Just the other day, I threw on some of my warmest gear and went running in the cold. And I mean COLD – the air temperature was -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 Celsius for my international friends).
While I was stumbling through a five-mile (8K) festival of frigid, I had some time to think. Many of my thoughts, especially early on, involved some version of “OH MY GOSH IT’S COLD OUT HERE.” However, I gradually warmed up with the effort and was able to send my thoughts to a higher plane. Naturally, this led to thoughts of love…and the eventual analogy-stretching I would engage in here in my blog. Enjoy!
Why Running in the Cold is Like Love, starting with the obvious:
Love is not all barefoot strolls on the beach. Sometimes the conditions are gonna be less than ideal…and you still have to go for it. If you want real, perpetual love, you’re gonna have to navigate some non-idyllic weather. (People who live where it’s warm, imagine hurricane winds instead of bone-cracking cold.)
Consider the climate, but don’t worry so much about the temperature. In running, every minute you spend looking at a thermometer reading negative degrees can be demotivating. You know it’s gonna be cold – dress appropriately. So what if the temperature says X or X+2?
In love, it’s the same. Pay attention to the climate, of course – be sensitive to the people in your life and the state of your relationships. But a lot of the time, taking the relationship’s temperature (“Are you okay?” “Where are we?”) is not as productive as we want. Be sensitive, but don’t focus on what the temperature is – focus on changing it!
Run to get warm. Isn’t it interesting how cold weather doesn’t feel so cold when you’re moving? At the moment this photo was taken, I could have taken my outerwear off and run in shirtsleeves…for a minute anyway.
It’s the same in love – analysis leaves you cold, but action warms you. Love is a verb – treat it that way and simply act in a loving way. It’s amazing how choosing to love someone, and acting in a loving way, changes your internal temperature toward someone, and changes the temperature of the relationship.
Do it for love. I don’t love running, I don’t classify as a runner, and I don’t live to run. However, I DO love what running gives me – the fitness to endure epic work travel, the energy to stay with my kids, the metabolism to stay in my current pants size.
In love, it’s the same – you’re often confronted with things you don’t want to do – like admit you’re wrong – that ultimately create health in your relationships. Suck it up, buttercup, and do it for love.
If there’s love in your heart, you can withstand a lot of headwind. That is all.
Love,
Dan