On Running

"As I've gotten older, I've gradually come to the realization that this kind of pain and hurt is a necessary part of life... Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent. 
That's what I basically believe, and I've lived my life accordingly. In certain areas of my life, I actively seek out solitude. Sometimes, however, this sense of isolation, like acid spilling out of a bottle, can unconsciously eat away at a person's heart and dissolve it... I think in my own way I'm aware of this danger- probably through experience - and that's why I've had to constantly keep my body in motion, in some cases pushing myself to the limit, in order to heal the loneliness I feel inside and to put it in perspective. Not so much as an intentional act, but as an instinctive reaction. Let me be more specific. 
When I'm criticized unjustly, or when someone I'm sure will understand me doesn't, I go running for a little longer than usual. By running longer, it's like I can physically exhaust that portion of my discontent. It also makes me realize again how weak I am, how limited my abilities are... And one of the results of running a little farther than usual is that I become that much stronger. If I'm angry, I direct that anger toward myself. If I have a frustrating experience, I use that to improve myself. That's the way I've always lived. I quietly absorb the things I'm able to, releasing them later, and in as changed a form as possible, as part of the story line in a novel." 

Haruki Murakami- "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running"

With so many running analogies out there, I think running more may lead me to more epiphanies. Time to run!