Morning musings during a 'barefoot' run

It's dark at 5:30am these winter days when I head out for some runs. Aside from my own footsteps and breathing there isn't too much noise. Few cars keep me company even and when they do they never add much to a conversation. So this morning I had time to think. It's interesting what I end up thinking about; how Simon's hair is exactly like mine (both thick and THIN in the same places), how Isabel's eyes are the same color as my Dad's but not mine or Tara's, whether most people have their Christmas lights on timers or turn them off at sun-up like me- as you can tell, some heavy stuff.

But then my mind inevitably floats to the experience that I am having. The run. The sensations, the connectivity of my body and what I feel interacting with the earth. I moved on and off the road to grass, gravel, sidewalk just to feel all the little subtleties. I know this is the draw of the run right now. I can connect to something pretty pure, easy to enjoy and both complex and familiar at the same time. It made me think about the perception of running the 'right' way. Seems like a debate that always draws lines in the sand. Why does it have to be so complicated? I am realizing, personally, that though we might help 'guide' a way to do it right that if you strip everything down, take out all the external/artificial influences that everyone's body will get it if given the chance. I think I used to wonder about whether it was innate- now my doubts have diminished. Its learned or unlearned. I think complicating is where the mistakes are made. I'm not trying to be 'evangelical' like the many that are out there I'm really not but like most things I believe we are over thinking it. No matter what the person, the level, the body type- the body will sort itself out. Try not to outsmart it. Made me think of a quote I saw in a post from a Carl Sagan book:

 “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”

In the context of this brain dump try to keep it simple and let nature and your body guide you. I am getting more messages from my brain and body now than I ever noticed before and when you listen, it not only can give you quite an experience but also makes you realize its got a lot to say.