"If it's not fun, why do it?"

  

For the past two weeks I have forced myself to drink a small glass of kombucha everyday. I cringe, shiver, and gag whenever I drink it. The reason I am doing this is merely because I was told “it is good for you.” I don’t enjoy it, it is not a pleasurable experience. I don’t know how long I can keep this up! 

 

In our country, 33% of adults over age 20 have been told by their doctors to increase their physical activity because “it is good for you.” (1)

Certainly, there is compelling medical data supporting the doctors' directives, yet many Americans do NOT do what is “good for them.”

• only 53% of adults over age 18 meet the CDC’s Physical Activity Guidelines, (150 minutes of aerobic activity per week).
• At age 65 that percentage drops to 46%
• At age 75 it drops to 32%. (2)

Even when people spend money on expensive gym memberships they are still unable to do what “is good for them.” A 2018 survey of 5,313 American gym members were found that 63% of memberships go completely unused! (3)

Forcing yourself to do something merely because “it is good for you” is unsustainable, extremely unpleasant, and can be expensive. 

 

I agree with G. K. Chesterton, who wrote: 

Medical researchers have repeatedly documented “our necessities” – the physical needs and health benefits of exercise - but we get to choose how to accept them as “luxuries.”

If exercise is merely a “necessity,” then I would ride a stationary bike for X miles or X minutes while watching “Barney Miller” reruns. (😒boring!) But if exercise is a “luxury,” then I am going to choose a physical activity - running, walking, hiking, yoga, etc. - that I ENJOY, that I want to EXPERIENCE. 😀

My choice is running. During each run, I explore my community; greet people; appreciate sights, sounds, smells; think; and, many times, pause to take photographs. I enjoy what I am experiencing – it is a luxury! 

The psychological benefits of experiencing exercise as a luxury come from “learning how to enjoy our enjoyments.” And they are just as important as the physical benefits of exercise. These benefits became evident in a recent study of “awe walks.” In this study, 60 older adults went on weekly 15-minute outdoor “awe walks” for 8 weeks.

During these “awe walks,” physical exercise was not the focus. Instead, participants focused on the wonders around them and simply enjoyed their experience. They used their senses, took photographs and recorded the emotions they felt. At the end of the study, the “awe walk” participants had completed 14 hours of physical activity and, most importantly, reported greater increases in daily, positive emotions and greater decreases in daily distress. They “learned to enjoy their enjoyments!” (5)

 

If it wasn't fun, I wouldn't do it!

For me, participating in physical activities merely because they are “good for you” is boring and unsustainable. I run because it is an enjoyable luxury, an experience I look forward to everyday. The physical benefits are a bonus. 

Running is “good for me.”  👍👍

 

1. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6642a11.htm
2. https://public.tableau.com/profile/nhis#!/vizhome/FIGURE7_2/Dashboard7_2
3. https://thehustle.co/gym-membership-cost
4. http://www.online-literature.com/chesterton/heretics/5/
5. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-69974-001?doi=1

"Nothing to do with me"

Journal Entry - August 13, 2017, (the day after the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia)

I was enjoying a quiet, Sunday morning run. Traffic was almost nonexistent when I noticed a young woman across the street ahead of me. She was standing in a driveway holding a sign that read: “Stop the Hate!”
Suddenly, an older woman ran out of a house, grabbed her sign, and yelled, “Get in there and get ready for church. We have nothing to do with that!” 

I was immediately reminded of an exchange my mom and I had several years ago…

She was visiting our home in Leesburg, Virginia and we made the short trip to Harper’s Ferry in West Virginia. A National Park Ranger there presented an engaging and informative program about John’s Brown’s 1859 raid. The Ranger explained how it was a pivotal event leading up to the Civil War.

As we walked out of the program, I commented to my mom, “That Ranger was great! He really knows how to breath life into history.”

My mom responded, “That’s not my history, I have nothing to do with it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well,” she answered, “my family didn’t come to this country until after the Civil War and slavery. It has nothing to do with me because we weren’t here.”

“Our family wasn’t here for the War of Independence.” I said, “So does that mean the we have nothing to do with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights? Citizenship isn’t a smorgasbord where we pick and choose only the parts we like and ignore the rest. As American citizens, all of our history – successes and failures - and every current event – positive or negative- has something to do with us.”

My mom paused, then groaned and said, “You are such a smarty pants!” 

