Chariots of Fire --- with all my "sole"

Most people want to discover their meaning and purpose in life.  Not often do you hear someone say, "I don't want to find meaning and purpose in my life."

Some people may unintentionally live in a way that is perceived not meaningful and purposeful, or perhaps it's meaningful and purposeful in a way that is foreign to others.

For someone who dislikes running, they wouldn't find running for a year a meaningful and purposeful endeavor, probably more of a tedious and grueling task.

The tasks we perform, hobbies we pursue and talents we discover, what if they were deemed meaningful and purposeful because it keeps us from being aimless?  Almost as if we were created to work.  Hopefully we are working towards something good, right?  Towards something that makes this world a better place.


I'm sitting in my room, after a year of running and speaking, listening to an appropriate movie soundtrack:

I'm also reflecting on a writing found in the Book of Matthew, chapter 12:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hand all the law and the prophets."

If I was to paraphrase this passage, the runner in me translates "soul" to "sole."

Where do you find meaning and purpose?

Is your journey worth your life?

I feel like Skydiving is a cheap thrill, especially if it involves skydiving with cars.

A temporary experience of fulfillment.  Excitement and danger converge and well up within us a sense of being "fully alive."

Similar to many commercials on TV.  

A couple weeks ago I was sitting and watching TV.  There was a commercial about a girl who got a new pair of jeans, and instantly she was happy.  She started dancing like a fully alive person.  She danced on chairs and you could tell she was happy.

"If only I get those jeans, an overwhelming sense of joy and excitement will well up out of me and I'll burst apart, right?"

We are seeking things that don't fulfill and amidst this realization we still intensely seek after them.

A band named "The Lighthouse and the Whaler" have a song called "Burst Apart."

A lyrics from this song:

"The journey is worth your life..."

Since first hearing this song, this lyric has mulled around in my head.  I can't stop thinking about how essential finding a "journey worth your life" is.  Especially to finding fulfillment, meaning and purpose.

It would be disappointing if becoming "fully alive" was as easy as purchasing jeans or skydiving in some remote village.

Our journeys must be better than that.  We must be willing to give our lives to them.

What journey is worth our life?

Our life is one of our most precious gifts.

What if our ultimate purpose and meaning can be found amidst an orchestrated story with a Creator?  Where we realize, our story, our life is but a small piece of a grand scheme.

What if our life, our meaning, our story is more than ourselves, but rather about something bigger?    

The Awake My Sole journey was based out of striving after Jesus.  It's crazy to think the running & speaking portion of the yearlong journey is finished, however the journey overall journey has only begun.

Whether you are an "extreme-thrill-seeking-sports-athlete" jumping out of planes or a business woman with a routine job, you can fully be alive amidst striving after something bigger.

Ultimately I know my life is not my own, but God's, and I attempt daily to be aware of the journey I am on.

Is the journey you are on worth your life?

An Unexpected Journey --- What would BILBO do? GO or STAY ???

The Hobbit, the newest installment from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings franchise has this tag line:

"An Unexpected Journey."

It is a fictional story filled with mythical creatures.  The main protagonist is Bilbo, the Hobbit.  Hobbits are comfortable creatures, who enjoy the simple pleasures and comforts of life: smoking a pipe, reading books and eating good food.

Hobbits are not ones for exploring or discovery.

But in this story, Bilbo finds himself on an unexpected journey with a bunch of dwarfs.  At first he is against going on the journey Gandalf wishes for him to be on, but there is a turning point where the excitement of risk and unknown wells up in this Hobbit and he joins the crew.

“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Our lives are unexpected journeys.  Even amidst the so-called mundane and routines of life.

Sometimes we are called on an adventure, perhaps to follow and pursue a dream, like starting a bakery or writing a book... little unexpected journeys.

The crazy thing is, we have a choice while at the same time we don't have a choice.  We never know what the other choice would have been.  We can always say things like, "I wonder what would have happened?"

With anything in life, we are confronted with this option, do we GO or do we STAY?

If we GO, it may not be easy, perhaps scary or risky, full of fearful moments.  We may miss the comforts of our life.  Freeing and liberating with nothing holding us back.

If we STAY, it may be simple and routine, and we can come home each night.  To some it may seem oppressive because of the stability.

Our life is full of unexpected moments.  In fact, every moment can be an unexpected moment of "Going" or "Staying."

It's not whether we GO or STAY, more or less, but rather why we are "going" or "staying?"

Why do we GO on journeys of adventure, or STAY put in the comforts of every day life?

Do people who GO on journeys lead more "fulfilling" and "meaningful" lives in comparison to those who STAY?

I'm in the middle of a book called "Brother Lawrence, practicing the presence of God," and he is a monk who cooked meals and did routine tasks filled with great love.  His whole practice of life was to be continually aware of the presence of the Creator, in every task.  In the tasks of "Going" and of "Staying."

"I wish you could convince yourself that GOD is often (in some sense) nearer to us, and more effectually present with us, in sickness than in health."  Brother Lawrence

What if we really believed that God is near us on this unexpected journey of life?  We GO when we feel called to go; we STAY when we feel called to stay.  

What if the Creator of the Universe, the One who knows the deepest truths, who loves us so deeply and intimately, is truly alongside of us, giving us direction and hope?  Not walking the steps for us, but whispering in the silence little hints for us to follow, all while longing for our love and affections, only things we can offer when we are aware.  

Any unexpected journey we go on, if we are truly trying to follow God, our hearts will be aligned, so really no matter what we do, whether it is run across the state of Iowa, work in a cubicle, go on an unexpected journey, or stay put and wash dishes, we can find the meaning, purpose and joy out of a love for the Creator.

Simplify Your Life Into a Bag

20 days till the AMS journey begins

All of my possessions I will use for a year are on THIS cart.

clothes bag, first aid kit, food kit, computer bag, book bag and CHARLEY

A couple months ago, the movie 180 Degrees South was highly recommended by my brother.  So I watched it on Netflix.

A quote by Yvon Chouinard, stuck with me:

The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life.  It's so easy to make it complex.   

I agree with Yvon.  It is tough to simplify one's life.  For me, these last couple months have been a struggle:  

What should I bring on a year long trek across Iowa? 

What shouldn't I bring?

All my clothes I will use for a year are in this bag

Button up shirt, short sleeve collared shirt, khakis, jeans, 5 pairs of socks/underwear, sweater

I've narrowed my library of books down to 5 books.

One of the books I'm taking.  One of my favorite books.

I've narrowed my coffee mugs down to my favorite mug.

a gift from Turkey

I'm taking the bare essentials.

If you had to pack all of your belongings on a cart, what would you pack?

This has been one of the toughest things for me to do.  So many things I want to take with me, like my Sega Genesis and TV, my records, my desk and my bed.

As I have had to simplify my possessions, it has required me to think and really ask the question What do I need?

This is something we all must wrestle with, especially with the holiday season upon us.  What do we need to be happy? 

Possessions?  

Money?  

Traditions?  

Faith?

Quality Time?  

People?

As I have wrestled with this, amidst the simplifying of my physical possessions, I have come to the conclusion the things in life that are most important, are not things... but rather time with family, friends and faith.  

May you be inspired to simplify your life, or realize that the things you have aren't what life is all about.

In the grand scheme of life, maybe the things we possess or try to obtain, are in fact what distracts us from the relationships that are of utmost importance. 

The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life.  It's so easy to make it complex.