Meeting with God

After the birth of my fourth child, my son Ot, we had someone come in to help while I recuperated. During the eight days she took care of me and Ot, and kept the household running she told me about her love for running. She explained how it gave her a feeling of calm and serenity.

For me running was about the stupidest sport there ever was. Running around with nowhere to go? Getting all sweaty? Yuck! I looked at runners with a mixture of pity and reluctance. But the promise of peace and calm touched a deep longing inside of me.

I have always experienced the birth of a child as a kind of life crisis. A breaking point in my life, where old patterns are broken down and there's room for new insights. Maybe that's why, for the first time in my life, my mind opened up to the idea of running.

After I'd recuperated I found a training programme for beginners and started to take twenty minute walks, during which I wore Ot wrapped around me with a sling. I came home exhausted but exhilerated at the same time. Slowly but surely I progressed from walking to running and after about four months I could run for thirty minutes.

That's almost eight years ago, and I'm still running.

For me this caretaker was a meeting with God. She came into my life at a time I was open and responsive to new insights and gave me the gift of finding peace of mind through running. To regain my balance and to find myself.

I feel it's the most beautiful gift.