You glare at your dirty, beat up tennis shoes and reluctantly slip them on your feet as you stumble out the door filled with anger, grief, or whatever emotion you are feeling that day. The first few steps are the hardest. Stressed and lacking energy, you consciously remind yourself of how the mechanics of your legs and feet should work.

Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot

You remember to breathe and attempt to match your breath with your steps.

Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out

You repeat the directions in your head until your body is indistinguishable from your mind’s mantra and you are no longer conscious of the pattern. You fumble to find a comfortable way to clutch your phone and your keys so they don’t fall and clumsily unhinge your headphones as you press play.

Right, Left, Right, Left

In, Out, In, Out

Your feet begin to match the beat of whatever song is playing so loudly that someone ten feet away could probably hear the lyrics. But the music is not for them, it’s for you. Each line of the song plays scenes in your head like a familiar movie. The lyrics speak to you in ways they never have before as perspectives flow like a tide and creativity rushes your brain.

Right, Left, Right, Left

In, Out, In, Out

The anger or sadness or bitterness that you started with engulfs your whole body, starting at your head and moving to your gut, then to your legs and arms and shocks through every tiny nerve. You push through it and overcome it. There is no escaping it, it is there. It has been waiting for you.

Right, Left, Right, Left

In, Out, In, Out

Your shoes feel not only the weight of your body the weight of your emotions at every strike to the earth. Every heartache, every disappointment, every life question that burns you that day weighs in your shoes as you push through it. You strike an odd balance between a sober meditation and a colorful verve.

Right, Left, Right, Left

In, Out, In, Out

You move the ground and the wind bursts on your face You forget the temperature, you forget the people around you, you forget where you. At this time, everything is possible.

You can talk to someone who isn’t there, replay any scenario and live out every impossible fantasy.

Right, Left, Right, Left

In, Out, In, Out

You faintly feel sweat pool above your eyebrows and roll down your cheeks. It feels good. You

feel a godly presence, and the presence of every soul that has been there before and everything that has ever danced over the spot your foot strikes.

Right, Left, Right, Left

In, Out, In, Out

With every step, you’re making yourself a little better, but the prize isn’t a metal, it’s mental.

Time slips away and pace doesn't matter, and somehow, in an hour when you finish, the world’s sharpness dulls a little, life is a tiny bit more clear and you are completely at peace. You toss your shoes to their spot by the front door and they wait blissfully for you until your next run.