I ran down the road in the dark at 6.45am on Friday morning and soon saw the figure of my friend Fi emerging from the blackness towards me. We set off to the seafront and talked our way along to the end and back again while it slowly got light, no dramatic sunrises to herald our return to running together, just a watery winter light emerging as we ran. And that was the beauty. The return to running together was as if there hadn’t been a gap in the rhythm of our last step or the last conversation we had; we picked up where we left off, as if we had run together just the other day, rather than the weeks that have passed whilst I have been rowing and Fi has kept running!
The winter seems to have happened without me noticing, this is what comes of working indoors and training in a gym instead of being in touch with the changing seasons and experiencing the element, and I have become an indoor person!
It is interesting to me the different archetypes within us. The part of me that likes being warm and dry at all times, and comfortable, is rising to the fore, and I have an understanding of how we have adapted to heating and light and warmth with the flick of a switch.
But then on Friday I emerged from my flat into the blackness and the rain and the part of me that is happiest wild and free out in the elements rose up and I felt like this was the only place to be, outside, in touch with nature and the true rhythm that is dictated by the movements of the planets and by a pace that we cannot control The light will come in its own time, the warmth will return in the fullness of the completing of the circling.
Not being able to control things is epitomized by nature’s power and it reminds me that the only safety we can find is deep within us, that we cannot be certain of anything in practical or material terms or of what will happen next.
If we work to find a trust within us and of the divine then we will feel safe at all times and there will grow wisdom within the uncertainty and a safety within the lack of control of anything other than our own responses to what is occurring.
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I know what you mean Julia. Rapidly approaching my 80th birthday (next May) I very much appreciate the comforts of being warm and dry. Even as I write, my thermostat is turned to ‘high’.
On the other hand, it’s still a great feeling to lace up my shoes, get out the door and run those wild and lonely places, climbing the hills, viewing the views, braving the elements and feeling perfectly in tune with the big wide world. As I said in my latest blog post, I dread the day when I can no longer run.
It is wonderful to run and run and do what we were bron to o all our lives isn’t it!? What day in May is your birthday Gordon? My birthday is 12th May!
Hi Julie, my birthday is 6th May and, God willing, I’ll be celebrating with my wonderful partner on the beautiful island of La Palma, getting high and, of course, running.
Thanks again for your inspirational posts.
That sounds a perfect way to celebrate Gordon! Love having a May birthday – which is just as well…!