![]() The last thing he said before I woke up was “Remember, it’s just what you make of it, so enjoy the journey.In the pre-dawn darkness of Thanksgiving morning, I’m gazing out my New Orleans hotel window at the Mississippi River below. I will do my best to remember all of this. Thanks for the conversation and for opening my mind to a new way of thinking about so many things in my life. This boulder is like a friend, but now it is about to leave me for a while and start rolling down, so you better watch out.” They can either hate it or turn it around and find a way to feel good about it.” There are plenty of things in folk’s lives that feel like my situation. The beer part isn’t so great, but the running part is terrific. Remember that famous runner who said all he ever wanted to do was to run and drink beer. I’m sure you know plenty of runners in the same boat. “You really don’t want to ever quit, even if you could?” If they told me I served my sentence and could stop, I would keep doing it anyway because I love it so much.” But I just know I feel good doing what I am doing. “Well, I don’t know about those fancy chemical names. “Yes, you make beta-endorphins to kill pain and dopamine to make you feel happy.” And my body is probably making lots of nice chemicals.” ![]() I’ll bet I am getting faster too, but I don’t have a stopwatch since they haven’t been invented yet. I know I am getting stronger with each trip. “You hated it at first, but as the weeks went by you started to like it and even looked forward to it. I ran up hard for one minute and jogged down for a total of an hour.” Trying to help me understand, he added, “Remember when you were preparing for that marathon, and you started doing hill repeats?” Wow! It’s so hard thinking of you this way.” Now it turns out you are not miserable at all in fact, you somehow turned things around in your mind and found a way to be happy. None of us wanted to ever get stuck in your predicament. I was speechless for a while, then I replied, “All this time we thought you were miserable. I hope this corrects the misconception everyone had about me.” I know pushing this boulder up the hill doesn’t really amount to anything in the end, but then what does. Then one day, it was like I woke up and the scales fell off my eyes. I realized that the hatred had gradually gone away and was replaced with a genuine liking of what I was doing. The damn thing just kept rolling down, so what was I accomplishing. I felt angry that I had to keep doing the same damn thing for all eternity. He glanced at me and said, “When I first started doing this, I hated it. But low and behold, you are smiling even more broadly now as you are pushing that giant boulder straight up this steep incline. Then I figured that perhaps the downhill section gave you a little breather and that was why you were smiling. I thought your face would look like you were in utter agony. “I watched you coming down the mountain before I started speaking to you and I was surprised, shocked actually, that you were smiling. I would like to do one trip up with you while we talk. You’ve been doing this, I guess, since the beginning of time. “Yes, I know you have been condemned to pushing it all the way up only to have it roll down. He looks up and says “Sure, but you know I can’t stop.” I approach him and say, “Excuse me, but I wonder if I might have a few words with you.” I immediately realize this must be Sisyphus. He is coming down this big hill, and when he reaches the bottom, he starts to push a large boulder up the steep incline. I had a dream that I am running along a trail and see a man up ahead.
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