I recently started running again. I know I have said it before, but I am going to say it again: Running is a perfect metaphor for life. You have heard the statement that "it's the journey not the destination." That is true in running, as it is in life. When running, I see all sorts of sights along the way that I would not normally notice (the journey), but I always end up back in the same spot (the destination). And while I am running, my mind (which is normally busy throughout the day thinking about my family, bills, laundry and other chores) is free to take its own journey. I usually come up with my best ideas while I am running. Most of the time, I am lucky enough to be able to run with a friend, which makes the journey even more meaningful, as we converse without even realizing how the miles are melting away.
Military life, especially, is like running. You have the marathons (deployments), the fartleks (the "hurry up and wait" that we are all familiar with), sprints (the time between deployments - trying to hurry and get everything on your list done), cross country (PCS-ing and all the ups and downs that go with that), track (feeling like you are just running in circles), and treadmill (feeling like you are running but not getting anywhere). And like any kind of running, military life is always better if you have a partner to "run" with. I have been lucky enough to have various people in my life that are my running partners - whether they RUN with me, or "run" with me!
