Every now and then, I like to go a little off topic from the world of IT and Content. Sometimes it is because I want to remind everyone about the bigger world that we live in everyday. Sometimes it is something fun that I want to share. Other times, it is something I want to share and it isn’t really worth creating a new channel for just one item.

This is the “Word of Pie” after all, not “Tech Words of Pie”.

The following falls into the last bucket. It is something that I wrote in my head on some recent runs before writing it down. I’ve recently rediscovered the joy of running again and it has become something I look forward to on a regular basis. This shares my mental evolution as a runner.

Why I Run

It started with a push, a shove.

It was an exception that became the rule.

Turning my everyday into a fight for survival.

 

So I ran.

 

I ran from Nick, Dave, Chris, Jim, and Danny.

They taunted, chased, and poured their anger out on to me.

My life was defined by fear from beginning to end.

 

So I ran.

 

Year after year, I ran until one day, they stopped chasing.

They began taking their pleasure in making me run.

And I did it because I knew, getting caught was worse.

 

So I ran.

 

Then one day, I realized that they couldn’t catch me.

I had become fast. I had become quick.

Running had become a refuge, my savior.

 

So I ran.

 

I found others, others who enjoyed the freedom.

Enjoyed the thrill of being able to go anywhere,

With just a pair of shoes.

 

So we ran.

 

However, they all seemed to be running to something

While I was always running away.

Realizing that I could never do what they do, I left.

 

So I ran.

 

Eventually, I no longer felt chased.

Eventually, I felt like I had arrived.

Eventually, I look around and was content.

 

So I stopped.

 

Soon something else caught up to me.

Demons, spawned from those who had chased me before.

Uncertainty, fear, and doubt, cascaded down upon me.

 

So I ran.

 

Trying to get away from the demons within.

Feeling them pulling me down.

Knowing that if they won, I was lost.

 

So I ran.

 

I escaped the demons, leaving them behind.

I could sense them, but they had faded into the background.

I sat down, and caught my breath.

 

So I stopped.

 

The demons returned and the cycle began anew.

I would run, find peace, and rest.

But the demons always returned.

 

So I ran.

 

The cycle kept shortening.

Now there was no rest. If I stopped, they were there.

And they grew and they grew.

 

So I ran.

 

Terror filled me. Terror unlike any faced as a child.

Where bullies had tried to beat my body.

The demons were after my soul.

 

So I ran.

 

Then I discovered that hidden in the run was strength.

One day, I turned, fought, and beat a demon.

I realized that this didn’t have to be forever.

 

So I ran.

 

I ran to stay strong, stay fast.

Teaching myself to look forward and not back.

Running to a future that I decide.

 

So I run.