Coming into one's own

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately--early morning runs by one's self are a great breeding ground for thoughts and ideas. I've brought some of these thirty-minute reflections to a friend over the past week or so and they've turned into some wonderful, deeper-than-usual conversations. My friend claims to be a better listener than a contributor, but believe me, she can give it just as good.

Our latest chew was about all of us as individuals and the notion that we never really stop growing into the people we are, we just continue to evolve, shedding layers of the "old us" to allow the "new us" to grow into place. We talked about the idea of a person coming into "her own", a place where she is at peace with herself and who she is--the little things mattering much less than they used to, and grounded by a very strong sense that there is nothing in life she can't do. A place, where as she put it, life is good. As usual, I snuck in a running analogy, she went along with it.

I know runners, a lot of them, and I know many who have changed as people, since they became runners. They're no longer doubters, they're believers, champions and winners, brimming with confidence, weary of cockiness. They're overflowing with empathy, admiring the chosen few and cheering their hearts out for the rest of us. They want so badly to take the struggles away from those that are struggling.

They're no longer spectators, they're high jumpers, setting the bar, only to fire themselves over it and then raise it even higher. They no longer seek inspiration for they themselves are inspirational; they don’t need heros for they themselves are heroic.

They're life-long learners, students of their own bodies and abilities, learning a new lesson with each passing Sunday.

They're regular, every day people who know there is nothing that can't be achieved. There is no distance too far, no hill too steep, no challenge too great. They're dreamers and doers. They no longer need a road map for they themselves create their own pathways.

And when you reach this point, as most runners do, indeed my friend is right, life is good.

Run for your life.