Running in the Dark

Today I am grateful for our dog Oliver and how he sometimes snuggles with me, and for daily hugs that my husband Darcy and I share. 

I prefer to run in the mornings, and will run in the dark at that time of the day. And I can usually summon the energy after work if I really want to get out there. I don't often run after we've eaten dinner and it's starting to get dark out though. Yesterday was a gray and blustery day and the temperature is turning cooler. It feels like fall. 

I was determined to run when I got home from work, but I also had other commitments. I surprised myself by feeling energized enough to run as it closed in on 7:00 p.m. and darkness.I donned my running attire and added the reflective vest I wear for safety when it's either too early or too late for sunlight. 

I concentrated on my steps more than usual--to avoid tripping on anything. I also heard more sounds and experienced the night air differently. My senses focused their energies there because there was less use for energy on the full landscape hidden in twilight. The dry leaves blowing in the tree branches above my head enveloped me a time or two. Instead of appreciating the coming daylight I so appreciate in the mornings, I gratefully took in the exiting light as nighttime settled in. 

I love running. I love running in lots of different conditions. No two runs are exactly alike, but I am pretty much guaranteed I will be glad I got out there, even for a short run.

An evening run brings a different perspective, like this picture does. It's me--flat chest, not-so-flat belly, safety vest, and experienced legs. 

Living gratefully brings a different perspective and presence to the day as well. And since I am talking about running in the dark, it reminds me that I have run through the dark more than I have run in the dark. The dark of diseases and troubled thinking and unworthiness and the like. Every run I have taken has helped me work through pain and dis-ease, and has brought me joy on small and large scales. Onward!