Embracing Sloth-Like Movement

Did you know???

I feel like a SLOTH in comparison to how fast my car can travel.  In setting off on the Awake My Sole journey I said goodbye to my Toyota Yaris.  It travels much faster than my feet; a thirty minute car ride translates to eight or more hours of running.

Saying "Goodbye" to my car for the year.  January 9, 2012

Not having a car for the year, has really slowed me down.  In our fast moving culture, some consider sloth-like movement negative.  From my experience, "slowing down" has been very fruitful and healthy.

At first it felt weird, but traveling at a slower pace, though not as efficient, has really helped me see and enjoy the beauty in things. 

For example, Iowa's incredible landscape:

It is incredible what you are you able to see and experience when you travel slower.

I would never have been able to experience several of Iowa's natural beauties if I was traveling by car.  

The Awake My Sole journey has been built on a year long time frame (January 2012 to December 2012).  Each Monday I run to my next community and spend a full week in that community.  If the whole journey was scheduled for only a week or a month rather than the whole year, I wouldn't have been able to spend as much time in each community meeting new people.  

Here are a few wonderful people I've met:


Audrey in Sac City

The Central College Cross Country Team (Cody, Adam, Jim, Michael, Austin)

Running to Grinnell Iowa (Jim, Anet, Andrea, Michael, Marty)

I've met a lot of people on this year long journey, several of whom I've reconnected with.  In March I met Andrew, a senior at the Webster City High School.  When I made my way back through Storm Lake I was speaking at Buena Vista University, and Andrew came up to me.  It was great seeing him again and we were able to grab some dinner at La Juanitas.  

I want to take this next portion to write and reflect on a conversation I had with Peter, a man I reconnected with in Storm Lake.    

Peter is an incredible man.  He is from Africa and currently lives in Storm Lake with his family.  I was blessed with the opportunity to celebrate his son's birthday with him.  

Peter and his son.    

After his son's birthday party, Peter and I were able to chat.  We talked about his life and his current job where he works tirelessly to support his family.  He is a worker at a local large meat company's rendering plant: 8-10 hours a day, six days a week.  In my conversation with him, he said something that caught my attention, "Americans would have two suns if they could."  

I asked Peter what he meant by that.

He said, "Americans are so busy they would rather have more hours of daylight to work and less hours for rest."

 

An interesting perspective from someone who grew up outside our western culture. 

His comment really stuck with me.  It rattled around in my brain during the 40-mile run from Storm Lake to Spencer.

 

 

Are we really so busy that we want MORE hours in the day to get things done?  

  

Are we trapped in a sea of busyness?

Busyness pervades everything we do, from the food we eat, to the way we travel, even in the ways we vacation. 

In Spencer, I was talking with the owner of Toad's Coffee Shop and he said, "It's funny when people talk about getting back from a vacation and they feel even more drained than before they left."

What's interesting about Jim is that he is a wood carver and makes wooden toys for kids.  His toys and carvings are made by hand and they take many hours to complete.  He mentioned how his end product is very rewarding and fulfilling. 

Jim and his wooden toy creation

 Through all these interactions I've been left wondering about "busyness" and how we are truly meant to live.  I do know that slowing down, experiencing Iowa and its people has been rewarding.   

 

Life has so much to offer and we have to be still enough to experience it lest it pass by unnoticed. 

 

 

Back roads of Des Moines

Brigg's Woods near Webster City