Zen in 2010

The temps dropped into the 40's last night, but I was prepared with my new cold-weather tights and lots of layers, determined to start a new year/new work week back from holiday break with a run. I'm not a cold-weather gal. I left the north in large part due to the winters, which exacerbated my depressive and isolative tendencies. My need for sunshine and the great outdoors to help ground and revitalize me flowed into my running, which began after I was already here in So Flo.

So I may be the most overdressed runner around, but I was also the only one I saw. And once I got over the shock from the warm apartment to the starkness of the cold air, I got myself going. I decided a 5-6 miler, out and back was prudent; nothing too demanding, and I could zone out into the run without too much thought of the traffic.
I noticed how being packed into my clothes gave me a sense of inner pull...that even as I needed to connect with that outside world, I was able to recede deep into my mind, the music on the ipod, the awareness of my various body parts, some none too keen on the whole endeavor.

I am still struggling with those 'hot' spots; back of the hamstrings, the tender spot on the right hip, the lock-up in my neck and shoulders....but the dependable shift comes if I can keep up a reasonable rhythm for at least 3 or so miles....by then, the warmth and loosening of all my limbs begins to give the run a free and flying feeling...and the aches recede into the jaunt of my joints in their alternative beat down the road.

It's been a painful year, and a tough transition to '10. It took every bit of that break to settle back down, and find the emotional space to regroup and reassess. I'm pleased to feel that no matter the set-backs, mistaken assumptions, mistrust and unreasonable behavior of all kinds, the chaos of work, the drama of clients, family and friends, the connection with Self is intact. I shared with Vitae my vision of cosmic embrace...and how a spontaneous ride up the 'ladder' of consciousness can still bring me to that higher ground. May the New Year bring us all more Zen in '10, as CC puts it, and may the Powers that Be see their way through these last few doors until the New World is upon us.