running as a constant

On a recent episode of the TV series, "Lost," one of characters, Desmond was suffering from some seemingly hallucinatory bout where he was going back and forth between the past and the present. The only thing that could save him, he found out, was that he needed to find a "constant," something that would be there for him – an object, a place, a person, whatever – both in the past and in the present. In his case, he chose his girlfriend, Penelope, who because she was there for him, literally saved his life.

I thought that was a very good episode, and it got me to thinking that a "constant" is what keeps us rooted and helps us during times of turmoil. We may stray away from it from time to time, but returning to it helps keep us grounded. For some their constant is their family, faith, home, friends, relationships, etc.

I count on running as one of my "constants." I've been running on and off for the last decade or so. I run when times are good, and I run when they're not so peachy either. Running reinforces my love for life, and it gives me comfort when things are tough. Even when I'm ill or injured and couldn't run, I still benefit from running knowing that I can come back to it soon enough.

It is easy to take the ability to run for granted, so I always try to count that as a blessing and a "constant" that for me, at least, will be there for a long time to come.