Achieving the Runner's High.
Running High is an optional set of exercises and meditations for people wanting to develop their spiritual muscles. It's designed to give everyone food for thought, wherever they are on their spiritual journey. If you have a faith, then you can use this series to go deeper in it. If you don't, then you can simply concentrate on the opportunities for self-awareness and self-improvement.
Pick an episode from the following list:

“Running is a big question mark that’s
there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp
or are you going to be strong today?’” Peter Maher, Canadian Olympic
runner
“It is time for us all to stand and cheer
for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognises the challenges and does
something about it.” Vince Lombardi, legendary American Football coach
Running is a physical
activity, no doubt about that. It makes demands on you – on your energy,
on your strength, on your muscle.
And yet, it also gives you energy, strength and muscle. Running develops your
strength as well as demanding it. As you train, you can literally see yourself
progressing. Things that were once difficult slowly become less so. What you
once could not do, you now find you can. Running reminds us that we all have
untapped potential, and that if we’re prepared to expend effort and energy
then we can fulfil that potential.
Muscle grows and develops as you use it, and only as you use it. So it is with
our ability to know God
Muscle grows and develops as you use it, and only as you use it. So it is with
our ability to know God, to grow in grace, to open ourselves up to His transforming
love. It’s almost as if prayer itself is a muscle, waiting to be built
up. Our capacity to know God is not fixed. We can grow it.
It’s easy to live life without fulfilling anything like our potential.
We find some things difficult and so give up, rather than pushing through and
seeing our capacity grow.
We’ve looked at four areas of our inner life – motivation, meditation,
mastery and muscle. Together they make up who we are. And our capacity for each
area can be grown and developed if we’re prepared to push through. With
application and effort we can see more of our potential as human beings fulfilled.
Jesus once said that the greatest commandment was that you ‘Love the Lord
your God with all your heart (motivation), all your soul (meditation), all your
mind (mastery) and all your strength (muscle).’
This series of 4 exercises has simply been about exploring what it might take
to love more fully, and thus become more whole.
Here is the final set of challenges. Read the Training Notes
for inspiration, then set about the Activities for Running
and the Applications for Life.
Training
Notes. Isaiah 40.27-31
Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to
me”?
He energises those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you
can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch
his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out. He energises those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble
and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings
and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t
lag behind.
Isaiah the Prophet, The Message Translation
Activities for Running. Things to do when you're on the road.
- Learn to pray with your body. Make your running a form of prayer. Practise
the presence of God, allowing Him to be present in your movement.
- Let your running reflect a conversation with God – give body and physicality
to prayers of longing, dependence, desire and dreams..
Applications for Life. Things to do when you're off road.
- Write down ways in which you can love God with all that you are. Think about
what it means to love God with your heart (motivation, will, purpose and focus).
Think about what it means to love God with your soul (inner life, emotion,
creativity, relationships, your identity). Think about what it means to love
God with your mind (intellect, discipline, choices, commitment). Think about
what it means to love God with your strength (energy, action, practice, involvement
with the world).
- Remember that authentic Christianity and love for God involves your strength.
Get physical for God. Care for people, work for justice, feed the hungry and
be good news for the poor.
- Write down 3 things that you have learnt from running that you want to transfer
in to the rest of your life and your relationship with God.
Mark Cowling
If you've got a question, thought or comment, then email Mark
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