joy - allowing more

“it's like chasing your friends around the neighbourhood”

This is what Marissa’s experience of trail running was after a 12km run along the missing link trail with friends of ours, who are fond of beautiful trails, great company and awe-some views.

There are a few aspects of this brief story which make this very significant.

And which emphasize a theme I have been working with to break some old, stagnant & habitual thinking to allow more joy through the door of my life, especially when dealing with discomfort, fear and pain.

Ok one thing at a time. Let me start with the joy moments…

Joy is a theme in longevity studies which scientifically orientates one's nervous system toward health. Basically, the more a person experiences Joy (a healthy mix of health inducing hormones) the more our bodies orientate towards homeostasis (balance) the more our actual tissues heal, restore and repair.

In other words the experience of Joy is significantly important to our health and wellbeing. The science (or rather biology) is fairly self-evident and unquestionable on this!

But counter to this, is our societal narrative of the should & must work ethic and that we must make significant sacrifices in order to be successful. Not a bad statement but poorly or partly understood in my opinion!

Many of our heroes and influencers seem to subscribe heavily to this in their sharing on social media…

Dwyane “the Rock” Johnson - wakes up at 4am to begin his hustle routine… and posts on social media at 2am, after a hard day's work.

Kobe Bryant was famous for having finished his first workout before his team had even woken up and there is Sara Blakely who is an amazing role model and the youngest self-made woman to join Forbes' World's Billionaires list in 2012.

These and many more who model working a “hard” 10 -14 hour days. Why - because we chase our individual versions of success, deeply influenced by marketing & advertising.

And the caveat is that this, like stress, is not bad for our health in actual fact, but having a should dominate our life and time at the expense of our health, which is often where the cost lies - that's where dis-ease is birthed (from my perspective)!

I have seen many who run their lives at the edge of the ADHD spectrum with “doing” dominating “being”, often ending in serious health problems, and it is not uncommon that these ailments progress into terminal dis-ease.

Our bodies will respond to whatever we do to or for them! Cause and effect - its not rocket science but often difficult to face.

And, just to add confusion to the mix, I have also seen others who seem to have limitless energy and thrive off of the intensity and adversity/challenges.

What makes the difference? …because one seems to create dis-ease while the other a thriving joy filled life.

Marissa’s experience of running trails, for me, is coloured in the Joy of what it felt like playing with childhood friends in youthfilled excitement.

She trained for a 10km road race for a couple months, and ended up having a tough but great experience.

But, this 12km trail run which is arguably more difficult, wasn’t off any training and Marissa came out of it looking and feeling way stronger than she did after her road race.

What's the difference: a hard 10km road race vs a 12km trail run which felt like play!

The difference, to my experience, was her state of mind which sits within how she perceived joy in the trail run. Tearing off after someone on the trail, zig zagging around corners brought her back to an old familiar memory - she allowed the joy filled memories which rose from those times into her trail run experience.

allowed…. good word ;-)

Such a subtle difference of framing something differently but what a monumental change in the actual experience.

I ran a 14km run this last Sunday on a perfect Cape Town Winters day. It was the easiest running I have done this year, because it was fun and I had the added bonus of bumping into one of my favorite humans out on the trail.

Joy changes an experience fundamentally but the deeper wisdom - Joy fuels more efficiently, focuses our attention into a moment and also brings in a certain creative curiosity which changes the whole experience.

I have had days that feel like Marissa’s 10km hard road run - long and uphill - and I have had days where I felt I could run for days on end.

Last year my trail running had a patch of about 10 weeks where each run felt hard and painful. I used these days as mental training but I was resentful that I “had” to push that hard.

I promised myself this year I would lock into the reason I trail run and explore the outdoors, connecting to a different mindset about the tough days.

I took a feather from Marissa’s cap - that my running was actually an expression of fun, adventure and exploration and not obligation or orientated around the goal exclusively (a 100km race in the Cederberg with mates chasing each other - ironic and beautiful timing, right).

Turns out this new joy infused focus has me running a lot faster than I was (without trying), I am also happier running uphills and I now finish off most of my training runs feeling more connected to myself, to nature and closer to the part of me who never walked anywhere as a child, I always ran everywhere I went, according to my mum.

I have also found this fundamental shift in perspective to be real and valuable in my relationship with work, my romantic relationship and not only running.

This truth can also be hidden in other interesting places. I know a few wise doctors who have also mentioned to me that our bodies digest/process food far differently when we are joyful than when we are stressed. Makes sense, considering the difference in hormones flooding our system.

They believe it's likely healthier eating a burger & chips with joy than a cruciferous “cancer fighting” salad with resentment, purely because of how much more efficient the body processes food when one adds, connects or allows Joy to be experienced.

Many Christians bless their food before eating with a prayer. Makes me wonder if this tradition is not only helpful for our faith but also for our bodies health… hidden wisdom?

The more I see these links between my mental & emotional state and their influence on my health the more I realise how fundamentally different “obligation” and “joy” feel in the body and how different my experience can become, along with my health.

The trick I believe is important now, is how do I allow this joy into my life especially when I am under strain, battling an overtly serious mindset or facing grief.

Surely we should permit ourselves more joy, not less when our health deserves a boost?