This has been a longggg winter… but.. the Sun is always shining.
Sometimes (and I can say from experience) we forget that the Sun is still shining upon us even when it feels very cold and dark. Some days I just want to huddle under my covers and hibernate or just hide from the world in my own safe space, I swear I was a bear in my past life..lol.
It’s Hard before it’s Easy
So I always seem to have my best epiphanies when I am running (meditating). But there is something powerful when you exert your body to do things you thought once unimaginable, and crossing that finishing line is such a rush! So, yet again, I find myself training for a Half Marathon, which every time I vow I won’t do another but something keeps pulling me back into training. Maybe it’s the voices inside my head while I have to push myself to get up, get out, and run or maybe it the feeling of completing of something that seems almost impossible, not just physically but emotionally (let’s not forget I am a mom of 2 small kids, so escaping to train is not very motivating most days).
What I learn while I run?
Before I even get my sneakers on, I have to pump myself up to get inspired to move in the first place... Can you relate? I have to admit; knowing a race is around the corner is pure motivation in itself. So, if you need the inspiration, I encourage you to sign up for SOMETHING just to get yourself out there, it challenges you to try something new and find a deeper truth within, something you never thought capable.
Ok, so I finally get motivated to get out on the pavement but it seems like each step the first mile is pure torture, I am secretly justifying that I don’t need to be doing this, I make every excuse up in the book to stop because it hurts, or I’m bored, or there’s a million other things I’d rather be doing. (hmm..Maybe this is why I never liked doing the mile in highschool, too many negative thoughts would flood my mind.) But there is something beyond that first mile that is Awakening. Your body starts to know what to do, it’s created that muscle memory to just flow, you feel the wind and sun on your face and your heart pumping reminding you that you are ALIVE! I realize in this moment that I am meditating!
Yes, Running is Meditating!
Meditating is very much the same way, the first time you start its HARD, really really HARD. Your mind doesn't shut up and makes all these excuses. It just can't seem to turn off. That’s why most people stop before they even really get started.
Running is working meditation!
You listen to your thoughts, you feel your body, you are in tune with your practice of moving, you then find this sense of peace and FLOW. And it's in this state when thoughts shift and your heart opens in ways you never expected.
I’ll never forget hitting mile 8 and looking down at my arms and legs, I was looking at them as though I was outside of my body. I could sense them moving but I couldn’t feel them in the spiritual sense anymore, I could see them and knew I was mechanically moving but my adrenaline took over and I felt like I was flying…which in that moment I experienced what they call “Runners High”.
What I noticed is this is the same feeling as many other challenges I’ve had in the past...
I have felt this euphoria after meditation, yoga, public speaking, child birth, and countless others…
Remember that things will be challenging and hard before they get easy. The sun is always shining down upon you even when it feels like you are in those dark dreary moments of life. But, this means it is the perfect time to find something to challenge you. And if you stop, well, it’s like you are starting all over again… but I promise each time gets easier and easier, just like riding your bike… and then you have the honor to experience the reason why you started in the first place.
So my wish for you this Spring & Summer is to challenge yourself to try something different and new or something you haven’t done in a long time and want to hit the restart button. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Yea, it might not be so fun for the first few times but over time I can assure you, you will have many awakenings unfold for you too… the Sun is always shining.