Good morning, Purposeful Hearts! Today’s post brings you a simple question: what are you running to?
Before you answer this question, let me paint you a nostalgic picture or two. Remember when you were a kid at the public swimming pool during those hot months of summer vacation? You had found freedom for a while! Perhaps you biked there with your friends or siblings or made new friends once you arrived. It didn’t matter. You were with like-minded, kindred spirits who were also savoring childhood freedom. Except that the savoring part didn’t happen at the leisurely, slow-motion pace we think of as adults. No! Savoring meant getting to the diving board first. And, piercing through your perfect childhood moment as your lanky, growing legs scrambled their way alongside the pool came the megaphone shout, “WALK! DON’T RUN!” Busted.
Or perhaps your parents insisted that you were a member of the clean-plate club, when all you wanted to do was burst through the front door and resume a killer game of capture the flag with the neighborhood kids. Your leg bounced uncontrollably under the table. You chewed fast. Maybe you even stood up. Your pent-up energy was no secret; everyone else at the table knew you’d be GONE as soon as that too-big-for-your-mouth bite was forced to encounter the peristaltic process of your esophagus. Once you were free, you ran with unbridled excitement to achieve neighborhood greatness.
I think of this amazing inner drive every time I watch my youngest daughter work on a craft project. She’s got a vision in her brain and she’s on the move to execute it. From one supply cupboard to the next, from grabbing the junk-drawer scissors to collecting materials from the woods outside, she runs. There’s no hesitation, no second guessing, no thought of sparing physical energy – just the desire to bring her vision to life.
So once again I ask you, when was the last time you ran to something? And no, your obligatory workout routine does NOT count. Do you run to your work each day to bring it your best self? Do you run to your responsibilities and complete them with passion? Do you run to your family members to remind them that they’re worth your unrestrained joy? Do you run to spend time with God?
Somewhere between childhood joy and “adulting” pressures, our running reflex seems to fade. Why? Whatever your personal reasons are for the lack of passionate running in your life right now, what would it take to get back there? What would it take to build your life around purposes that make you want to burst through the front door and RUN?
Let’s get back to that kind of joy! I’ll race you!
Comments