running with stick

Within the first 10 meters up the arboretum hill this evening, I took two spiderwebs to the face. Now, running up this hill is not easy in itself (a mile all uphill), but after gagging on a bug and taking two webs to the cheeks, the task becomes nearly impossible. So, I picked up a stick, and I ran with it pointed to the sky about 8 inches in front of my face so that it would catch the webs. I made 3/4 of the hill and walked the rest.

I love walking through the woods like that. So many free thoughts run through my head and I feel childlike. Sometimes I feel like a business professional, sometimes like an older sister, sometimes like a barista, and sometimes like a child. It's my time to swing a stick around and hear it slice through the air, to hum a tune, dance down the road, walk like a princess, pick a flower, think, pray, or just simply smile.

When I was in Sydney, walking down the sidewalk to explore the city, I stopped a a deli to pick up a sandwich for lunch. I chatted with the folks working at this shop when the woman behind the counter said, "you just have a presence of peace about you." It was true; I was so light-hearted, confident with where I was and who I was that I found a small bit of life's pleasure; a joy of simply "being." I have that when I'm out on my runs and walks, too. I just exist as a child of God.

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

- unknown -