What does this mean?

The video ends with the question what does this mean? Now, not wanting to get all philosophical and existential, I'll cut to the chase.

I don't know what it means, but I have an opinion.

I suppose it means different things to different folks. The business person, the artist, the twenty-something corporate climber, the politician, the teenager, the old man across the street enjoying the warmth of the noon-day sun, the middle aged teacher; it depends entirely on our state of mind, our spirit, and our health. No one person has the right to define the meaning of this film, but we should all take note.

For me it is about change; change and choice. Change is inevitable and has a life force of its own. Change is ramping up at a frantic pace and is rewriting the face of the planet many times over. The world I lived in was quaint in comparison to the complex beast of a world we have today. We can choose to deal with change or not.

What's this got to do with running?

Everything and nothing (sorry, I told you I wasn't going to get all existential and then I slip into my Harvard robes, sheesh man, sorry). Because change is all encompassing and has such a incredible potential for damaging people and families, and communities we need to be of strong mind, body and spirit. The pace of change and the need to adapt grows exponentially with the passing of time. We need to be grounded, imaginative, healthy, and know how to connect the dots to deal with life as we know it today.

I suggest that runners are well equipped to deal with the change of daily life simply because of what we choose to do. We set reasonable yet challenging goals, we work like hell to achieve these goals, we build physical and mental toughness, we acknowledge that good health is a fleeting gift that can be snuffed out in a moment, we support one another, we get up when we fall down, and we know when it's ok to stay down for a while, we know the difference between the journey and the destination, we believe in ourselves, we have swallowed incredible pain, we have experienced the sweetness of crossing the line and the bitterness of failure, we understand the cathartic intensity of tears and, not least, we understand that winners come in all sizes and shapes.

What does it mean? It means life is change. Deal with it. It's your choice.

It's a good day to be alive. Hope you are in a time and place where you can get out and enjoy it.

Mike