2020: As I reread that journal entry, I was not surprised at my mom’s thinking. I know many people who think the same way: “... white, American retirees with the normal white American views about slavery: it was a long time ago, you can’t change the past, let’s not talk about it, let’s not think about it, don’t you dare make us feel bad about it.” (1)

Most discussions I have had with my peers about slavery, Jim Crow laws, or Black Lives Matter marches inevitably lead to stories of how hard is was for their immigrant ancestors and include comments like: “they just want handouts”- “civil rights are unfair to white people” – “stop playing the race card” – “Black Lives Matter is too political” – “they just need to forget the past, and get a job” - “it has nothing to do with me.”

So what does this “have to do with” running? Like many white runners, the sense of peace I feel when running reflects my racial privilege. I run when and where I please, I wear whatever clothing I want and no one bothers me. Most people greet me verbally and, if not, they wave and smile.

Contrast my experience with African-American runners’ routines, intended to deflect the sort of suspicions that turned deadly for Ahmaud Arbery:

• steering clear of “white” neighborhoods,
• going out only in daylight,
• wearing an Ivy League T-shirt to broadcast respectability (2)

“Running is still a white privilege. Just being able to walk outside your door and go for a run is a luxury. Being able to run with both of your earbuds in...is a luxury. We encourage all of our runners to be aware of their surroundings and to be able to hear everything around them. Being a black runner in this climate, we are even more on alert.” - Tenia Fisher (3)

I have been running for decades and I have never:

• had someone call the police on me because I was running – simply running!
• had a police officer stop me during a run to question me about why I am running
• been passed by the same police car three times in three miles
• been followed by a police car during my run (4)

The American Civil Liberties Union has since taken on cases like these, instances of what many runners across the country have become familiar with as “running while black.” (5)

Running is a normal, everyday activity. But before a black runner has even taken one step he is labeled “suspicious” and marginalized. Imagine what the rest of his day – his life – is like! When a black runner heads out for a run, he is not asking for a “handout,” and he is not " playing the race card.” He is simply running, just like me.

“Running while black” is just a snippet of the wider discrimination that still exists because we insist our country’s history of racial discrimination “has nothing to do with us.”

I wonder how our history might have been different had “we the people” identified personally with the plight of slaves and acknowledged their inhumane treatment.

What would have happened if “we the people” had spoken up when freed slaves - American citizens - were denied jobs, restricted to red-lined neighborhoods, sent to sub-standard schools, required to pay to vote and were brutally lynched?

We may not have made our history but it made us. And, unfortunately, our country at large is still deeply wounded and deformed by slavery and racial discrimination, and no healing or progress will occur unless this vital truth is recognized. 

So what might our future be if “we the people” acknowledge our history of racism and understand its ongoing impacts – like “running while black”?

We remember and reflect on the past for a reason, for a purpose. We want to ensure that what happened and is happening to the victims of racial discrimination doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future. Treating one another with humanity and respect and "has everything to do with us.”

That young woman protesting in her driveway 3 years ago was not silent. Very few people saw her on that Sunday morning – but I did! She was bold enough to speak up where she was. I hope she is still speaking up wherever she is now.

And, contrary to what my mom said, I was not then nor am I now a “smarty pants.” I am merely a human being, speaking up where I am - still trying to break my silence by:

• acknowledging that racial discrimination exists
• striving to treat people the way I want to be treated
• listening to people’s experiences and not dismissing or ignoring them
• taking time to read and research
• and admitting that our shared history – our humanity -“has everything to do with me.”
  

As a retired librarian, I would be remiss if I didn’t include some suggested resources. Here is a video and five books I found beneficial as I continue my journey towards understanding our history of racism and its ongoing impacts:

VIDEO: How Running's White Origins Led To The Dangers Of 'Running While Black' (8 minutes)
 

BOOKS:
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Heavily researched and well written -either you will love or hate this book but, either way, hopefully it will get you thinking! If you only want to read one book, read this-but be prepared for a desire to learn more!

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
Explains how a lot of the racial segregation taking place in our neighborhoods actually happened as the result of very specific and very racist policy choices, going back at least to the F.D.R. Administration

Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil by Susan Neiman
The book begins with this sentence, ‘I began life as a white girl in the segregated South, and I’m likely to end it as a Jewish woman in Berlin.’ After a life time of experience and five years of research, the author invites us to think more deeply about who suffered the real harms, then and now, and what practical steps we can take to begin working off the past and addressing the unanswered questions of justice.

Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America by Cameron McWhirter
After World War I, black soldiers believed their participation in the fight to make the world safe for democracy finally earned them rights they had been promised since the close of the Civil War. Instead, an unprecedented wave of anti-black riots and lynchings swept the country for eight months - across the South into the North and the Midwest, even to the nation's capital. This book explores the first stirrings of the civil rights movement that would transform American society forty years later.

White too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity by Robert P. Jones
Combines painstaking data analysis, history, theology, sociology and memoir into a rigorous look at the ways white supremacists have regularly distorted and manipulated a faith dedicated to love and justice to rationalize racism. It challenges people of faith to chart a new path forward. 

 

End notes:

1. Grant, Richard. The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi. Simon & Schuster, 2020.

2.  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/opinion/running-jogging-race-ahmaud-arbery.html

3.  https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a34044395/milwaukee-running-segregated/

4.  https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a32678089/black-indigenous-people-of-color-runners-experiences/

5.  https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a34759281/pioneer-run-crew-sidney-baptista-normalize-running-in-the-black-community/

Time is Running Out ...

Washington, D.C. • January 23, 2020:  The Doomsday Clock was reset to just 100 seconds before midnight -- the closest we have ever been to the complete and total annihilation of the earth (well, at least metaphorically).

The Doomsday Clock has been maintained since 1947.

All is not lost, yet! In fact, the Clock hand has been moved away from midnight almost as often as it was moved closer. The threat of nuclear destruction might seem too big for us to handle, but the Clock isn’t used as a scare tactic, rather it is used to get people talking.

Likewise, movies can also get us talking about the possibility and prevention of nuclear destruction … before time runs out! 

Most people are familiar with the classic nuclear destruction movies such as: The Day After

Fail Safe

Dr. Strangelove

On the Beach

War Games; and Crimson Tide. 

However, there are lesser-known nuclear destruction movies worthy of your time. Most are available on YouTube, Vimeo, or the Internet Archive at no cost.

My Top Ten Lesser-Known Nuke Movies

 

1. Threads (1984) @ Internet Archive (archive.org) 💥💥💥💥💥

Documentary style account of the terrifying consequences of nuclear warfare upon an unsuspecting world. Set mainly in Sheffield, England during the height of the Cold War, “Threads” follows two families and other citizens, as they deal with the absolute destruction of their society and the eventual long running effects of nuclear war on civilization.  

 

2. By Dawn’s Early Light (1990) on YouTube 💥💥💥💥

Based on the 1983 novel “Trinity's Child,” by William Prochnau. It is one of the last films to depict the events of a fictional World War III before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. It tells the story of the crew of a nuclear bomber attacking the Soviet Union while the President of the United States tries desperately to regain control of his military after his helicopter crashes during a limited nuclear exchange.

3. Kuroi Ame/Black Rain (1989) on YouTube, Japanese w/English Subtitles💥💥💥💥

The story of the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing, based on Masuji Ibuse's novel. Survivors make their way through the ruins of Hiroshima, just after the atomic bomb has dropped. Five years later, in a village containing many of the bomb survivors, they must deal with the legacy of the atomic bomb.

4. The War Game (1965), @ Internet Archive (archive.org), Academy Award Winner 💥💥💥💥

A docudrama about nuclear war and its aftermath in and around a typical English city. Although it won an Oscar for Best Documentary, it is fiction. It was intended as an hour-long program to air on BBC but it was deemed too intense and violent to broadcast. It went to theatrical distribution as a feature film instead. Low-budget and shot on location, it strives for and achieves convincing and unflinching realism.

5. Der Dritte Weltkrieg/World War Three (1998)– on YouTube, German w/English subtitles 💥💥💥💥

It depicts what might have transpired if, following the overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet troops, under orders from a new hard-line regime, had opened fire on demonstrators in Berlin in the fall of 1989 and precipitated World War III. The film mixes real footage of world leaders and archive footage of combat exercises and news events, with newly shot footage of citizens, soldiers and political staff. 

6. Countdown to Looking Glass (1984) on YouTube 💥💥💥

Docudrama uses fictional reports of a crisis in the Middle East, which leads to a nuclear confrontation between the US and the USSR. "Looking Glass" is the code word for the Strategic Air Command's control plane which is to be used in the case of nuclear war. 

