A while back, I like many others ran the Bristol 10k... Ok ok, ran might be a bit of an overstatement. Perhaps ran, walked, ran, walked, ran a little less than before, walk a bit, thought about my good intentions, then ran a bit more... repeat etc for 10k.
Did I or do I 'love running'? Well not really. There I've said it... we all thought it but were too afraid to - it's out in the open now!!!
You see I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a natural athlete (I think I'm more of a 'lover than a fighter')... its certainly not one of my natural giftings. And I'm ok with that. Running in public for any distance with lots of other people whilst lots of other people watch you, take photographs which is fine but at some point they catch up with you and you actually see what you looked like... yah, I'm ok with not 'loving' that.
Would I do something like that again? yeah...
Why? Cos it reminds me that the world is bigger than me and that the edges of 'my world' need to be stretched, pushed and pulled - not only when there's an opportunity to raise some money for a good cause but as a daily way of life. That there are things outside of my world that are important as well. I need reminding of that from time to time…
And this stretching is not only good for the cause as such… but good for me. It's good for you.
When I close down and my world is literally just 'my world' it lacks the much needed positive influence of those around me and I don't think we were never meant to live that way. I'm supposed to be connected with you and others, you are supposed to be connected to others and so on and so forth... (don't start humming 'Circle of life' by Elton, that's not where I'm going).
Being an individual doesn't have to mean being selfish ("I need me time") but being an individual can mean you've got stuff to bring along that is not only important but vital. That we all have our part and we are all invited to play.
Without getting all mid-afternoon-family-feel-good-movie about it. You can make a difference and its good for you to make a difference.
Recent events have shown the power of the group in a negative way but out of that I've also heard great stories of individuals wanting to go against that particular grain and prove that positive enlightened individuals gathered together in a group can make a difference.
See that it's possible to make a difference. See that you can make a difference.
See that it's possible to make a difference. See that you can make a difference.
Love Running supports a World Vision development programme in Hurungwe, a rural district in northern Zimbabwe. In August 2011 a team to visit and report back.
