Where are you going?

A few weeks back I was talking running with screamer. We got talking about why we do it, and what we think about while running. So, I thought about it tonight, as I covered my 10 miles. This should hopefully have some substance and some style, so diesel won't be bored to tears.

I'd like to think that if my life ever flashed before my eyes, I'd be able to grab it and wrestle it to the ground. Too often people describe this phenomenon as passive observers, watching moments pass like boxcars of a slow moving train. I suppose an apparition of a life would be a tough foe; elusive and evasive, not wanting to be caught. Life does have the tendency to slip away when you're not paying attention. If one could ever hope to be prepared for a future rendezvous with a phantom life, what better chance is there to rehearse than in this first run through?

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Pirsig talked about experiencing life first hand. On a cycle, the wind in your face and the sounds in the air are your reality, and you are a part of the scene. When sitting in a car, you lose the firsthand interaction... the glass that separates you from the world becomes a television screen, as you watch the world pass you by. Running is a step further into the scene. Pirsig's metaphor of the cycle as the self is no longer necessary; you truly are your own cycle. You are in charge.. and life is at your mercy.

So what is the point of it all? I'm still not sure. I keep going so that if the point ever does reveal itself, I'll be ready. So that if a spectre of a life ever does appear, and I manage to take it down, I'll see my own face staring back; content. And if I couldn't quite get a grip on it, I could at least challenge my life to a race up the steepest hill, and give it a run for its money; double or nothing.