7. Deterrence (1999) Buy or rent on YouTube, I borrowed the DVD from the Jacksonville Public Library  💥💥💥

The President is on the campaign trail to be re-elected. On a stop in Colorado, he is suddenly snowed in and he and his entourage are forced to take shelter in a small diner. There the President learns that Iraq has invaded Kuwait and slaughtered hundreds of American soldiers. Setting up temporary communications, the President announces that he will launch a nuclear attack on Iraq immediately if the country does not withdraw. 

8. Barefoot Gen (1983) on YouTube, Japanese w/English subtitles 💥💥💥

This animated version of the autobiographical manga by Keiji Nakazawa is a disturbing story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people. 

9. Special Bulletin (1983) on YouTube 💥💥💥

A TV reporter and cameraman are taken hostage on a tugboat while covering a workers strike. The demands of the hostage-takers are to collect all the nuclear detonators in the Charleston, SC area so they may be detonated at sea. They threaten to detonate a nuclear device of their own if their demand isn't met.  

10. Colossus Forbin Project (1970) on Vimeo 💥💥

Thinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. Shortly after being turned on, it detects the existence of Guardian, the Soviet counterpart, previously unknown to US Planners. Both computers insist that they be linked and each side agrees to allow it. As soon as the link is established the two become a new Super computer and threaten the world with the immediate launch of nuclear weapons if they are detached. 

Must Watch Documentary: Rich Hall’s Red Menace on YouTube💥💥💥💥

Miscellaneous:
[EAS] 8:17 A Real Time Nuclear Attack Simulation on YouTube 💥💥💥- Simulated Emergency Alert System broadcast of a nuclear attack, 8 minutes, 17 seconds.

The Last Broadcast on YouTube 💥💥💥- A radio play which reflects the chilling possibility of what could have happened if the superpowers of the world decided to go nuclear during the Cold War. Emphasis on “radio” play, hence the oldies music and commercials from the 1980’s. 

Fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000 (so bad, they’re “good”)
All are on YouTube:

Atomic Attack Motorola Television Hour (1954)
Day the World Ended (1955)
Rocket Attack USA (1961)
This Is Not a Test (1962)

In 2007 the Bulletin for Atomic Scientists added climate change and disruptive technologies to nuclear risk as indicators for setting the hands on the Doomsday Clock. Since the nuclear risk has decreased, perhaps we will be watching more movies about rising sea levels and cyber attacks on our power grids! 😬

 In the meantime, I'll keep running ...

3 Ways Runners Engage with their "Deep Strangeness"

“To engage in a sustained way with the deep strangeness 

that is the human mind.” - Kathryn Schulz

1. “Terra firma” - Before I retired, most of my thoughts while running were, what I call, “Terra firma” (solid earth in Latin) or practical, focused thinking. This kind of thinking had and still has a direct impact on my earth-bound, everyday activities. These are not daydreams, these are solid, focused thoughts which will guide my actions after my run is complete. For example, while I was working on my Masters’ Degrees, I would mentally plan and organize papers and research projects while running. I also figured out scheduling conflicts, brainstormed programming ideas, and created solutions to a variety of work problems during my morning runs. 

 

Since retiring, the frequency of my “Terra firma” thoughts has decreased but I still plan, problem solve, and create while running. In fact, the idea for this blog post came to me during a run and I “edited” it on subsequent runs. So why is it that some of my best thinking happens during a run?

Science says... Obviously, during exercise blood pressure and flow increase, sending more energy and oxygen to muscles and organs – including the brain. This means brain performance improves.
“Another explanation for why working up a sweat enhances our mental capacity is that the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical for learning and memory, is highly active during exercise. When the neurons in this structure rev up, research shows that our cognitive function improves … Other recent work indicates that aerobic exercise can actually reverse hippocampal shrinkage, which occurs naturally with age, and consequently boost memory in older adults. Yet another study found that students who exercise perform better on tests than their less athletic peers.”1

🌎 With “Terra firma” thinking, it’s all about actively focusing your thoughts on a particular topic that you will deal with after running.

2. Mindfulness – This second type of thinking is about connecting to your body. According to Chevy Rough, a mindfulness and performance coach, “It’s purely about being mentally connected within your movement and not being distracted,”2

This type of thinking is most prevalent for me during long runs or races. Often people assume that I try to avoid thinking about how running feels. Instead, if I am running mindfully, I stay in the moment, notice my environs and my physical sensations. I monitor myself:

• My breath – What does my breath tell me about my body? Is it comfortable? Am I mouth breathing?  
• My rhythm – Speed up or slow down in response to my breath. 
• My eyes – What am I looking at? Is my gaze relaxed, or are my eyes locked on the ground? Lift my eyes and look toward the periphery. 

