Today was a unique day for me. When I run, I usually have too many thoughts to count, well today my mind was crystal clear.

As I ran down the trail I could see everything, the leaves on the trees, birds on the branches. At one point I even looked down to see a daddy long leg crossing the path. What I didn’t think about was hurting body parts, or how much I had to pee (which was pretty bad, due to the closed bathroom) or even the stresses of my life. I let myself enjoy the woods and streams. I was able to people watch, which doesn’t happen much.

There was one group of 6. They were walking/riding with an ill-looking man. He was overweight and had some neuropathy in his legs. I didn’t think much of it on my way up the hill, but on the way down I took a closer looked at this amazing group of people.

As I passed, I noticed that he was leaning on a bike. The adults were flocked around him, while the kids rode their bikes up ahead. It dawned on me that they were helping this man exercise. It makes me wonder what their  situation was. Was it a life or death situation, or was it a way to get healthy to prolong life.

It makes my heart happy when people take care of themselves. It’s like taking your life in your hands. I always tell my children you only get out of life what you put in it. The same goes for your body. If you are putting in garbage food, then you get a garbage body. You’re lethargic and feel lazy, but if you fill your body up with good whole foods. You have energy and feel lighter.  I’m not say eat only healthy whole foods, but I am saying, you only have one body. You can’t trade it in for another one. You have to keep it happy and healthy.

So the end results of my thoughts at the close of my run is: I need to take care of my body, so I can continue to live a mobile life. Hopefully set an example for my children to do the same (look at me getting my lecture on). -SH