As I was walking laps in my house, trying my best to make up for today’s lack of steps, it got me thinking about movement. Movement has been a crucial part of my life for many, many years. I started running my freshman year of college when my boyfriend dragged me on a run and my out-of-shape butt wanted to impress him. It was painful and slightly humiliating, but it hooked me. I fell in love with the feel of the movement, the power of my legs, the rhythmic sound of my feet each time they met the pavement, the entrancing pattern of my breathing. Over time, running became a part of my identity. I am a runner. My family knows my running shoes travel with us on vacation, they know the weekends always require time for a long run, they recognize that my personality changes if my run is missed or I’m down for the count with an injury.
My movement doesn’t always consist of running. I clearly can’t run 24/7, but I do move most of the time. When I think about the amount of time I’m either physically or mentally moving, it can be overwhelming. There are times I don’t stop until my body and brain finally give out and succumb to sleep. Whether it’s running to appointments or the grocery store, walking to meet my son when he gets out of school, pacing during a conference call, or even hopping up and down to fetch things I forget to bring with me when I move from room to room…I’m moving. Take out the physical and stop to think about how often my brain is active. It never stops. Even when I tell it to! If it’s not focused on one thing, it’s on twenty other things. If it’s not writing a story, it’s envisioning the story, fleshing out scenes like movies playing in my head.
I know I’m not the only one who can’t seem to turn it all off, to wind down for a few moments of peace. I can’t be, our world moves too fast for that to be the case. My repetitive laps tonight have me thinking that maybe it’s time to force some Zen time, a bit of mediation to stop the movement even if only for a few minutes. Would it truly disrupt my day? Would it be cumbersome to give up those few moments? Would my world come crashing down? Perhaps, but I doubt it. In fact, it might even help me slow down, stop more often, and enjoy the small moments that fly by me as my body and mind are moving quickly from one agenda item to another.
This week I’m going to challenge myself to find that time to slow down and stop moving. Will you join me?
Until next time…
