the journey

By Julia Armstrong

Last Thursday I went for a long, long run – 37 miles to be precise. It is precise these days, with GPS devices meaning that you can’t guesstimate the miles you run! It’s the same with life now too. How old are you? we are asked, and we all know, whereas in the past we were as old as a few moons that waxed and waned as we journeyed with the sun and the stars and the moon to guide us through our days and nights.

Now time orders our life and we complain about there not being enough of it – we feel fearful that we’re running out of it. But we all have the same amount of time – it is simply what we choose to do with it as we progress on this journey called life.

Far too many of us stay stuck in the past, with unhealed pain and unresolved anger holding us there. Or sometimes the view we have of times gone by is rosy and better than now. In truth weonly have this moment, this absolute moment in time. If we learn to be present to the moment then the journey starts to flow with an ease we didn’t previously know existed.

So why ever would I choose to run for 37 miles when we have perfectly good cars and buses and trains and planes?!? The practical answer is that I am training to run an ultra race from London to Brighton on October 5th – but essentially the goal, the destination, is only there as something to move towards, to give a reason for the training! I run because I love to run and I run because in the running step I find the moment and the still place inside me. To run a long way it is necessary to stay in the step, and the next, and the next. The journey unfolds as each step takes care of itself and leads to the next.

In the running journey I find I need certain qualities, strengths and inner resources to go the distance, to manage the steep climbs and the uneven ground, the stinging nettles on overgrown paths and the fatigue setting in, the aches and pains in the feet and legs, the desire to stop and rest, the doubts. Managing myself, supporting others and joining together but being responsible for myself. All these qualities help me in my running journey and in my life journey too. I draw learning from both, to help me in the other. Running is simple – for me it is meditation in step and it allows me to bring that simplicity back to the everyday. It asks that I stretch myself to do more than I did before, it asks that I strive for excellence. It requires endurance and strength, flexibility, agility and core stability. In finding these at the physical level I have found that I have greater endurance to keep going when times are hard in the rest of my life, that inner strengths have been realised I didn’t know I had, that I am more flexible in my dealings with my work and my relationships and that I have the agility to change direction when required. Core stability is the strength in the core of our being that allows us to balance, and if we are strong in our core at an emotional level then we have the inner balance when the seas of life get rough and the waves get big, to keep standing on our surfboard!

I am not suggesting everyone train to run a long way – though I do believe that healthy body, healthy mind is an age-old truth that rings true. But I think that all of us can be more than we thought, that within us lie untapped resources and strengths that, when realised, give us a sense of confidence and wellbeing, the chance to get greater enjoyment out of life. By being in the step, fully present to ourselves, we find that the learning is in the journey - day by day, moment by moment.

Julia bio:

Julia has worked with people for over thirty years as a relationship coach and therapist. Her skills lie specifically in enabling people to have healthy and happy relationships with themselves and others. Julia's work leads others towards real connection, healing and personal growth, allowing relationship to become a place to experience living with more joy and creativity. She is currently running workshops in Brighton and Eastbourne – please see www.juliaarmstrong.com for details.