Close Encounter on the Trail — A Running Adventure
I embrace adventure through trail running. I often begin on a familiar trail near my home in the Judean Hills, letting curiosity lead me down random paths that wind up and down through the countryside that eventually circle back to where I started. I start with certainty then merge into the unknown, bringing music, audiobooks or an attempt to pace myself with mindful breathing. I find both solace and purpose in movement through an early morning landscape of vast skies, dirt paths, fields of grape vines, wild flowers, rocks and trees with a steady mantra of לך לך, go to yourself, fueling me for an hour, or two or more.
I also try to see my running as a type of prayer in motion, the merging of the breath to express gratitude to my Creator with the forward motion of strong legs and steady feet cushioned by my purple Hoek trail shoes. Reaching that blissful, meditative state is almost as hard as pushing myself up a long, steep incline.
I sometimes need to bring in quotes from elite runners I admire to keep me on purpose and accompany me to the top of a difficult path, quotes such as:
“Sometimes the moments that challenge us the most, define us.” — Deena Kastor
And…
“As powerful as our legs are, as magnificent as our lungs and arms and muscles are, nothing matters more than the mind.” — Scott Jurek
I am an all- weather type of runner, rarely giving in to those reasonable excuses that keep me in bed longer or next to indoor comfort all day. I particular love the drama of light shinning though holes in the clouds and a cool mist slowly rising to reveal a mystical landscape.
On this particular morning the ground was dry, sky clear and the sun was already burning away the early morning chill. When I go on my morning trail runs, I am often treated to bounding gazelle in the distance. So I was very surprised when I rounded a curve and almost collided head to horn with a bounding gazelle! There was no time for either of us to stop, and as I braced for what I anticipated as an inevitable impact, the main thought in my head was that this adventure could lead me to the emergency room!
Can you guess what happened next? In that split second, in that blink of an eye, the frightened gazelle literally leaped over me, folding its legs so it’s hooves would not graze my head. I felt the powerful lift of the body weight and the movement of air as it soared over and landed behind me, then dashed out of view just as another gazelle veered sharply to the left then bounded off to join its friend. With a heart elevated way above my running, I spontaneously burst into laughter, transforming my initial fear and surprise into a wondrous marvel of my eye-blink save and the wonder of God’s creatures.
As I recount this unique encounter months later, my eyes are opened to the magnetism of chein ((חן loosely translated as favor or grace. In our morning prayers we ask God to grant us today and everyday grace, kindness and mercy. What are we really asking for when we recite these words day after day? How much grace, kindness and mercy from heaven and earth do I encounter each and every day without awareness… without acknowledgement? Does it take an “in your face” near collision to get my attention?
Grace and encampment, חן and מחנה , share the same root — an intense life vitality that influences one to stop moving and focus in that moment. As the eye blinked, the grace shining through that gazelle, that incredible life-energy, did indeed bring me to an absolute standstill and I used those precious moments to reflect on the kindness and mercy that followed the grace-embodied gazelle and left me standing there unharmed.
Each time I lace up and head to the trail, I wonder what beauty, what grace, will cross my path.
How I love the adventure!
