I believe you are right Terrell. Joseph Campbell said something like and I paraphrase…”we are not seeking the meaning of life as much as we are seeking the experience of life…what it feels like to be fully alive”! Our culture deadens us to that experience and precisely for that reason we lace up whenever we can to feel as fully alive like a child finally let out for recess …liberated from a stifling classroom.
That's said so well, Clark! It's like the difference between an explanation and a story -- some things just can't be explained, they have to be experienced. So true.
Back from 3 weeks in Europe, with no running; however, things start up again Sunday with the Fallen Heroes 5k in Virginia Beach. The purpose of the trip was to attend our grandson’s graduation from Stuttgart High School for kids of military families (our daughter’s) stationed in Europe. In addition, we traveled to France to attend a Memorial Day ceremony at one of the American Military Cemeteries, where about 10,000 US soldiers are buried. It was touching to see the reverence and appreciation the French people still hold for those who died for their liberation.
We also traveled to my “ancestral home” of Poland, from which my grandparents emigrated 110 years ago. Poland has come a long way since the fall of communism in Europe. Unlike our first visit 35 years ago, it’s now a happy, prosperous, and beautiful country with wonderful people.
We also spent time in the former East Germany, which was off limits during my 8 years stationed in divided Cold War Germany. Germany is now seamlessly unified, peaceful, and safe, so I feel like my time there on the Czech and East German borders keeping the Russians out was worthwhile.
It was great to be in Europe again, and equally great to be back home. Back to training again tomorrow morning.
Welcome back, David! It sounds like you had a pretty amazing adventure -- what an amazing degree of change has taken place. I'll be starting back with you tomorrow, as my own running/training has been slight as of late. There's always tomorrow, right? :)
Wonderful reminder about seeking a life outside comfort zones and routines at least temporarily once in a while. Makes me literally feel alive. Running and being active is such a big part of this: on the one hand there are a lot of routines since we have done it for many times and miles. However, deviating from the usual and predictable, different routes, different speeds or variations always make for a fuller experience.....at least for me. Thank you, Terrell, for sharing so much of your personal life. Keep it coming!!
I SO needed this post/newsletter today. Enjoyed reading it and processing your message. Thanks for sharing your furry family and Tom Wolfe. That doc is on my watch list.
What a beautiful reminder it’s so easy to get caught up in stuff that doesn’t really matter in the long run. Ha double entendres… thanks for being awesome
My wife and I for the last ten yras have fostered Yorkies. It started wjhen I bought her a female puppy when she retired from work. We went to a dog expo near by and saw the Yorkie Rescue tent there with a a pen with 6 Yorkies of various ages. The next thing I knew we were driving to DSouth Florida to pick up an abused dog fro one of the fosters down there. Libby had been found in a box in a Target shopping cart. She had been abused and had little hair and looked like an OLD dog. She was only 2 years old. We kept her until she passed at ten years old. We nurtured her back to health but she always had issues from lack of care as a puppy. We just retired from United Yorkie Rescue after ten years and a hundred and two rescues. We ended up adopting two others that could not be adopted. JoJo was a white Poodle, yes, they took in all small breeds that needed saving. He was mean as a snake but needed our help due to an obstruction in his uritha. He was yellow from the waist down because he was always dripping urine and Tia who was only two and a half pounds when we picked her up from a breeder. She was having nothing to do with the male dogs and even small as she was, she fought off all her suiters. It took months for her to trust us. At meak time she would take only one kurnal of food, run to the next room, eat it and then come back for another. Needless to say it took her a while to eat. Finally I just started stacking her food up. She would look at me and the grab the whole pile. She lived until almost ten. We still have two fosters who we are keeping. We had to pay a nominal fee to adopt them but they are now officially ours and will be with us forever.
Sorry it took so long for me to digest this it was a great read and a great reminder that we need to settle ourselves from the hustle of our social media life and enjoy ourselves.
I believe you are right Terrell. Joseph Campbell said something like and I paraphrase…”we are not seeking the meaning of life as much as we are seeking the experience of life…what it feels like to be fully alive”! Our culture deadens us to that experience and precisely for that reason we lace up whenever we can to feel as fully alive like a child finally let out for recess …liberated from a stifling classroom.
