runningwithfaith

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Wow! November. Thanksgiving. We are here again. It’s become my  tradition, since last year, to focus  during the week of thanksgiving on making mention and giving thanks for the many blessings that running has been to and given me. Not that I’m not thankful everyday, I really do try to  embrace thankfulness and wear as a bit of a second skin – if you will – but it behooves us to take advantage of the holiday to get in-touch with our inner self and really reflect on how we and our lives are better because of  this gift called running.

One of the easiest ways to tap in to the idea of being thankful is to take a look at how far you’ve come in one year. I’d be first up to tell you it hasn’t always gone the way I foresaw, nor have I always gotten what I wanted or worked hard for, which brings to mind my goals for this year; there are still some on there unaccounted for. Should I then consider myself a failure, put it all behind me as a lost cause, see it all as a waste? Most adamantly not. For each time I slipped up or missed the mark there were lessons learnt and many other successes gained. I’ve always maintained that living a healthy and happy life depends on choice and perspective. You can always choose to take the positive out of a situation or circumstance. The alternative is often not pretty.

Running has been a game changer of sorts for me. It has given me focus and direction and allowed me to be a force for good. As a result, I am physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually stronger. I have formed some deep and lasting connections and friendships and travelled a bit in my pursuit of various running adventures. But maybe most important is my discovery of running as a platform for causes I care deeply about. Through running I can support and advocate the issues that inform and bring meaning and purpose to my ideas, words and actions. Through running, I, simple, very not rich nor famous me, can touch and transform lives.  There is great power and purpose in that knowledge, which I do not take lightly.

Additionally, none of us have very far to look to in order to be able to give thanks today, if we’ve made it this far into the year healthy, strong and running, then that should be enough of a reason to be thankful.  In case you’re lacking in any one of those areas then there’s always having a job, having the opportunity to be passionate about something that matters, being a blessing, having family and friends to share  thanksgiving with, having a thanksgiving meal – period, beautiful Fall, sunshine and nice weather, having a roof over our heads and warm clothes, being safe and protected ( we can certainly identify after the Paris attacks & subsequent threats to the US) and a host of others. There is no lack of things each and every day to live in thankfulness of. We are all on this wonderful earth making the most of our time here, while some of us may choose to do so one step at a time, all of us should be thankful for the opportunity each moment presents to leave this world a better place than we met it. That is thankfulness in action.