Not all of us run, but many of us do. Does it mean anything? It probably means many things. I will share a bit of what goes through my head during those long miles of solitary  (but only from a particular viewpoint) marathon training.

Footfall, heartbeat
breath and earth
footfall, heartbeat
death and birth

Footfall
softly on moist earth

Heartbeat
rythmic
as fast or slow
as the terrain demands
and my footfall contours
the landscape 
up and down 
away
back
and around

Breath by breath
my body takes
the first gift
that it needs
from the earth

Footfall, heartbeat
breath and earth
footfall, heartbeat
death and birth

Early morning
first light
breaks the darkness
long before
the sun appears
bright
on the horizon
wide
as the expanse 
of the hope
that nourishes
my small
yet immortal
soul.

The earth so alive
matter and energy
built into
gazillions of 
lifeforms
that transform
what’s elemental
into nourishment
for bodies and minds
of different kinds.

Footfall, heartbeat
breath and earth
footfall, heartbeat
death and birth

Air in my lungs
a dance of the trees
and the other green things
with the soil of the earth
and the sun in the sky 
and the water that flows
and everything, yes everything
grows.

This life supplied
by earth’s soil and water
combined with the 
light and fire
of the sun in the sky
not only grows
but multiplies
not merely by factors
but by exponent
I think of this
and I feel content.

Footfall, heartbeat
breath and earth
footfall, heartbeat
death and birth.

On the cliffs
in the valleys
and through the woods
I listen I look
to hear and see
I open my heart
to the voice
of earth and spirit
always speaking
also to me.

The earth not only speaks
the soil also
cries and shouts
and weeps with blood
and the violence that spilt it.

And now resounding
the footfall of millions
maybe with the patter
and the pounding
we can shatter our sleep state
and run upon an awake state. 

Footfall, heartbeat
breath and earth
footfall, heartbeat
death and birth.

The miracle of seeds
the wisdom of trees
the truth of the soil
humans the fools
who bicker and fight
over the abundant spoils
of a planet so stupendously rich
an earth that forgives
and always recycles
the ends of all things
into new beginnings.

Footfall, heartbeat
breath and earth
footfall, heartbeat
death and birth.

Again it could be
that this pounding of feet
this fitness phenomenon
this epidemic of all sorts of
and including
marathon running
is part answer to
a primal call
a longing for connection
with the earth
and understanding
true value
and true worth.

So I combine the 
tarmac streets
with the trails
in the valleys
on the coast and cliffs
and I know this
somehow becomes
part of a whole
and a hope
for a 
seismic shift
in consciousness.

Footfall, heartbeat
breath and earth
footfall, heartbeat
death and birth.

 

Do you run? Do you like to get out into nature? Are you aware of the healing experience that time in nature gives you? What are your thoughts about conservation and our responsibility to look after the earth? Is the earth there for all of us to enjoy, or for a few to make large profits from it? I would love to hear what you think.