A Case for Running: Reconnect

Everytime I think I've thought of the last reason to become a runner, something new strikes me, usually while I'm running.  So here is reason #8:  Reconnecting.

Many of the people who read this blog carry on very busy and hectic lives.  Whether it's kids, jobs, other obligations, we're all busy, all the time.  Life becomes a little like working in a factory where our heads are forever turned down, paying attention only to the work in front of us.  There is, indeed, a world outside that factory, but we only get to see it on our tired way home, and then we're only seeing it, not processing it or realizing what exactly there is to behold.  But when I run, I get to reconnect.  And what is there to reconnect to?  Everything that I have ignored, whether I meant to or not. 

So I run and reconnect with nature.  It's funny how much I've come to love the outdoors since starting my running journey.  I've even started to learn what types of trees are lining my running routes.  I appreciate being away from traffic and shopping centers and feeling closer to a way of life that my ancestors had.  With each breath, I feel more infected with all of this fresh air and the natural way of things.  Focusing on the majesty of it all is usually the point in my run when that special kind of euphoria hits me and I run down the road smiling like a goon. 

I think a lot during my runs, and this is when I reconnect with myself.  I "talk" to myself about almost everything that consumes my life but that I can never really process while I'm in the throws of everything.  How to deal with Rachel's 4 year-old defiance.....how to find more time to read books with the boys.....how to help Dani learn all the things her sister was learning at this age.....how to find more time for my husband.....how to better reach my own personal goals.....and so on.  Running clears my head and I seem to always return with new ideas about how to take care of the people in my life, including myself. 

With all of this fresh air and new ideas, I always find myself thinking about my Savior and my Heavenly Father.  I wholly admit that I don't do so well with scripture study or personal prayer all the time.  I try my darndest to hold FHE each Monday and hold family prayer each night, but sometimes, even that falls through.  I feel rather guilty for it all because I feel that the more I let all of these temporal concerns and hinderances into my life, the less time there is for anything spiritual.  But then I go running.  So many answers have come to me while I struggle to make it to the top of the next hill.  So many feelings of my Savior's love for me hit me squarely in the chest while run past house after house into the great wide open spaces, surely meant for man's inspiration.  There are so many other times when I feel close to God, but running is definitely in the top 5.  I reconnect to Him and further devote myself to higher goals.  How running does this for me, I don't really know, but it does.

So if you're looking into becoming a runner, here is my 8th reason: Reconnecting.  What you end up reconnecting to, well that's up to you I suppose.  But I always feel like I've got a better hold on life after a good run and I'm sure you do too.