Life Advocate

I learned something about myself yesterday when I was out doing yardwork-I am an advocate of life. Not just experiencing it, but really being healthy and living with more "primitive" attitude than most.

I realized that material things really mean nothing. Not the car we drive, the clothes we wear, or even (and this will be a shock for triathletes everywhere) the bike we ride! I've come to the firm conclusion that material things will be the downfall of our species. We're so concerned with how much money we make and generally what we own, that we forget we're here to SURVIVE!

Survival is our first and foremost concern and most all of us forget about it. We forget about it when we eat badly. We forget about it when we drive our gas-guzzlers. We forget about it as we type on our computors. It's sad but true. The invention of pockets has changed our species forever.

One of my favorite pasttimes is running. Thinking about it, I've always loved to do it. Even as a child I can remember times when I would run in parks during family barbeques just for the fun of it. Visiting cousins in upstate New York, I'd convince them to go out on these day long hike/runs through the woods. I knew they hated it, but I loved every second of it!

A lot goes through my head when I run-past the blaring music in my ears from my ipod. I've realized that the reason I like it so much is that it's REAL. There's no machine, no engine, nothing between my feet and the earth (except maybe a thin EVA sole). This is what we we're meant to do. My ancestors did this. Their ancestors did this. If you believe it, Adam and Eve did it too! This is the ONE thing we share with EVERY single human the earth has ever seen. We've been blessed with immediate transportation straped to our legs. These beautiful feet to get us from one place to the next. Simply marvelous.

It saddens me though, that so few of us these days choose to use what God gave us. We have our big shiny cars, trains, and airplanes to get us from A to B. Most people these days are frieghtened to go 1 freakin' mile on foot! ONE MILE! That's a 20 minute walk if you're moving at a turtles pace! Then you hear of all the dangers of running-"You'll ruin your knees" or "I'm too heavy to run". Why do you think you'll hurt your knees and you're too heavy??? Because for your whole life you've been sitting and riding!

The bottom line is "F" technology. "F" all the things that we think we need. The truth is, we're born with only one possesion-our body! As ChuckieV says, it's the only thing that we'll truly have and own. Let's start using and caring for it. Think about that as you go through your day. I garauntee you'll see the world in a different light.

Push 'till ya puke...Always.