Start a (positive) movement
Those of you that know me, know that I do a fair bit of running; trail running to be specific. I’m blessed to live in an area of the country where within a 5-15 minute drive, I can be on virtually limitless, forest canopied singletrack trail.
While I prefer more primitive, and therefore more remote trails, I often run a more popular trail called the Towpath: there is a trail head literally two minutes from my house and is perfect for those nights when I just want to get some miles in quickly. The Towpath is quite popular and is heavily used by hikers, runners and bikers.
Early this year, I started my own little “movement”. Without really much thought or reason why, I started acknowledging fellow runners on the Towpath. Kind of a cross between a thumbs up and that low wave motorcyclists give to each other, it was just a simple “hey, how ya doing? Good job, hang in there…”. The trail regulars caught on quickly and it wasn’t long before I found some of them waving to me before I did to them. Most everybody else also responded, and with the few exceptions of the people that simple didn’t see me, almost everyone waved back.
Here it is the end of Summer and I’m pleasantly surprised that I see runners waving to each other all over the Towpath, and more and more runners are waving to me before I can even get my hand up. I often wonder if it was really me that started this “movement”; it could just as easily be the same phenomenon where once you buy a new car you suddenly seem to see your model everywhere you go.
Does it matter?
No, of course it doesn’t. Whether I simply started participating in something positive already happening, or did have a hand in creating something new, it was still new and positive to me. Whether I created the awareness inside myself, or created awareness within my running “tribe”, I added positive energy to that trail.
So – go create a positive movement. Whether it’s something brand new, or just new to you, our lives, our jobs and our world can use all the positive energy they can get these days.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
I am a very long time watcher and I just assumed I’d stop by and say hi for the 1st time. I truly delight in your posts. Thank you