long as we stay centered in the reason we are running - love. There is a holy communion between are steps and the earth. We breathe air that has touched the heavens. This is a shared experience of body, soul, ground and sky. Trees vibrate in our presence and birds sing for our pleasure. We return the favors with the grace of our stride and smile on our lips. If we are not loving what we are doing - even the work and sweat ad toil - than it simply means we are resisting what the present moment holds. Release, breathe, relax and simply take one more step. There is indeed a promise that will be delivered. 

Peace,

Eric

Portion of the Tao Te Ching translated by Wayne Dyer

The Tao of Long Distance - #36

 Let your workings remain a mystery.
Just show people the results.

                                                 *

~

Distance is the medium of our art. Every step a brushstroke and the

path we run the canvas. We create for no one but ourselves - and

yet the mystery of creation plays as a smile upon our

lips - evident for the world to see.

We run in a world within a world.

• As artist we create the world we wish to live in - as runners we use our bodies as a medium joined with the world. We display our art as speed, or gentle stride. The earth shares its art as hills, and stones, trees and air. And so our art mingles with the earth's - we are co-creators in a grand design. Yet the truth of art must remain a mystery. To defend the nature of our run is to weaken it's resolve to be played out with honesty, purity and passion. Our only role is to create, to run, to let the smile of creation play as a mystery on our lips and keep people guessing as to what we're up too. Mystery inspires - and soon our steps will lead others to their grand design as well. Stay centered in our own steps - and the world responds with peace and grace. 



Peace,

Eric

The Tao of Distance Running - #35

She who is centered in the Tao
can go where she wishes, without danger.
She perceives the universal harmony,
even amid great pain,
because she has found peace in her heart.
                                                                        *

~
Even in motion the stillness of our being is expressed in the
calm stride of our feet against the earth. We may run
with speed - yet our steps are not rushed.
Our final mile is always waiting.
We recognize peace within the chaos of our
surroundings - keeping centered on the
run for our salvation.


Our every step reveals creation.

Peace,

Eric

*Portion of The Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell