To improve my ability to live in the moment, I'm taking the advice of friends. While many of my friends swear by yoga, meditation tapes and classes, (which I hereby vow to try) my pal Liz has no patience for such sedentary pursuits.
"Meditation is too still," she says, "running is where it's at!"
After all my frustrating attempts at meditation I've been feeling a little antsy, so this morning, inspired by Liz, I took a short run. Actually, it was a very short run - about a mile and a half. (I measured it at this very cool website called gmap-pedometer.com.) And it wasn't very fast either. But for the purposes of mindfulness, my little run was a big success. Because I made a discovery.
Nothing keeps you living in the moment like PAIN!
As I lurched around the playfields with burning lungs and rubbery legs, I felt completely connected to The Now. There was no worry about the future, no guilt about the past, no incessant to-do list rattling around in my brain. Just me and my ragged breathing making our way through the chilly mist of an almost Spring day.
I'm not really recommending pain as an ongoing meditation practice, but I think Liz has something here with the running. Tomorrow, I'm trying yoga!
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