Mark White is campaigning for the Grateful Mile. I spoke to him about how it’s not a run club, but your mental health might thank *you* for joining it.
Thanks for this thoughtful post. I had a serious health scare that turned out to be a mistake and false alarm, but for the days when I thought it was legit, I saw and felt everything differently, with more awareness and gratitude, especially as I ran. I'm trying to hold onto that perspective. Your story also reminded me of an old Jon Kabat-Zinn staying from his classic book "Full Catastrophe Living," about mindfulness-based stress reduction; he said: "You have only moments to live." I always think about the double entendre of that saying. What if we only had moments to live; i.e. something catastrophic was coming—wouldn't we want to make the most of the time left? And, in fact, we do only have moments to live—every minute is a moment to be more fully present. Anyway, thanks for sparking all those thoughts with your newsletter today.
For me, moving 5000 miles away from family and friends led to a realization that each time could be the last time I saw them. That kind of moment makes one reassess. I hope you're well!
" ... running, meditation, and gratitude are all important things to have in one’s toolkit." YES! And, combined, build a strong foundation of resilience. When you're self-aware, comfortable with transience, and grateful for whatever the moment might be teaching you, there's little that can take you down. And for the literal bad guys that might try, well, that's where the running comes in.
Thanks for this thoughtful post. I had a serious health scare that turned out to be a mistake and false alarm, but for the days when I thought it was legit, I saw and felt everything differently, with more awareness and gratitude, especially as I ran. I'm trying to hold onto that perspective. Your story also reminded me of an old Jon Kabat-Zinn staying from his classic book "Full Catastrophe Living," about mindfulness-based stress reduction; he said: "You have only moments to live." I always think about the double entendre of that saying. What if we only had moments to live; i.e. something catastrophic was coming—wouldn't we want to make the most of the time left? And, in fact, we do only have moments to live—every minute is a moment to be more fully present. Anyway, thanks for sparking all those thoughts with your newsletter today.
For me, moving 5000 miles away from family and friends led to a realization that each time could be the last time I saw them. That kind of moment makes one reassess. I hope you're well!
" ... running, meditation, and gratitude are all important things to have in one’s toolkit." YES! And, combined, build a strong foundation of resilience. When you're self-aware, comfortable with transience, and grateful for whatever the moment might be teaching you, there's little that can take you down. And for the literal bad guys that might try, well, that's where the running comes in.
I thought this one might register with you, Mike. You discuss similar themes!
This is good. Internal satisfaction > external
A little bit of external is nice, though. Every so often, as a treat.
Moderation ;)