Running. Day 1, 2017.

~ Live & Learn

bird-focus-look-down

Day 1, 2017.

A morning for reflection, lallygagging, and awe of a poem written by Stanley Kunitz: “still-wet words…scribbled on the blotted page: ‘Light splashed …’

Still-wet words. Light splashed. Wow. 

Sun beams pour in through the window, light splashes but does not lift this load…God, it’s so warm under these covers. How about reading, watching movies, and remaining horizontal?

10am. I need to exercise. Now! Sigh. What a state of mind on Day 1.

Mile 1

How about New Year’s resolutions? How about Not?  You’ve long since given up on Resolutions. You know the loop. Commit. Attempt. Renege in less than 30 days. Then self-flagellate for the remaining 11 months. Who needs it? Really?

Mile 2

I appreciated the punch line of Try a New Year’s Revolution: “I will work toward better days for myself…May Januarys be about self-acceptance, not self-improvement.” LOVE THAT.

Mile 3

“May Januarys be about self-acceptance, not self improvement.” I don’t think I can do that. I don’t think I can “do” self acceptance. OMG. I’m on another doom loop. This could be harder than setting New Year’s Resolutions.

Mile 4

Not sure about this self-acceptance thing. Could be a psychological train wreck. I may need New Year’s Resolutions. More reading, less surfing.  More greens, less sugars.  More sleep, less anxiety. (How?). Fewer things, more experiences.  More patience, less intolerance.  Noted that my anxiety level is climbing just riffing through this list.

Mile 5

Thoughts, like clouds, pass quickly. Now absent and quieted. Breathing heavy now.  Focus is on climbing the hillside and lifting one foot in front of the another. Yet the storm clouds of Resolutions loom, rumbling, heavy, foreboding. Need something!

Mile 7

In my hurry to get out the door, I did not pull on the right sock straight and even.  The skin-on-crease abrasion feeds a growing blister on the large right toe. That’s it! Socks!

Over the holidays, there was a big move towards Minimalism. I cleaned out a sock drawer. Don’t laugh, this is Big.  A pile up of 20+ years of accumulated socks – socks that have made moves between three cities in moving trucks. Dress socks. Casual socks. Knee highs. Over-the-Ankles. Running socks. Wick-free. Wool socks. Footies. And way overweight in black and dark blue hues. A bloody mess and beyond belief, really. Each morning, I’d open the drawer, look at this gaggle, tell myself: “I need to clean this up” – never do it – get angry at the procrastination – and do nothing about it.  And then rummage around frantically among the darks for the same 3-5 favorite pairs of socks each day. Every single day for over 20 years!  Crazy-land!

I gently slide open the sock drawer and light splashes all over: Wow, look at this miracle. What a load off.

So that’s it. The New Year’s Resolution is to Think Big and clean out the t-shirt drawer in 2017.

Kunitz: I can scarcely wait till tomorrow when a new life begins for me, as it does each day, as it does each day.

Me too Stanley. Me too. My favorite socks laying out right there. As they will each day, each day.

13,732 steps.

Nap time.

 

Notes:

44 thoughts on “Running. Day 1, 2017.”

  2. I wonder how many additional calories you burn on self-agitation alone.😉 Have to tell Andy about your sock elimination…I don’t even know how many he has, but he could conceivably open his own shop.

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      1. Oh, I’m afraid you are so right. However, another unintended result may be the use and re-use of the same clothes over and over to reduce the frequency of doing laundry. And we know what happens then…! 👎

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  4. Self acceptance, not self improvement. That is my thought for the day. The month even. Recognising where it is worth putting the energy and when to save it. That could be life changing.

    Thank you David, and well done on the socks. I got given some bamboo socks this year and they are amazing. That means I may have to clear all the others out and start again. Gulp.

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  5. You’ve already improved your life. You’re a step ahead of me with the socks drawer. Don’t we all have one of those that needs a dunging out? I think a little bit of self-acceptance and a little bit of self-improvement would be a healthy combination. Like you, I’ve given up on the resolutions thing, but a general effort to improve ourselves never hurts.

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  8. I abandoned resolutions a long time ago, as I, too, ultimately found them to be primarily a way to self-flagellate when the train went off the tracks. These days I am more about self-acceptance, too, as well as self-awareness, i.e., realizing how many great things I already have in my life and trying to amplify those (with the hopes that they will, in turn, crowd out the not-so-nice things). 🙂

    On a related note, listened to Shankar Vedantam’s ‘Hidden Brain’ episode on NPR this morning and found it intriguing. It was all about designing the life you want, and how to do that. Perhaps you’ll find it interesting, too, pal. http://n.pr/2hGQO0o

    Here’s to a happy new year and neat drawers…. 🙂

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    1. Like your approach Lori. However I’m not on the self-acceptance bus but the Gratitude train, and I find that this puts me in a Lighter place.

      I’m off to check out The Hidden Brain. Thanks for pointing me to it Lori.

      Here’s to clean drawers….(on body and in dresser)

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  9. Great! You found it! And it’s good to think big. Btw, self-acceptance is probably a smaller part of what I call ‘accept what is’ – my mantra for 2017. Mantra, not a frustrating resolution.

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  10. Love this. I you have captured how my mind travels so many thoughts when I am out running. And I am totally with you about the socks (LOL) – the right socks can make or break a good run 🙂

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  11. There are so many ways to use socks. Keep accumulating them like I do. Use different pairs for running, at home, gardening. Use them to wipe dirty floors. Sock it to us, David!

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  12. Just watched a documentary on Netfix called “Minimalism” great stories about creating space in our lives and how light we feel when we let go of all the “things” that clog our mind and energy. Well done for creating space Mr K, Next stop the sugar cupboard ha 💕💚

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    1. Hi Karen. Happy New Year. You are the third blogger to recommend this documentary to me. There is a message in “that.” I will be sure to check it out. As to the sugar cupboard, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Small steps. 🙂

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      1. Ha small steps is good. I felt really motivated after watching it and again realised how much I have. All this stuff we accumulate really holds an energy within us, it’s very interesting. Enjoy watching 😃

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  13. Happy New Year David from your old Ootischenia neighbourhood! Your auntie Vera (who I also call auntie Vera, even though technically she isn’t, told me about your blog) so i’ll be looking forward to your on-going insights . . . like tackling a sock drawer!! I’m commenting to be the fourth person to recommend the documentary ‘Minimalism’ . . . just watched it today and I give it a thumbs up too! Thanks for the poem recommendation . . . I’ll be checking that out further. As for resolutions . . . I never got into them . . . but my latest thing is to try something new (or as many somethings new) as you can each year. This year I’ll start with poetry . . . and commenting on blogs 😆! All the best to you, your family and friends, Liana (Cheveldave) Zwick

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    1. Hey Liana. Like Sister of Michael? Daughter of Alec? Your Mom my Russian language school teacher?

      As to Minimalism, you are number 4. Someone needs me to watch this. I will get to it this weekend. Thank you.

      Thanks for stopping by and saying hello Liana. Great to hear from you.

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  14. “I can scarcely wait till tomorrow when a new life begins for me, as it does each day, as it does each day.” – Love this…and each day is another chance to do it better, including the art of self-acceptance. Glad you managed to get the sock situation squared away. I’m working on paper, lots and lots of paper…and yes, minimalism. I’ve been going through everything in my office area. I think I’d rather be working on socks. 🙂

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