20 Comments
Sep 5Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

Rabbits. Relatives of pikas. πŸ˜‰

And as a 62 year old runner-ish, joy is where it’s at. Every day I get out on the trails and run, (even if hiking is involved because of my knees or the steepness or whatever)I am thrilled and grateful! Is that the same as joy? Going with it!

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Sep 5Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

Oh the elusive running with joy. I find it frequently, but honestly, only by working hard to cultivate it. It ain't easy I've found, but its a practice I work on and have to work on diligently. I liked this post a lot Sarah.

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Thanks for reading, Bob!

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yay for joy, the smallest little morsels will do! brief flashings in the phenomenal world--today my dogs playing joyfully in the creek after our run. great post.

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Sep 10Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

Great post, Sarah!!

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hi Kelly, thanks for being here and reading my stuff! How are you and are you training for anything these days?

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Sep 6Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

This reminds me of something Kassandra (Yoga with Kassandra) said in one of the recent yoga videos I watched and have been trying to put into practice as I struggle in my new surroundings. "The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see." Using that in my running and real life is bringing me back to the present and the joys around me. A running related joy this week for this 62 year old slow runner... when I hit a 7:13 on one of my interval repeats this week!!!!

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That’s fantastic!

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Sep 6Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

These are all such wonderful joyous moments. I think my most recent comes not from running but from the river, yesterday morning on a row. We rowers take hundreds of individual strokes each workout, and there are often only a handful that are truly perfect (or pretty darned close). I had about ten of those yesterday--no doubt aided by the fact that the river was super calm and the surface glassy. It was bliss.

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I never became a river person, but the handful of river trips I have taken (usually with someone else doing the rowing) made me wish I had! That’s wonderful that you can do that. The only thing I can compare it to is holding the reins and communicating with my horse and knowing when the communication feels just right.

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If I saw a pika, I would smile so hard I would cry. 🀩

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Sep 5Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

Wonderful post, Sarah!

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Sep 5Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

Beautiful post Sarah :)

Thanks for reminding us to dial in on the details (and for recommending my next book).

Your proofreading horse pic brought me a subtle smile before work today.

Marking that one in the joy column.

Best of luck on your Grand to Grand.

You are a touchstone and motivator for us 50+ runners.

Steve

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Thanks so much , Steve, I appreciate that.

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Sep 5Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

I would say that making the effort to find small joys is invaluably beneficial for all of our mental well-being--definitely a good skill to exercise!

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Sep 5Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

The girls and I fixated on looking for pikas in the talus fields of every pass on the JMT. We ended up seeing a lot of them, though they were always too fast to be photographed. I always thought of them as good omens.

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I really want to hear more details of your trip :-)

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Sep 5Liked by Sarah Lavender Smith

So many joys! I’m glad the bear encounter wasn’t too fear inducing

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Thank you! I bet you have everyday joys in the classroom to balance the frustrating ones, at least I hope.

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Thank you for this Sarah. It is the joy of discovery that I like best about running. Being outdoors and experiencing the world with all of your senses is the best. We can find things that we would otherwise miss while driving in our cars or focussed on screens.

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