Wednesday, April 8, 2009

run run running

I try and go running in the morning a few days a week. So far it has always been enjoyable. I don't really keep track of how far I'm running; of what time I start and stop; of where my heart rate peaks. It just feels good to move. I love the morning sun, and I love the feeling that under my own stress and strain, I am in motion. I think physical motion encourages the mental, emotional, spiritual sides of me to be in motion- running is like grease in the gears for the rest of my being. Like I said, it is typically enjoyable, but some days stand out above others.

The sun was strong this morning. It's yellow light slanted through the trees, the resulting shadows tall and stretched on the pavement. It seemed less diffused by the atmosphere- more pure in it's exhibition and vigorous for the journey ahead. And so not to be outdone, and always ready for an adventure with the sun, the sky blazed comparable excitement, draping over the earth it's most royal, soft endless blue. the clouds were distinct. they tumbled about carefree and joyous, some more boisterous than others. their dark undersides rolled about to move into the gleaming sunshot outline, and then back to the calm grey shadowy side. southern california does not often afford such mornings of distinction, and so when they occur they are always striking.

the air was cool as i ran. telephone lines oscillated in slow rolling swells as i passed by their poles. the palm trees above me nodded. birds on the sidewalk fluttered away to a few feet in front of me, only to have to flutter away again. i went passed trees that had twisted around each other. i swore i could almost see the muscle twitching just beneath their thin skin bark, wrapped up in their display of brutish beauty. the ocean was brooding, showing only blue and darker blue in it's contemplation. i'd look up at the sun. it always runs with me, moving past the tips of houses and always coming out on the other side of apartment complexes. the sun is a huge powerful mystery. i like to call it friend, but i think my relation to the sun is more one of awe than it is of commonality. perhaps i am just an admirer, and grateful that the sun runs too.

it's mornings like this that it makes total sense to me why nature is personified in so many cultures and religions. what better way to explain it; to explain the emotional connection it seems to have with us (or at least me). something about it all evokes a sense of perspective in me, helps me see that I am not causing the world, but that it is wonderful and beautiful to be a part of it's happening. see, there's nothing like running (and also, i was listening to Devotchka's "How It Ends", the latest albumn of preference for my morning jaunts) to inspire some good thought.

so if you happen to be in long beach right now, go outside. look up for a while. look around you. listen and then look and then breath. you won't be sorry.

Monday, April 6, 2009

whale facts #1




This summer while I was in Alaska, a poster featuring the whales of the world mysteriously appeared in the Bear Den (our mess hall). Being the sensory deprived fishermen we were, a game developed. Rules were simple, and unclear: we'd reach a consensus about who got to pick the whale of the day. That person, then picks the whale of the day and reads the facts about that whale. Brilliant, I know.


Well, I recently came across a couple great whale facts, so I christen this my first whale facts post. Enjoy.



A blue whale's heart is the size of a small car, and a human could fit through the major arteries connecting to the heart.



Enough said. Thanks blue whale.