In one study, researchers gave runners who were training for a half or full marathon recording equipment and asked them to “think aloud” their thoughts as they ran. “Mostly, their thoughts focused on the here and now, things like their pace or their surroundings. But they also spent a lot of time thinking about how much everything hurt: ‘My hips are a little tight. I’m stiff, my feet, my ankles, just killing me this morning.’ ‘Hill, you’re a bitch … it’s long and hot — God damn it, mother eff-er.’ ‘That sucked, but it’s going to be an awesome run on the way back.’”3 (sounds familiar!😏)

🏃  With mindful thinking, it’s is all about focusing on what is happening 

here, now, while you are running. 

 

While mindfulness is all the rage now it is important to realize that “you cannot sustain a state of mindfulness over a long period of time. You will naturally ebb and flow out of it."4  Which brings me to ...

3. “Cloud” – This type of “thinking” happens when there are no intellectual issues to be dealt with and everything is working physically. I can’t really say I’m am “thinking,” since I am blissfully free from conscious control.

For me, “cloud” thinking usually happens when I’m doing something routine and unambitious – like my daily morning run. My mind wanders, I get lost in random thoughts, and contemplate things that may or may not have any practical benefit. Sometimes I don’t even remember what I was thinking about! This is my favorite way to engage with my “deep strangeness.”

I am not alone. Other people are drawn to “cloud” thinking and willing to invest nearly 50% of their waking hours engaged in it. Why? “For the individual, mind wandering offers the possibility of very real, personal reward, some immediate, some more distant. These rewards include self-awareness, creative incubation, improvisation and evaluation, memory consolidation, autobiographical planning, goal driven thought, future planning, retrieval of deeply personal memories, reflective consideration of the meaning of events and experiences, simulating the perspective of another person, evaluating the implications of self and others’ emotional reactions, moral reasoning, and reflective compassion.”5

🌥  With “cloud” thinking, it’s all about thoughts simply

floating in and out of consciousness.

Running is my means, not just for fitness and health, but mental rejuvenation, problem solving, and brain stimulation. My mind expands, swerves, and wanders as the miles unfurl...  

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-you-think-better-after-walk-exercise/
2. https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a22160937/mindfulness-in-running/
3. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1612197X.2015.1069877?journalCode=rijs20
4. https://www.thecut.com/2015/08/surprising-power-of-spacing-out.html
5. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00626/full

"Seeing Things" or Seeing Things?

“I am having a hallucination now, I don't need drugs for that.” ― Thomas Pynchon

Hallucinations are more common than people realize.[1] Many of us have hypnagogic hallucinations — seeing geometric patterns or scenes– that appear as we are wait to fall asleep. These types of patterns or scenes may be faint, or they may be very ornate, rapidly changing and intensely colored.

At the other end of the sleep cycle are hypnopompic hallucinations. These, I think, are freaky. Hypnopompic hallucinations can be seen with open eyes, upon first waking. The most common hypnopompic hallucinations include an amplification of colors or you might hear someone calling your name. Some hypnopompic hallucinations can also be terrifying like seeing a giant spider or a dark humanoid shadow looming over you.

If you have experienced sleep cycle hallucinations, you are not going insane nor are you developing dementia. The vast majority of hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations are benign. They are perfectly normal. Most of us have experienced them from time to time during the sleep process or while suffering a high fever.

While hallucinations during the sleep cycle are common, experiencing hallucinations during the waking hours are not.  Generally speaking, experiencing hallucinations while awake may be due to physical or mental illness. An exception to this is the hallucination experienced by ultra-runners. It is well known that ultra-runners experience hallucinations.[2] Thirty percent of Badwater Ultramarathon runners said that they’d hallucinated – seeing giant beetles, a ship cruise by, mutant mice, etc. - at some point while running during the 135 mile race. Run 50 or 100+ miles, and some really weird things can happen to your mind and body!

I am not an ultra-runner, just a regular, ordinary “recreational” runner.  The closest I come to hallucinating while running is stumbling across bizarre things mid-stride. All along the streets, trails, and sidewalks are weird and out-of-place things that make me wonder if I AM hallucinating!  Everywhere I run, I see things that shouldn’t be there.