That's said so well, Clark! It's like the difference between an explanation and a story -- some things just can't be explained, they have to be experienced. So true.
Back from 3 weeks in Europe, with no running; however, things start up again Sunday with the Fallen Heroes 5k in Virginia Beach. The purpose of the trip was to attend our grandson’s graduation from Stuttgart High School for kids of military families (our daughter’s) stationed in Europe. In addition, we traveled to France to attend a Memorial Day ceremony at one of the American Military Cemeteries, where about 10,000 US soldiers are buried. It was touching to see the reverence and appreciation the French people still hold for those who died for their liberation.
We also traveled to my “ancestral home” of Poland, from which my grandparents emigrated 110 years ago. Poland has come a long way since the fall of communism in Europe. Unlike our first visit 35 years ago, it’s now a happy, prosperous, and beautiful country with wonderful people.
We also spent time in the former East Germany, which was off limits during my 8 years stationed in divided Cold War Germany. Germany is now seamlessly unified, peaceful, and safe, so I feel like my time there on the Czech and East German borders keeping the Russians out was worthwhile.
It was great to be in Europe again, and equally great to be back home. Back to training again tomorrow morning.
Welcome back, David! It sounds like you had a pretty amazing adventure -- what an amazing degree of change has taken place. I'll be starting back with you tomorrow, as my own running/training has been slight as of late. There's always tomorrow, right? :)
Wonderful reminder about seeking a life outside comfort zones and routines at least temporarily once in a while. Makes me literally feel alive. Running and being active is such a big part of this: on the one hand there are a lot of routines since we have done it for many times and miles. However, deviating from the usual and predictable, different routes, different speeds or variations always make for a fuller experience.....at least for me. Thank you, Terrell, for sharing so much of your personal life. Keep it coming!!
Thank you for the very kind words, Peter -- I will! (I seem incapable of not including this stuff when I write :)
Enjoyed this post that wasn't centered on running. Dogs are the best. I have a wonderfully selfish idiot, and that's a big compliment.
Thank you, Kevin! I totally, totally agree!
I’ll think of your puppy guest when I cross the starting line in whatever race is next … full of energy and enthusiasm!
Love that, Dave!!!
I SO needed this post/newsletter today. Enjoyed reading it and processing your message. Thanks for sharing your furry family and Tom Wolfe. That doc is on my watch list.
Thanks so much, Jill!
What a beautiful reminder it’s so easy to get caught up in stuff that doesn’t really matter in the long run. Ha double entendres… thanks for being awesome
My wife and I for the last ten yras have fostered Yorkies. It started wjhen I bought her a female puppy when she retired from work. We went to a dog expo near by and saw the Yorkie Rescue tent there with a a pen with 6 Yorkies of various ages. The next thing I knew we were driving to DSouth Florida to pick up an abused dog fro one of the fosters down there. Libby had been found in a box in a Target shopping cart. She had been abused and had little hair and looked like an OLD dog. She was only 2 years old. We kept her until she passed at ten years old. We nurtured her back to health but she always had issues from lack of care as a puppy. We just retired from United Yorkie Rescue after ten years and a hundred and two rescues. We ended up adopting two others that could not be adopted. JoJo was a white Poodle, yes, they took in all small breeds that needed saving. He was mean as a snake but needed our help due to an obstruction in his uritha. He was yellow from the waist down because he was always dripping urine and Tia who was only two and a half pounds when we picked her up from a breeder. She was having nothing to do with the male dogs and even small as she was, she fought off all her suiters. It took months for her to trust us. At meak time she would take only one kurnal of food, run to the next room, eat it and then come back for another. Needless to say it took her a while to eat. Finally I just started stacking her food up. She would look at me and the grab the whole pile. She lived until almost ten. We still have two fosters who we are keeping. We had to pay a nominal fee to adopt them but they are now officially ours and will be with us forever.
Sorry it took so long for me to digest this it was a great read and a great reminder that we need to settle ourselves from the hustle of our social media life and enjoy ourselves.