Consistency

3.00 Miles 

I won't spend too much time on why I haven't updated this blog because the reasons are all too familiar. Life happens. Life occurs. Life punches. When we decide not to punch back, life wins. Excuses are as much a pain conjuring as they are hearing. Over the past 5 months I've had life throw haymakers. I'm sure many of you have as well. While in a dizzied state I neglected to communicate what it was like going through that process. LEt's just say I lost big. The period between trial and triumph is dark. It's a winding road that bears mercy for no one. What I'm sure of is that it can be conquered, just like punches can be counter-punched, blocked etc. 

Consistency is a master ingredient in the recipe of self-development. Effort follows it's lead and patience too. Have I been running? Yes. Have I been keeping a rigorous schedule of running that would produce the type of solace I get from it day-to-day? Absolutely not. I started this series of reflections on the journey to spiritual, mental and physical well-being because I decided to change my lifestyle. What I didn't do is decide to change my consistency. All sacrifice towards anything worthwhile is leveraged by our commitment to actions repeated in a pattern. After taking time off I know that where there is no consistency there is no improvement. 

I pray I'm able to remain consistent. So much more of my life is dependent on it. Below is a video I watched a few months ago where Denzel Washington explains this concept in stellar fashion.

#RUN4Freedom

Light

2.93 Miles

I believe we should be prepared to go through periods where we don't see the light. These periods come in moments, days, weeks, or even years. Faith in our purpose/light will be tested to the maximum. There is not a week that goes by where I don't come to an obstacle that seems like an impenetrable wall. The only thing that keeps me going is a faith that ensures me that on the other side of the wall is the light. I'm confident that the light is waiting for me as much as I am waiting for it.

Walls do not knock down themselves. You need tools to knock down the walls. There are some tools that are universal in nature and cost nothing material to have. There are some habits that are common to everybody in order to get over hurdles.

I'll have three I make intentions to work on in my life. The first is conviction. It was not sheer coincidence that our sister Harriet Tubman was able to free thousands of slaves. But it is certain that in order for her to make those trips back and forth across enemy lines that she had to be convicted about her purpose and about what she was willing to conquer. Conviction was the cornerstone of her mission. The second is humility.

After being tortured and banished from Mecca for many years the Muslims returned in full control of those lands they once called home. Even though they came face-to-face in a newly found position of power over their former oppressors they chose to walk in humbly and not persecute them. I don't believe the light of our lives will manifest itself fully until we are willing and able to humble ourselves when we are most powerful.

Lastly I will say that without selflessness all endeavors in transforming our lives are meaningless.  Our light is not just meant for ourselves, it is for us to illuminate the world around us. Whoever dedicates themselves to improving the conditions and hearts of others will no doubt find their way in this world.

#RUN4Freedom

What We Need

2.0 Miles  

I'm happy that Ramadan has delivered me back to this particular journey with more clarity. I pray that those who find the time to read into this developing series of rumination, journaling, personal development were well over the past 30 days.  

The experience of fasting is esoteric, physically palatable, and mostly demanding on our minds. This Ramadan I reflected on the early lessons I learned as a child when my parents were first pushing me through the process. In various anecdotes they helped me to understand that a major function of fasting is the realization that we as humans need far less than we think we do. It didn't mean we deprive ourselves to the point of suffering out of noble intentions, but that our mind, body and soul is equipped to go without, especially that which traps our hearts. 

Our world is spinning faster than ever before. Every device we use to keep connected, has in turn forced us into an obsession with connectedness. Never before have we known so much about each other without knowing anything at all. Perilous depression oozes through smartphone screens while utter joy accompanies it. We experience each other's lives without really ever experiencing the middle ground between the two circumstances. I believe the balance between copious joy and utter depression is acquired much more easier when we take time to go without everything that challenges our mind to stay busy. I believe our social connectivity subdues us with the misbelief that constant pairing with the experience of others is healthy. We cannot ignore the world outside ourselves, to do that would be neglect of so many in need of our light, but more than ever our inner worlds need fasting. 

We can't reach this inner state of peace without leaving the things that keep our entire being's in constant movement. My fast taught me that every fight I engage in noble or not is null if I haven't allowed intentional sacrifice steer my discipline. Sacrifice is the edifice of any reward. Rumi once said, "The only things we own are what we give" in a poem about the concept of needs. By letting go of a combination of false needs we grow more conscious, albeit more universally aware of how full life in every second truly is. After all I believe life isn't a journey of collections, accolades, and marked agendas but the soul's combat with a world that is constantly trying to remind it that greed in all mutations is the vehicle for inner happiness. That couldn't be more incorrect.

I pray we find more in our lives by losing more.  

#RUN4Freedom

The World is Waiting for You

2.83 Miles

At least 3 times a week I purposely sit with people who are working on ideas. It's a great way to learn new things and also keeps my creativity booming. Some of their ideas are about religious reform. Some of their ideas are about ending world famine. Some are fairly simple, like how to begin writing. Every week brings something/someone new.

I believe the people I trade moments with are going to put a larger dent in the world than I ever will. They're impassioned, resilient, and gloriously talented. My question after I listen intently is always the same, "When are you starting?"

And when the answer is that they haven't, it usually follows a statement like "I don't know where to start." The "where" hasn't changed since the dawn of civilization. No one wakes up dripping in genius. We may have genius within us, but nothing great manifests itself without agitation. Not pursuing an idea is a comfortable place. No massive judgement comes along with it. No one has the ability to critique our inaction. I was once told that the easiest thing in the world to have was, nothing.

But I believe the lifelong knots that tie in our stomachs from the regret of never moving forward are much worse than trying and failing. We don't live on earth ourselves. It's almost impossible to begin any journey without it affecting others. Since we are forced to be among other human beings it's important we comprehend how much our "starts" are interconnected.

Had Muhammad Ali not started boxing we may have never had the ability to call him a champion of life. We couldn't draw strength from his courage. He made the world brighter. At some point in time Ali decided to walk into a gym, put on gloves and fight his way into legend. Ali's start was no different than any of us. It consisted of the same 3 parts that face our world today uncertainty, ignorance, and doubt. None of three can be conquered without starting somewhere. We may have to find information, make a plan, or suffer embarrassment, but those are all optimum starting blocks. Whether it's for the world over, or the world of your immediate circle of loved ones, start today. It's a choice I have to make everyday for myself. I fail miserably at it all the time, as you will, but it's worth it. Believe me.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

- Muhammad Ali

#RUN4Freedom

Whose Fears?

2.46 Miles

Fear is a social construct. I've realized most of my fears have been developed through what other people told me about the world. And one of the most dangerous mistakes in life I believe is accepting what others have told us about this existence at face value.

Sometimes we aren't able to see how much life has pushed the next person around. The signs of personal failure aren't written clearly on anyone's face per se. But one of the easiest ways to see how far our ambitions go is what we fear. Our fears keep us in behavioral, social, and mental patterns that feel "safe", when in reality the danger is in avoiding our fears. We end up later down the road in life surrounded by the illegitimate fears of others we've come in contact with and the fears our own conscience has built creating an abusive self-psychology about how our fate is unraveling.

But fears can be broken just as they were created. They won't be torn down overnight because they didn't happen overnight either. I believe the first step is asking ourselves "Is it real?" And by determining if a fear is real or not I have the ability change it. Everything else flows from the acceptance that, much of what we fear isn't real. But ironically before some human being latched their first fear on any of us for life, we had to believe in it.

I can only wonder what fear has taken from my life thus far. I can only imagine all that I have to get back from it. I can only imagine how many fears I'm still carrying from other people. But acceptance is the first step in recovery.

#RUN4Freedom