On residential sidewalks: men’s underwear; a hunting knife; head rest from a car and a HUGE, dead rat in the driveway of a mansion.

On a divided four-lane bridge: pink, satin pillow sham; an unopened bottle of Bud Light; lottery tickets; and a half-used bar of soap.

On trails: a shower cap; a wrench; an unopened loaf of rye bread; and a pewter tankard all just sitting in the middle of the woods.

And everywhere on the planet: the ubiquitous single shoe – never a pair, always one, lone shoe.

... a coat, on a hanger, suspended with fishing line slung over a tree limb and tied to the fence. This took some effort!  It has been like this for a month, rain or shine!

... a sofa on the beach ... this took some effort, too!

... headless sea creature ... trying not to imagine the effort it took ... creepy

While my sleep cycle provides me with plenty of opportunities to “see things” through hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, running provides me with opportunities to see things that are strange, weird and bizarre. I have been asked many times how I keep from getting “bored” while running. Are you kidding? All I have to do is look around – I see things! 

“’It was all a hallucination of course. Otherwise nothing worth noting today' [he moves on]”― Henrik Ibsen

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/opinion/sunday/seeing-things-hearing-things-many-of-us-do.html

 [2] https://www.thecut.com/2015/11/weird-things-happen-in-the-minds-of-ultrarunners.html

Running with My "Lesser Angel"

 

“I’ve flipped the bird at many a driver over the years and if they flip me off then I’ll usually yell at them, ‘F you,’ or something like that.”[1] - Chris Coon, runner and “mild-mannered, low-key” Pastor at Urban Village Church in Chicago.

A few days ago, I was running on a sidewalk when a man rode his bike straight towards me. My heart was racing as I jumped out of the way. I thought, “Jerk! Haven’t you ever heard of WHEELS YIELD! I felt like punching that guy! I was definitely struggling with my “lesser angel” – anger. Fortunately, I kept running.

Most people believe that we feel anger first and then exhibit the anger in our body. However, there is an alternative hypothesis that states the reverse: my body gets angry, and then I feel angry. According to the James-Lange Theory of Emotion[2], my body perceives a particular person, action, or idea, and reacts with a quickened pulse, flushed face, trembling hands – and only then do I feel the emotion of anger.

William James, American philosopher and psychologist, was one of the developers of the James-Lange theory. According to James, if my usual physical signs and symptoms of anger are blocked, then I won’t feel the emotion of anger.

Running definitely “blocks” my symptoms of anger! I kept running after the man on the bike refused to yield. If I would have stopped, I probably would have screamed at him, which would be ineffective. I can't control him, the only thing I can remotely attempt to control in this universe is me. As I continued running, my body was “too busy” to produce the physiological reactions of anger. It was totally absorbed by the physical effort of running – steady pace, calm breath, constant effort, and copious sweat.

As I continued running, anger gave way to calm. James believed that to be calm, we should act calm. In his pragmatic approach, we deal with our “lesser angels” by substituting a positive emotion for a negative one. He said, “To wrestle with a bad feeling only pins our attention on it, and keeps it still fastened in the mind; whereas if we act as if from some better feeling, the old bad feeling soon folds its tent and steals away.” In other words, if you act calm, look calm, and speak calmly - you will feel calm. You can substitute a “lesser angel” with a “better angel.” 

“We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection… when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” – Abraham Lincoln

William Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State, had originally suggested that Lincoln close his First Inaugural Address[3] by calling upon the “the guardian angel of the nation.” But Lincoln scratched out Steward’s suggestion and replaced it in his own handwriting with a phrase saying that what the nation needed would not come from outside us, as in an angel guarding us from above, but instead from within us – something “better” in the “nature” of both northerners and southerners.

We can move away from our “lesser angels” and towards our “better angels.” Indeed, turning inward and being aware of how our bodies react to a person, object, or idea is the first step towards understanding our emotions. From that awareness, we can act - exchange a negative emotion with a positive one - substitute feelings that destroy with those that create - replace our view of the world from Us vs. Them to We the People.   Running isn't the only way to do this, any physical exercise can be as beneficial. When our bodies are focused on movement, are minds are free to turn inward, towards our "better angels." 

[1] https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20847875/the-rise-of-run-rage/
[2] James, W., & Richardson, R. D. (2010). The Heart of William James (1st Edition). Harvard University Press.
[3] https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp

Snap! Crackle! Pop!

