Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Running the Road Less Travelled

I still feel deep exhilaration as I look at the trees around me. I love the many colorful hues that it exude. It's such a wonder to see one tree bearing leaves of many colors. You could see the green leaves turning to deep red, bright orange and finally joyful yellow before it start to fall. Even when the day is cloudy or gloomy, the rainbow of colors in the foliage keeps my mood upbeat. As I looked back, I saw how my life has changed with the season.

I can say we have adjusted pretty well in the US. I guess the greatest factor which contributed to this smooth adjustment was the expectations we had of this move. We knew why we are here. We knew why we made this choice. We have our dream and vision. And we made sure that we always put this dream and vision before us.

It is so easy to get sidetracked. In this land where your efforts always bear an equivalent compensation, the temptation to just grind the mill and push yourself to the limit in order to earn big is so prevalent. If we came here just for the money, I could easily drive myself to work overtime and work everyday. But the vision and the dream kept us grounded. My husband is now pursuing his dream. It is just a matter of time before I actively pursue mine. In fact, I can say, I have already began to live my vision and my dream. It started the day we went to this specialty store and invested in a good pair of running shoes. It continued to flourish as we started to incorporate running in our routine. As a US migrant, it is important that we are always aware of why we are here. Some people get lost in the world of working for money and spending the money. And before they know it, years have gone by and they continue to run this same rat race.

As we always tell our close friends, my husband and I got into the midlife crisis at an early age. We hit that stage when we started questionning the significance of our medical practice and the meaning of our existence, when we started asking ourselves what we really wanted to do with our lives, and when we started to pursue our own Personal Legends (as how Paulo Coelho puts it in his book The Alchemist). We found friends along the way who shared the same sentiments and who were able to understand and truly relate with the book and with our sentiments. They are the friends who understood our decision to leave the country.

Last year, running has helped me get in touch with myself, deepen my understanding of my spirituality and ignite the flame that continues to burn in me to pursue the dream I believe I am called to be.

Now, as we begin to take on running in a regular way, I know that the course will straighten out for me. Running will keep me grounded, rooted and in touch with the Divine. It will give me respite from worldly cares. It will be the time when I silence myself and allow God to talk and make Himself known to me. It will give me the chance to share my longings and dreams with Him. For I believe that those who ask will receive, those who seek will find, and those who knock, doors will be opened for them.

God does not impose His will upon us. He gave us freedom to exercise our own will. But it is only in the fulfilment of His will that we will experience real happiness, significance and freedom. And that call... that Personal Legend is buried deep in us. We will never feel contented and will remain restless until we have lived the life that we are called to live. And this means taking risks, moving out of our comfort zones and embracing the unknown. For only then will we be able to grow in faith and live our life to the full. 'Whoever tries to save his own life will lose it; whoever loses his life will save it'. Such is the mystery of life.