Sometimes you don’t have to look far and wide for artistic inspiration. Oftentimes the answer you seek is right around the corner. I just got back from my morning run.
Now, to be sure, I don’t run as far these days as I used to. I definitely don’t run as fast. Less gazelle and more arthritic turtle.
But my long runs have never been about setting a world record pace. The extended journey across town, along the coastline, or even around my old studio’s backlot was most useful as a chance to unplug. Aside from the music and/or podcast flowing into my headphones, my runs are a tech-free zone.
No email. No posting my progress on social media. I don’t take any calls (partially because doing so would surely result in my clumsily tripping and falling due to my inability to do two things at once).
My distance runs are my chance to detach from the world. But, at the same time, doing so still allows me to form a different kind of connection. A connection to my city and my surroundings.
Experiencing a city on foot is far different from witnessing it from the back seat of a tour bus or taking a virtual tour online. You can listen to all of your friend’s stories that you like, but actually putting your own personal shoe leather to the pavement and feeling the gravel beneath your feet gives you a unique perspective that only you will ever fully comprehend. The places we live tend to seep into our subconscious.
They inform the way we view the world. They inform our goals and expe.