I have been hearing myself lament the slow start to my 2011, in conversations with friends and colleagues, and not necessarily liking what sounds suspiciously like a whine, but, magically in the same moment learning that critical skill: self-forgiveness. It is true, I have not been as organized or healthy as I intended; temperance is sorely lacking, as is sleep; my jeans felt a little snug today; my skin just a bit too inflamed/flaky/dull, and yet, I am telling myself it’s all gonna be okay. And I believe it! The indulgences are partly due to my 2010 ending with a massive accomplishment (of which I am still considering writing about here) and I think I have needed the time to process and prepare for the coming changes. So while I know how precious each day is, I also know, it will be easier to run when it is light out and to just keep easing in.
Last night however, it was oppressively dark, so I settled for a walk with the dogs. I brought my phone along which I never do because run time is the only time during my day I am not within arm’s reach of an electronic communication device and I can just be alone with my dogs, my thoughts and often, my music. I have that app called Star Walk (yay walks) on my iPhone and have been wanting to aim it at other horizon lines. With the moon on the wane it was the perfect dark night to get my constellation on.
We hustled along the 2.2 mile route I use for supa-fast pace runs, or yeah, starry dog walks, through the idyll that is my wee country mouse town. Once we got onto the much darker bike path, I stopped and activated the app, which if I could just say, IS SO F’ING COOL!!! I mean I can find Orion and the Big and Little Dippers with the best of ‘em, but to have this little GPS astronomy professor in my pocket makes looking at the stars infinitely funner than it already is and is in my top 10 list of favorite things to do. And, here’s why I know this gadget is the best: when I put it away in between constellation tracking, gazing up at the sky without it was still better. It does its job warming up the crowd, and then gracefully exits when the real stars take the stage.
I think I just doing my own warm-up now…
