Just "sit in it" or at least run in it.
I recently had a conversation about living in uncomfortableness. After thinking about it, that has been my predominant life lesson over the past four years -- learning to live uncomfortably. I've spent a good portion of my life fighting uncomfortable situations or simply existing during them. Two years ago, I was driving to Columbus and had a conversation with my friend, Nathan, that changed that habit. He explained if I could learn to "sit in the uncomfortableness" of the situation then I would not feel so despairing or exhausted. Simply accept the situation as it is and live in it, and understanding will come speedily with healing closely following.
In the last two years, I've somewhat grasped this concept of accepting the uneasy and moving forward in it's presence, and I truly believe running has aided me in this progress. Running is one of the most uncomfortable activities for me to endure for an extended period of time, at least when I first begin. My body often does not want to cooperate when it feels discomfort and then the true uneasiness begins -- the muscles tense up, joints ache, and breathing becomes laborious. The mental side is not much better -- it must continuously resist giving in to the physical side that is screaming for relief, not to mention fighting boredom, especially on a treadmill. It was during an uncomfortable time in my life that I picked up running, and I now see how beneficial it was in helping me through that situation. I learned to run for two hours in discomfort, and strange enough, somewhere in that two hours the discomfort became easier and the running was enjoyable -- not endurable but enjoyable. Just as the running became something I learned to do despite the discomfort so did living despite the uncomfortableness. I learned to move forward in both areas regardless of feelings.
As I ran today, I thought of the lessons I've learned and was so thankful for them. I will definitely have many more uncomfortable times in life, but I'm glad I'm finally learning to "sit in them" or even better to run in them.
In the last two years, I've somewhat grasped this concept of accepting the uneasy and moving forward in it's presence, and I truly believe running has aided me in this progress. Running is one of the most uncomfortable activities for me to endure for an extended period of time, at least when I first begin. My body often does not want to cooperate when it feels discomfort and then the true uneasiness begins -- the muscles tense up, joints ache, and breathing becomes laborious. The mental side is not much better -- it must continuously resist giving in to the physical side that is screaming for relief, not to mention fighting boredom, especially on a treadmill. It was during an uncomfortable time in my life that I picked up running, and I now see how beneficial it was in helping me through that situation. I learned to run for two hours in discomfort, and strange enough, somewhere in that two hours the discomfort became easier and the running was enjoyable -- not endurable but enjoyable. Just as the running became something I learned to do despite the discomfort so did living despite the uncomfortableness. I learned to move forward in both areas regardless of feelings.
As I ran today, I thought of the lessons I've learned and was so thankful for them. I will definitely have many more uncomfortable times in life, but I'm glad I'm finally learning to "sit in them" or even better to run in them.
posted by Amanda at 10:14 PM
1 Comments:
I enjoy reading your blogs, Amanda. This particular one was very personal to me. I think you said this very well. I've also learned that by denying the physical we won't be as governed by our "feelings" or "five senses". God revealed to me that this was the REAL reason for fasting instead of what I had always thought....that fasting was to show God I was really serious so he'd answer my prayers faster. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. You show a lot of wisdome in your writing.
Sherri Bucklen-Higginbotham
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