Saturday, December 21, 2013

Imposible

It always seems impossible until it's done.

Nelson Mandela

7 miles in -50..... impossible?
I ran seven miles today. It was beyond cold, but I was layered up good like a mummy from a B grade horror movie... Run Tut, run.  Four layers down below and five up above.  Everything fits skin tight and it feels just right. Twenty minutes to dress if I'm organized. No tunes today. It's just too damn cold for tunes. I need to listen to the cold, to listen to my crunching footsteps, my heart, my lungs. I hurry along for the last bit of dressing, anxious to get outside. Funny how motivation increases with each additional layer.  Four below, five above, nine layers of survival.

This run I did today, it wasn't graceful but it was immensely enjoyable and good for my tired spirit. My form was tight. My heart and mind working together in unison, humming along,synchronized, smooth running. It's called cadence and it's beautiful when it happens, but I can't explain.  It's harmony of body and mind. You get it or you don't.  

Crazy, I only saw one other runner and he was galloping... or was it a she?  It's hard to tell when it's 40 below and we're all layered up. We become genderless in the cold, amorphous blobs. No matter. This person ran by and didn't make eye contact, didn't smile or wave or nod or acknowledge me...

as if ...

I did not...

exist.  


There was a chill in the air as this person breezed by. Shame, we could have used the mutual warmth of a smile, however fleeting.  

I reflect on a community function I attended last week. Eighty people, young and old, gathered in a circle listening to the speaker standing precariously on a wobbly chair in the centre. Good natured jeering and teasing permeated the studio but respect was in the air. The speaker commented on how this group had achieved the impossible and the crowd hushed. He acknowledged the many accomplishments of the group and the impact these actions had on the community's children. He gave credit to the volunteers and thanked all for making the impossible -simply- possible. 

In closing he said.. thank you for being impossible and many laughed.  It may have been a nervous miscue.  He might have intended on saying thank you for accomplishing the impossible.  But the miscue resonated loudly.

I like the concept of living life impossible. Being impossible.  Like the Mandela quote ... it's impossible until it's done. Living the impossible every day.  We do that.  Every day we live the impossible and we survive and we become stronger.

This run I did today, in nine layers of survival, is impossible.  I ran impossible, and I survived. I am stronger for it. Today, I conquered impossible. 

But I ramble.

It's a good day to be alive, even if it appears impossible.

Mike

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