Rise and shine, just like the sun

Hello!

“Are you watching the sunrise?” This was the question of an old man the other day, when I was standing at the edge of the road and watching at the sunrise. It was 6 o’clock in the morning and I was already on the top of the hill, on Ljubljana castle. From the High school forward, I used to be a morning person and usually, I wake up, dress up and go for a run or for a walk. Moving in the morning actually makes me feel resfreshed and relaxed and I’m feeling a lot better afterwards.

That day was something special for me. Lately, I haven’t been waking up early in the morning, because I used to go to bed very late and even though I don’t need a lot of sleep to actually function properly, I just couldn’t wake up in the morning. But that day, I explicitly decided to wake up at 5 am, dress up and run on the top of the hill. And yes, it wasn’t easy, but the reward was amazing. When I was running, I didn’t meet almost anybody in the city or on the top of the hill. And that peace made me feel amazing. Being trapped in all the rush of the world through the day, can really make you feel stressed and lost in whatever you are doing. It’s crazy that we worry so much about other things, but literally forget about out inner peace. And that’s why I love to wake up early and go for a walk. There is nobody out there, everything is quiet, the city is just starting to wake up, there are no cars, driving through the city and honking at other drivers. There are birds singing and me, running through the city, like I’m gonna conquer the world.

If I’m truly honest with you, I haven’t been running in months. Actually from my half-marathon on January 1st. I was doing sprints, which are the best HIIT workout for me, and some occasional 5k runs, but I haven’t been consistent with them and I haven’t been running any long runs. I gave my body some rest after running that 21k and I’m glad that I did. But with that decision, I also risked the loss of my form. I struggle with running right now, especially if I want to run 10k, but everything happens for a reason. And I know that I can get back in the shape I was before. I also think that I can better it. My goal for this or next year is to run a marathon and I know I will run it, because I’m determined and persistant enough to do it. Oh, and I’m also crazy enough to do it as well. Anyways, that run on a Friday morning, gave me motivation to start training again. I don’t know why, but just the running itself gave me that extra boost to start again. To start fresh and crash my goals for this year. When people ask me, why I run, I always say that it relaxes me. It helps me to escape from the daily duties and keeps me sane. Literally! Running destresses me and even though it’s hard to believe it, it helps me to be only with my thoughts for 30 minutes or more. That’s why I’m running. And if it’s only for 15 minutes, that’s fine. I set my own pace and time and if I have 5 minutes in the day, available for a run, I’ll do it. Running is something I can’t live without and I can’t imagine my week, without at least one run.

Freedom. Silence. Happiness. That’s what mornings are for me. Watching the sunrise or sunset was always one of my favourite things to do. Why? Sun gives me something that I wasn’t used to see in it, but once I realized it, I look at it in a different way that I used to. Sun sets every evening and rises every morning. And it goes on and on and on. Constantly. On a daily basis. Firstly, it is the metaphor for rising again. When you fall down and everything falls apart in front of your eyes, dress up, get up and rise again. Just like sun does. Every evening is a closure of a chapter and the next morning, a new chapter begins. It rises again. I also see it as a new beginning. Every morning you have the opportunity to start something new, to start all over again and to become who you want to be. The sun is also a proof that endings can be beautiful as well. There are so many reasons why I love sun so much. It fuels me with good energy and just like the sun shines on everything and everybody, I want to shine on others. There is so much negativity, bad energy, criticism, judgements in the world and in between the people. And I don’t want that world around me. I want optimism, happiness, laughter, positive energy and people, who are excited, full of love and life. I am the optimist and that’s why I’m probably thinking this way, but I want to be the sun for my friends, my family and my environment.

Marcus Aurelius once said: “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” We can be so grateful for everything that we have – for our friends and family, for the opportunity to be happy and positive, for the oppurtunity to enjoy our day, to start it in the way we want it to start, to live our life the way we want to live it. We can be so grateful that we have two eyes to see, two ears to hear, a mouth to speak, two legs to walk or run. Some people don’t have the opportunity to experience everything that we do and we still take that for granted. And here comes the sunrise again. Opportunities are just like the sunrise – if you wait too long, you miss them. And you don’t have the same opportunity twice. Just like the sunrise. Once you miss it, you can’t turn back the time to rewatch it again. It simply slips away.

Until next time,
T.