I’m power walking/running again – and it’s such a gift. Yes, it’s hard to get back to it. Yes, it’s easy to get down about backsliding but instead, I put on my running shoes and started.

As my body made clear what I’d been missing, I felt the whole world cheering me on. I found myself beaming at simply being outside. I watched the glory of the big ball of sunlight slipping down into the empty trees. In the first minute a friendly rottweiler gave me an enthusiastic hello! A little while later, I saw a Grandma and her grandkids intently watch the power and process of the garbage truck mashing – and the way their enthusiasm lit the garbage collector up. And when I finished, I looked for #todayscheerleader, as I always do. Today I found a penguin. Who knew?

Going out for a run reminded me that I am a part of this world, something that’s easy to forget when I’ve got my head down, working. Maybe I even made someone else feel the same way. Maybe someone I smiled at is beaming too, thinking, “That was so nice, that slow-running lady in the pink hat smiling at me. It reminded me there are friendly people in this world!” I sure hope so.