I've ran the half-marathon multiple times. Why? It wasn't health reasons. I am not the type of person that enjoys exercise. But, running kept me sane through some very tough times... exactly 9 years ago. My life changed drastically in ways I never imagined ever would. So I ran got in enough-good of a shape to a gym and brave enough to join a running club, expanding my social circle. Concequently, my definition of what is "normal" was transformed. I was the weakest runner among people who had ran all their lives, so it became "normal" for me to wake up before 5 AM to go on a long run every Sunday; Everyone else was, after all, doing it. It became "normal" for me to spend 1-2 hours a day lifting weights and performing ridiculous exercises (ie. burpees, bear-crawls, or sprinting in parking lots like a teen). I met a large number of people, of very amazing people, and very ordinary people. By that I mean, ordinary people can do amazing things (who knew?).
Life moves along. I met the person who eventually became my wife and mother to 3 of my daughters, and exercise took a back seat (not entirely kicked out of the car, though, just a back seat). This is all just a long-winded explanation of why the two poems, #14 and #46, that I posted today are set during runs. It was not done on purpose that one takes place during the day and the other during the night - just one of those happy accidents while working with yin-yang symbologies. Likewise, one describes an ascetic disposition while the other is sensual (as in relating to the senses). I love that that happens: I love discovering little coincidences like that, perhaps guided by the subconcious or by supernatural currents. They are like new to me, written by someone who, I know, needs my prayers- may he endure with grace what befell, find his way to a better place.