Bare Foot Running and Living

I hurt my back about 3 years ago. Since then I have not been able to run, without pain, for more than 10 min. The most I have done in 3 years was about 3-4 miles, after that I just couldn't take the pain. Before my injury, I was running about 20-25 miles a week.

I heard about Bare Foot running from a friend who read the book, Born to run I thought he was nuts at first, but then he sold me on the idea. I did some research of my own and then changed my running style from Heel toe to running on the balls of my feet. The first time I did this, I had no back pain, but my calves hurt for about a week, I could barely walk the next day. I chalked this up to a change in style and it proved to be true. After running a couple times on the balls of my feet I decided to take the plunge and buy a pair of five fingers. Since then I haven't looked back. I have run on sand, dirt, tar, cement, no pain, except the good burn. I am able to run again.

I am writing this blog not just as an advert, but also as a challenge. I know I am confronted all the time with over thinking and conformity. In running conformity actually had detrimental results. If I had just run the way I was created to, chances are I would have been fine, but I was trained to run "the right way." Not that thinking is bad nor conformity, but I think they are bad when they no longer take into account the individual differences we all possess.

The past year I have run seminars helping people to figure out who they are and what they're particular strengths are in life. If we as people focus on our individual strengths to help us accomplish our goals we will be much more effective in our lives and experience less pain as well. I had a passion for running, but was running how others thought I should, when I stopped that and started running as I was individually created too, I had much less pain, and hopefully more success. In life, if we try to attain our passions with our own gifting I believe this will be the same out come.

I realize for some this may be a big jump, but I don't believe it is as far or a leap as we think. I you have a passion to teach, you have to bring your strengths to being a great teacher, you can't just copy a great teacher and expect the same results, because that teacher created a system or style based on their gifting, not yours. You can take from great teachers, but you always have to put your spin on it and in many cases just throw it out completely.

Is this more work, in the short run, yes, but in the long run, no. You will have to train yourself to work in a way that is life giving to you. Their will be a learning curve, just as my calves had a learning curve when they were asked to carry more of my body weight, a weight they were designed to carry, but never did. You will have some pain in adjusting, but once you do your life will be much better and you will be much happier. Once you learn to use your strengths toward your passion, you actually will be able to learn from others easier, because you will be more secure in how you are doing, because it will be natural to your life. As natural as my new running style is to me.

What the church should be...

I was up late the other night checking out different clips on You Tube and ran across one of my favorite stories from Tony Campolo. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWlMV-UmueM&feature=related