After glorifying the infinite beauties of the run, and reaffirming my commitment to running no matter what, as I sit here drinking wine, I find I must write an addendum to that notion. Sometimes the best run is the run never done.
Last week, the hubs and I dragged ourselves out the door and to the trail just before sunset. The air was frigid as can be, at least for us SoCal wimps, and there was no denying January was in full bloom. What we planned as just a short out-and-back, turned into just plain short. A turn-back-around, if you will. We lasted exactly 5 minutes before I (yes I caved before my husband) turned to him and said, "I'm done." We didn't even finish the warm up walk, you could say, since technically we never warmed up.
Just one of the ways running keeps me ever surprised and humbled.
That said, we then jaunted to a local grill and enjoyed an impromptu delicious and rare, quiet dinner a deux. It was the night of the SOTU. I had been wanting to see it, and by serendipity, a TV was on in the place, and while we ate we had prime seats to the president's address. It was moving, inspiring, hopeful and endearing. And though it inspired some skepticism, it also reminded me of the good qualities of our president and country. However vast the flaws of our system and leadership, (and if you ask me, there are many), there is a lot we take for granted as well.
We then drove to the grocery store for a few items, and I mulled over what I had heard. As a Native American (Ojibwe), Jewish American, Buddhist American, I do not agree with policies or acts of aggression by any nation or people. There is a T-shirt which depicts a group of Native Americans holding shotguns via the 1800's with the caption: fighting terrorism since 1492. This idea amuses me, and also has the ring of a degree of truth to it. On the one hand, you see, fighting terrorism- threats to one's nation and one's people, is not something new. Not an idea only the white man has had to deal with. At the same time, the pacifist in me cannot condone meeting violence with violence. The Buddha said, "Hatred cannot be cured through hatred; through love alone can it be healed." I don't think this bespeaks of a naivete on the part of the historical Buddha. One can too easily imagine the face of the pacifist attitude as a passive, smiling numbskull, who doesn't understand the necessities of such things. Rather, to dismantle nuclear arms, to seek peace for all over gain for any particular country, is to keep the welfare of all in mind. And that is very difficult to do on a global scale. Yet any student of history can tell you that wars only beget wars. I haven't seen the sense in bloodshed, in the murders of millions, of the killing of innocents that official- and unofficial- war has perpetuated. I liked what the president said about America keeping war as an option of last resort. I don't know how often that has been true of recent history.
Also, by design the speech of leadership (my fellow Americans) is to instill and invigorate in the listener a united by common ground and love of country patriotism. Something I admire in President Obama's oratory is this very ability. Even as I'm aware of concepts expressed for this reason, it moves me nonetheless. Being Native does not make me less American. Indeed, if one defines founders of a country by those who first lived and died and walked its soil, being Ojibwe makes me more American than most! The national policies dictated by its government sometimes make me feel more or less aligned with its principles, but I am as subject to patriotism and national pride as the rest. Yet I cannot let that overrule reason and a certain alliance to the notion of global welfare.
On that note, I very much appreciated the president's sentiments on waking up to the reality of climate change, improvements of late in solar energy and his stated determination that this progress should continue. To reverse the damage done ecologically, I agree, will take effort on a global, not solely a national scale. That there is even someone in office, and I have lived to see this day, who would acknowledge and express sentiments such as the necessity of universal affordable healthcare, education, childcare, retirement plans, and so forth, not to mention considering and speaking to world health issues and poverty, and peacemaking, makes me glad. However intended for political effect these may be, and however far-off in attainability, I'll take hope where I can get it. In these times, it's good to take stock of all the ways we are fortunate. To have each other in this beautiful, painful, fragile world is a rare and precious thing. Sometimes you find it in unexpected times and places, like the run that never was, culminating in shared impromptu date with husband and geopolitical contemplation.
Driving home, the state of the union address ended, and the radio commentary began- to pick apart and analyze what must be the strategy of various aspects of the president's speech. I turned it off, preferring for the moment to contemplate the possibility of hope and change for all of us, rather than the limitations of historical reality. Just because something has been true since the dawn of mankind does not mean it will forever hold true.
And just because I am committed to running for the long term, does not mean that an occasional flakiness to the trail will hold me hostage to permanent failure. At the risk of sounding trite or offering facile solutions, as many might believe a pacifist would, I'd wager that a certain creativity and flexibility are required both in running and life, both in leadership of a nation and the actions of its people, if we are to dwell harmoniously as a people, with wellbeing and happiness for all. And by that I mean not only Americans, but every one.
In a moment of personal and political sentimentalism, let us raise a glass, make a toast - to a better now for us all.
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