Run

Your soul touches the Earth for the first time and you realise this place is yours to stay.

An entry for my Sonnets for the Soul collection.

Since January I have committed to running on a regular basis.

At first it felt quite functional, a weekly box to tick to ensure I was keeping fit and statistically improving with my pace and performance.

However, as my journey with running continues I have connected to it as a spiritual practise; a place to build my resilience, to quiet my mind, to challenge my self judgment and to find inner joy.

Every time I run I remember that I was made to live.

Morning rise and feel the tension,

Stretch out your thighs, time to check your suspension.

Culture tells us this is the thing to do,

A goal to set when the year is new.

Slip into the rhythm, feel foot to floor,

Turn the corner and feel the elements raw.

The struggle always comes in a distinctive wave,

Often psychologically, testing your burning desire to cave.

Picking up on the deregulation of your metronome,

The organ beats so fast, tempting you to turn back home.

Next the mind senses a twinge in your upper leg,

Now your inner voice is starting to beg:

“Stop your running now, you can’t go on another metre,

Go home now, listen to your defeater.”

But with the dedication to quiet this incessant chatter,

You find home in your body and connect with different matter.

Here you understand that you were made to glide,

To rise above psychological struggle with every stride.

In comes a new sense of freedom and joy,

Reminiscent of the child you once were when you discovered a new toy.

Suddenly the tension you were holding in your rigid core slowly slips away,

Your soul touches the Earth for the first time and you realise this place is yours to stay.