World English Dictionary
spiritual
relating to the spirit or soul and not to physical nature or matter; intangible
Something in me feels like this entry should include a picture of a beautiful woman in a flowy white dress, prancing through a field of sunflowers and yellow daisies, under a perfectly clear, blue sky. That's the image that comes to mind when I hear the word spiritual. It's not my own spiritual experience, though. First, I don't have any white dresses, and second, I couldn't tell you where there is a field of sunflowers and daisies. And I don't prance.
My family is not all that spiritual. We don't belong to a church, nor attend one regularly, although we have been to church together. I do not consider myself a spiritual person, although, the definition above would help me think that perhaps I am, at times, spiritual.
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| Now that's more like it. |
The time I feel most spiritual is when I am running.
When I started running, I was running on my own. Each week I'd take about an hour to myself and run an unmeasured distance, listening to music and trying my best to let go of my worries. When I'm running, it's my time to detach from the rigors of daily life and get lost in either the music or my thoughts, or both. I distinctly remember one Sunday morning run on a beautiful summer day thinking, "This is my church". Sometimes I let go of everything and my most serious thought is whether the people in the passing cars are laughing at me or not.
Above the sweat, breathlessness, and exertion my body gives to running, there is the peace that my whole being gets from running. When I lose myself in what my body is doing, or in the rhythm of my stride, or the beat of the music, my body can do anything I ask of it. When I've accomplished the task I've assigned my body, the feeling becomes elation, and I realize that I can do anything.
It's hard to describe the freedom I feel when I'm lost in my thoughts and music on a long run. With running, I've reconnected with music. In my every day life, I get the chance to listen to the radio or a CD in the car on the way to work and on the way home. The music I hear most often at home is something the kids are listening to; a Veggie Tales CD or the Cars soundtrack. When I'm running, I can plug in and listen to what I want to listen to, and it wasn't long before I realized how much I'd missed music. There is something pretty amazing that happens to your spirit when you listen to music, especially music that makes you happy. For me, being able to listen to music that connects me with times in my past, or which brings me closer to people or events in the present, is something that makes running an invaluable part of my life today.
In addition to reconnecting with music, I find that with running, I reconnect with my body. I have learned so much about how the body operates, and how best to help it do what I am asking of it. I believe that the injury I got hit with last month was my body's way of telling me, "If you want to kick up your game, you're going to have to do more than run". See, running isn't just about your legs and going fast. Running is about your entire body working together to achieve the forward motion that takes you through a race course and across the finish line.
In a way, the body is like an orchestra. Our bodies are made up of many different parts; organs, muscles, bones, and more. Each has its own function within our body, but they must work together in order for us to do anything, like walk, talk, or eat. An orchestra is made up of many sections, including woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. Individually, they perform a specific function, and they can preform on their own, but to be an orchestra, they need to work together, listening to each other and following the direction of the conductor to make the music come to life. When I run, I try to be mindful of how each part of my body is helping me move, keeping me at a specific pace, or even keeping me from getting too tired too quickly.
There is more to running than just, well, running. The harmony of your mind and body working together, the purging of negativity from your mind, and the elimination of stress and toxins from your body, are just a part of what makes running such a spiritual activity. You can clear your mind, think through tough problems, and sometimes solve the world's problems. OK, so that last one is just what you might think you can do when your body is surging with endorphins. If only all the world's leaders were runners, right?
In recent years, the idea of running as a spiritual activity has come further to the forefront, and there are many others who have put it into words much better than I. For me, spirituality is not defined by a Church or my attendance to services on Sundays. It's about connecting my mind and body, and allowing myself to reach within me and letting my spirit soar and enjoying the amazing gift I've been given. Taking the time to appreciate this gift and be thankful for it, in my own way, is how I relate to spirituality.
Above the sweat, breathlessness, and exertion my body gives to running, there is the peace that my whole being gets from running. When I lose myself in what my body is doing, or in the rhythm of my stride, or the beat of the music, my body can do anything I ask of it. When I've accomplished the task I've assigned my body, the feeling becomes elation, and I realize that I can do anything.
It's hard to describe the freedom I feel when I'm lost in my thoughts and music on a long run. With running, I've reconnected with music. In my every day life, I get the chance to listen to the radio or a CD in the car on the way to work and on the way home. The music I hear most often at home is something the kids are listening to; a Veggie Tales CD or the Cars soundtrack. When I'm running, I can plug in and listen to what I want to listen to, and it wasn't long before I realized how much I'd missed music. There is something pretty amazing that happens to your spirit when you listen to music, especially music that makes you happy. For me, being able to listen to music that connects me with times in my past, or which brings me closer to people or events in the present, is something that makes running an invaluable part of my life today.
In addition to reconnecting with music, I find that with running, I reconnect with my body. I have learned so much about how the body operates, and how best to help it do what I am asking of it. I believe that the injury I got hit with last month was my body's way of telling me, "If you want to kick up your game, you're going to have to do more than run". See, running isn't just about your legs and going fast. Running is about your entire body working together to achieve the forward motion that takes you through a race course and across the finish line.
In a way, the body is like an orchestra. Our bodies are made up of many different parts; organs, muscles, bones, and more. Each has its own function within our body, but they must work together in order for us to do anything, like walk, talk, or eat. An orchestra is made up of many sections, including woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. Individually, they perform a specific function, and they can preform on their own, but to be an orchestra, they need to work together, listening to each other and following the direction of the conductor to make the music come to life. When I run, I try to be mindful of how each part of my body is helping me move, keeping me at a specific pace, or even keeping me from getting too tired too quickly.
There is more to running than just, well, running. The harmony of your mind and body working together, the purging of negativity from your mind, and the elimination of stress and toxins from your body, are just a part of what makes running such a spiritual activity. You can clear your mind, think through tough problems, and sometimes solve the world's problems. OK, so that last one is just what you might think you can do when your body is surging with endorphins. If only all the world's leaders were runners, right?
In recent years, the idea of running as a spiritual activity has come further to the forefront, and there are many others who have put it into words much better than I. For me, spirituality is not defined by a Church or my attendance to services on Sundays. It's about connecting my mind and body, and allowing myself to reach within me and letting my spirit soar and enjoying the amazing gift I've been given. Taking the time to appreciate this gift and be thankful for it, in my own way, is how I relate to spirituality.
Beautifully put. Thank you for sharing this. (Oh, and yes, this mommy misses music too. Real music :)
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking a lot lately about spirituality. I do not practice my faith in a formal sense but I do see the Divine in the simplest things. And now I have an urge to run. Great post!
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