A
marathon is about 26.2 miles. Many marathon runners report “hitting the wall”
around mile 20. The body is exhausted, yet they must push on.
I
feel like I have “hit the wall” with news print poetry. It’s been almost 11
months of doing at least one poem taken from a news paper story every day. Every
single day.
On
Thursday I just didn’t want to do it anymore. None of the stories in the newspaper
that day inspired me. Maybe , it was just time to quit.
I
forced myself to push on, and I found a poem. On Friday, I got my second wind.
I felt a new burst of energy because I found this marvelous story about a
mysterious planet-like celestial body. The “celestial seas” and the “orphan
planet” are such beautiful poetic images. It worked on me like a dose of carbs works on
a runner. Read "The Orphan Planet."
Today
I was back in the doldrums.
When
I lived in New York City, I used to walk over to Central Park to watch the race
just a few hundred yards from the finish line. Sometimes I was there to see the
winner, but many times I’d be there for the 4th and 5th
hour. The runners approaching the finish line at that time were really hurting.
The
viewers, like me, would stand on the side of the road and shout encouragement.
It was wonderful to see how it perked the runners up. It gave them the strength
to finish. They picked up the pace and
crossed the finish line.
That’s
where I am now with this year-long project. Could somebody cheer for me? Shout out a few words of encouragement? Help me
get across the finish line?
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| This picture is from http://wallpaperswa.com/ |
Very interesting comparison between two events. As a composer/arranger of music and as a runner myself I know the exact feeling that you have when you feel like you've just hit that "wall" and have no idea how to get around it. Many time's I have worked on a composition and found my self unable to continue so I put it away for a couple of days or a week, and bring it out again and wait for inspiration to hit. Hours later, having made no progress, I am ready to chuck it into the bin, but then I start thinking of how good the beginning is and how it would be a great shame for the world not to hear such a great melody, so I force myself to just write down a few notes, and slowly and steadily as I make some adjustments, the piece slowly starts to flow from my brain, like a river and then soon enough, the piece is complete. It is that natural urge to want to finish and not give up, that gives us that special little push. It is the same thing when I run. I feel exhausted near the end but know that I will feel that much better when I finish and will be healthier for it.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said. The important thing is, as I remind myself often, is to just keep going.
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