The Magic of the Moment

Face it, life is distracting.

If it’s not the kids yelling from the back seat on the way to yet another hockey game, or somebody on the phone at dinnertime trying to sell you a time-share condo in Florida, or the pressures at work trying to squeeze just ten more minutes of productivity out of you, there’s always something trying to stress you out. All these distractions and stressors are keep you worrying and busy to the point that you can forget who you are and you become those little things driving you. If you let them, the things that are bugging you will drive you until you cry "uncle!" Is that the person that you want to be? Not me, that’s for sure.

The powers that be give us only so many days and it’s up to us to not only live through them but to recognize and relish the special moments when they are presented to us. It can be so easy to blunder blindly though life’s experiences, but so difficult to live in the moment and experience all the things that life has for us to experience.

This is where the connection to running comes in. When racing, and you are pushing the limits of your ability, is there anything else able to distract you in that moment? No. Your focus is on running and nothing else, all thoughts of bills, death and taxes are gone. Ok, you might have one or two of death.

The other thing about running is that it brings an importance to things that are commonplace. Think about how good ice-cold water tastes after a hot summer run or a good a hot shower feels after a cold winter run. With out the contrasts that the run affords, these small pleasures are lost in the noise of life.

This is where my third rule for living, as applied to running, comes in. "A cheap thrill is still a thrill."

A "cheap thrill" is not necessarily a sordid, voyeuristic thrill, but a memorable moment that could through inattention be easily passed by. Consciously recognizing the glory of a morning sunrise or the feel of warm sand beneath your toes can enrich your life experience. It can make an every day existence an adventure full of moments of bliss. It’s not so much that running gives me a cheap thrill as it brings appreciation for little things into sharp focus.

During a winter fringe run in 2004, I insisted on running along the Rail Trail in Dundas. It was dark and cold, but there was a thin layer of snow on the trail, sky was clear, the stars bright and the full moon illuminated the quiet world around us as we ran. It all combined to create a moment of perfection, a moment to be cherished in my memory forever. On the way back from the Sulphur Springs Rail Station, I shared my feeling of wonder with Pat Peters. She shared with me a theological/philosophical thought with me. She said, "Imagine all these unique and special experiences being strewn through out your life. Your job is to collect up as many of these pearls of experience. At the end of your days you get to present your string of pearls to God and say, look at these treasures that I have found."

For me, running not only brings a sense of completeness and competitiveness, but also helps to focus a sense of appreciation of the little things that help me revel in the human experience. I try not to let the big deal shape my world. Those moments tend to be manipulated by commercialism and consumerism. They only succeed in dulling the senses and my connectedness to the universe around me. That is a less spiritual road that leads to the numbness that lets most people take for granted all the small miracles that surround us.

No, my lodestone leads me down the path of awareness and consciousness. My magic moments in this lifetime are contained in the smile of a small child, the support of a good friend, a cold drink quenching a parched throat, a magical sunrise, the sweat of a good work out and the oft forgotten little pleasures that surround us all.

By Mark G. Collis

Revised: December 24, 2003.