Fall Back In Love With Your Mistress (The Friday Ficks S5 E7)

I had a torrid love affair. For years.

I spent time with her. A lot of time, in fact.

She brought me great joy. Repeatedly, and unfailingly

I spent money on her. A boatload of money.

I traveled with her. Far and wide, mostly on weekends.

I would write about her. Quite often.

I’d read about her. Eager to make things even better.

And then it became joyless. So I ended it.

With my running mistress, that is.

Running is where I routinely found peace in good times and solace in turbulent ones. There were glorious sunrise runs, 26.2-mile romps through the Disney parks, marathons all around the country, and Thanksgiving morning runs capped off with a pint of Guinness.

It also became an obsession. I found myself enslaved to the watch. To the data. To the minutiae.

I had lost the love of running. I lost my way. So I abandoned my mistress.

Many months later, a friend recommended "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall (https://lnkd.in/eKaHxhW6). I devoured the book and realized I was running for all the wrong reasons. It was all about time, time, time, not how I found running gratifyingly cathartic and physically exhausting, yet dizzyingly fun.

The book showed me the light. I ditched the watch and fell back in love with the jealous mistress of running.

If you have lost your way with something that once brought you great joy, remain curious and open. Do not lose hope.

It may be easier than you think to fall back in love with your mistress.

Own the day. Own the weekend.

Carl