I was running today on the treadmill at the gym. Minutes went by and sweat was pouring down my whole body. My t-shirt soaked as a further evidence of how hard I had been working.
As I slowed the machine down I saw that I had run the equivalent of several miles yet after all of this I was standing on the same exact place where I had started 45 minutes ago.
Did I feel the hard work and effort that I had made? Absolutely. Did I feel the same way I feel when I run outside and end up somewhere totally different than where I started? Absolutely not.
As I stood there on the machine doing my cool down it suddenly hit me that the treadmill is like a life that is lived in our own terms and running outside is like a life lived within grace.
You see on both you seem to get a similar workout though outside is actually harder due to the elements and the absence of the belts momentum under your feet. Yet, outside not only improves your fitness but it also keeps you from injuries like repetitive strain caused by doing the same thing/movement over and over. And of course last but not least running outside actually gets you somewhere.
Running on a treadmill, just like religion, is artificial and is only a far and mere copy of what the real thing is about. Yes running outside, like grace, will be harder at times due to the unpredictability of the ground and the elements yet it will not only enrich your life but most importantly you will have the variety and mystery which will keep you curious, excited, challenged, and best of all fit for a real life!
Choose today to live a naturally flavored life instead of a cheap and artificial one that all it will do is keep you stuck in the same place going round and round like the treadmill does.
-pablo-
Photo by Unknown
