I have a recurring dream that I'm running. It isn't a bad dream, and I'm not running to or from anything. I can't say how long I've been running or when I'm going to stop - I'm running for the sake of running. The day is perfect - sunny but not too bright, and the temperature is just right for running. My muscles don't ache, my lungs fill effortlessly and painlessly with air and I'm in that groove where I can run forever. Whenever I have this dream I feel completely free and at peace. I am at one with the world around me and the universe.
I remember having this feeling when I was younger and ran cross country. You get to a point where running is its own form of meditation. You don't care about how fast you're going or how far you're going to run. I used to just run until I felt I'd worked out the problem in my mind - not consciously because I never really thought during my runs. The only sounds in my running utopia are the sounds of my breathing and heart beat going in time with the slap of my shoes on the pavement. And in that special place of quiet, I found find my center and suddenly my problems would unravel.
Abstinence feels a bit like that when I've had a good day. But after having that dream I look forward to the time when my sponsor tells me to start exercising again, because I miss the run.
The running dream is my favorite dream. It always seems to come when I most need the peace and spiritual healing it always seems to bring. To which all I can say is, "thanks God, I needed that."