 

“Good Lord, I sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies!” I thought as I tiptoed down the hallway. It’s 5 am and I’m trying to be as quiet as possible. But my joints broadcast almost every move I make. Being 60+ may increase the frequency of snaps, crackles and pops, but joint noises are common at any age – even young yoga students have creaky joints, I have heard them!

“The bottom line is joints make noise,” says Dr. Kim Stearns, an orthopedic surgeon. Doctors call our noisy joints crepitus. Many people dislike the sound of crepitus but even healthy joints can make noises and, while embarrassing, it is no reason to avoid healthy, physical activities.

*NOTE: Crepitus is painless. However, if there is pain, swelling, and limited range of motion, or a history of injury associated with your joint noises, you should seek advice from your doctor.

For me, crepitus is most common in the morning. After all I have been lying in bed for hours.  So before I transition from sleep to running, I want to be sure to warm up my joints.

"Warming up" means getting synovial fluid flowing. Synovial fluid is a viscous fluid found in the cavities of joints. With its egg white–like consistency, synovial fluid’s main job is to reduce friction between the articular cartilages of joints during movement. About 80 percent of our cartilage's volume is synovial fluid, thus it plays an essential role in lubricating joints and preventing injury. 

“We say motion is lotion – the more you move, the more your body lubricates itself,” Dr. Stearns says. “When you’ve been sitting or lying around, fluid in the joints doesn’t move. The more active you are, the more your joints lubricate themselves.” [1]

- What every non-runner has said to me, for the past 40 years!

No one wants to “ruin” their knees! My joints may snap, crackle, and pop occasionally, but they are still healthy. Recent studies have documented the benefits of running for joint health. [2]

"For decades, people have thought of physical activity as injurious to joints. However, a couple of years ago, a handful of studies found the opposite, with the risk of osteoarthritis going down the more active you are. Our results show that activity is the driving force behind maintaining joint lubrication."[3]

"Warming up" is essential for healthy joints! So, whether you are a runner or not, your joints will benefit from activity and movement. Beginning each day with a “Synovial Flow” will ensure you get the synovial fluid flowing and lubricating your joints. This may lessen your snaps, crackles, and pops and protect your joints.

"Synovial Flow"

Dasha Chalana (Churnings) – Standing Joint Series: Emphasizing slow, lubricating action to stimulate synovial fluid.

Ankle rotations -Bend knee with foot behind you, rest tiptoes on ground, slow & gentle rotations: 8 rotations then switch directions. Repeat with other foot. 

Knee/ankle circles - Bring your feet together and bend your knees, placing your hands above the kneecaps. Lengthen your torso as you lean forward, making small circles with the knees. Find a comfortable range of motion. Then reverse direction, 8 rotations each direction.

Hip Circles – Feet slightly wider than hip distance apart. Inhale as you move your hips forward; exhale as they swing behind. Then reverse direction, 8 rotations each direction.

Snake - Knees slightly bent, arms relaxing at sides, exhale, chin to chest & make a dome of the spine; inhale, lift chin, slowly roll to stand; wave-like movements.  Repeat for a total of 8 “snake” movements.

Wrist circles -Bend elbows; interlace fingers; allow forearms and elbows to meet in front of heart; rotate wrists. 8 rotations then reverse direction, 8 rotations.

Shoulder rolls- Lift shoulders and gently roll backward 8 times then forward 8 times.

Neck circles -Slow and gentle! Draw circles with the tip of your nose. 8 rotations then reverse direction, 8 rotations.

Standing Six Moves of the Spine – Here you take the spine through its six main movements: Flexion, Extension, Lateral flexion right and left, and Rotation right and left

Forward Fold Flow – Stretches the ankles, calves, hamstrings and lower back.  You need not do the entire progressive flow, Rag Doll is sufficient; only do those poses that feel good for you on this day, at this time. Move with care and compassion.

**To come out of these poses, bring your hands to your hips; keep the micro-bend in your knees and come up to standing with a flat back—engaging your core to support your lower back.**

After I complete my Synovial Flow, I walk from my house to the school crossing (.15 miles to be exact) . Then, my transition from sleep complete, I run.

Remember “motion is lotion.” 

[1] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/snap-crackle-pop-need-know-joint-noises/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27699484/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31650307/
[3] https://www.insidescience.org/news/how-does-physical-activity-preserve-lubricated-joints