A lot of the propaganda self-improvement books (and our parents) give us has to do with the pre-written beauty of life.
Everything happens for a reason.
I’ve been told this ever since I was little.
And while I may call this propaganda, I believe it… because it kinda is true.
I celebrated my two-year anniversary of running every single day this past Wednesday (isn’t it hilarious that I started @ 4/20!) and to celebrate I went to a nearby nature preserve to run with my brother.
So I drove there after school — it was incredibly windy, but that only excited two-year-runner-Ariv even more.
Upon opening the car door, a receipt flew out into the road I’d driven through moments ago. After staring at the receipt for a couple of seconds, I figured I should go after it — I didn’t want it to fall into the water after all.
So I sprinted, and I mean sprinted, after this piece of Safeway paraphernalia. And what an incredible sprint it was — I felt like a kid racing after it, unsuccessfully trapping it with my feet as my momentum forced me forward every time I thought I’d vanquished the beast. As I strode forward, catching and releasing this 4x1 inch behemoth, I smiled — and then I lunged.
Unfortunately, this not-properly-paved road was not properly-paved, and I, running at top speed, slammed into it without realizing I fell. The weightlessness before impact wasn’t enough time for me to register what was happening, so thus, I perished — the beast had conquered me.
Unlike every popular video game, I have one life. I was sprawled on the floor, writhing in pain, kinda freaked out about my knee because it was low-key hurting — I watched the receipt fly away into the once-beautiful-abyss… NOOooOOoOOOOOoOOOooOOOoOOOO (my mind sounded an unheard cry).
I was planning on running a 10K this week, and my fall, literally, grounded me. But the existential crisis of my past allowed me composure — I wasn’t totally broken, and it looked like I’d heal in a week. For someone who ran every day, knowing I wouldn’t have to stop was a good sign.
I continued my week, healing, reading, skipping a bit of school, and yes, saying this every time I was asked about my injury:
It happened for a reason.
So what went well?
When I was stuck at home on Thursday, I binge-watched “The Good Place” — popular TV show created by Micheal Schur, the Good Place focuses on mortality, the purpose of the present, and of course, how to be a good person.
It helped me synthesize my feelings just a bit… it also helped me have a couple nice conversations the day after… it also did a lot more you should ask me about it after you read this intensely long sentence if you want to talk about it.
But here’s the kicker.
I RAN THAT 10K YESTERDAY.
AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
AND AWESOME.
AND FUN.
AND EXHILARATING.
AND MANY MORE ADJECTIVES TOO.
Here’s what getting injured and running a 10K three days after taught me:
My body is tough.
I spent the days after my injury willing my body to heal, working on it mentally and spending time on it physically, sending energy into my system that shouted “YOU GOT THIS DUDE.”
And it listened to me.
In fact it worked with me to get better.
And it only got stronger.
And it will continue to do so.
As long as I’m open and ready to help it along the way.
Body-mind synergy… truly something worth discovering.
So why’d I chase that receipt?
I don’t know, but I will say this:
It all happened for a reason.
