"Burning Up What Is False"

I receive emails from RunnersWorld.com for the motivational quotes. Some of them don't really do much more than fill up my inbox, but once in awhile a real gem comes along. When I read this quote, a tremor went through me. It struck me in the heart, the way truth tends to do.

I haven't been able to shake that second sentence from my mind. I had an almost visceral reaction the first time I read it; I was covered in goosebumps. Burn up what is false. It speaks to me on so many levels. We live our lives shrouded in falsehoods; they weigh on us like shackles, dragging us down from the inside.

We're never good enough, strong enough, smart enough, pretty enough, selfless enough...you name it. We are constantly bombarded with images of what we should strive to be, but no person alive today could ever meet such expectations. The only way to achieve peace with yourself is to let go of the illusion that perfection actually exists in a singular way. We should aim to be the best version of ourselves, and leave the rest.

So there it is. Find a way to burn up the falsehoods that cloud our lives and make happiness so difficult to achieve. There are any number of ways to do it, but for me the key is running.

I run, and the weight falls off my shoulders. The stress of work, the fear of inadequacy, the uncertainty of the future...for a time, gone. As long as the run goes, my mind is blissfully free of those doubts - those falsehoods.

For a time after the run, the freedom remains. Running is a talisman, and the memory of the last run wraps me in a cocoon, this safety net that gives me an inner fire that lets me burn up the fictions of the world. I see things more clearly, and I am me, standing tall, secure. I am not how others see me, what the world wants me to be. I am living my own truth, and running is what makes that possible.

Forget what the world tells you. Find the thing that lets you block out the white noise and listen to your own mind. Figure out what is false and light it on fire. Let it burn.

ABK