Running TO and Running FROM

I have been reading The Secrets & Mysteries of Hawaii by Pila of Hawaii. It has only taken a few days to get through because I just can't put it down. It isn't that the book is written well, it isn't that it is filled with ground breaking scientific research, it is more that it feels like Pila is speaking to me. I don't read books much anymore, mainly because they just haven't tapped into my soul. I used to read and get excited and filled with questions and riveting answers. Now, the books I've been picking up (and maybe I am just picking up the wrong books) are filled with dribbly nonsense marketed to the masses. The books today are just not what they used to be.
The most important piece of introspection that I received from reading this book is that there is a difference in running TO something and running FROM something. Unsatisfied with our jobs, I can't count how many times my husband and I have talked about leaving it all behind and moving to Hawaii. But really, we'd be running FROM our work. And exactly what we were running from would find us in paradise and we'd be just as miserable there as we are here. We certainly don't want to be miserable in paradise.

There is a distinct difference between running FROM something and running TOwards something. A basic look would reveal that in running FROM something the motivating factor is behind whereas running TOwards something indicates that there is a motivating factor in front. I used to run away from things a lot. I ran from increased workloads, I ran from trying too hard, I ran from the possibility of failure (real or perceived) and I ran from bad relationships. In all cases what I ran from showed itself shortly down the road and I was back where I started. I did a lot of running. But, soon after running there I was smack dab in the middle of it again.  Then I started running TOwards life. I looked in front and I ran TOwards the possibility of failure, I ran towards work, and I ran TOwards goals.

The reason we find ourselves revisiting what we run from is mainly because we think in the terms of the external. A little change is scenery will do you some good- someone once told me. But soon that change of scenery turns into the same old concrete bars. That is because what you are running from is inside yourself. If you bring the same attitude with you it doesn't matter how many times you move, you'll still be in the same situations. You can change your shoes, change your house, change your zip code, but until you change the way you look at the world you're dragging your baggage all over the place.

So how do you start running TOwards life? Well, that is entirely up to you. I didn't fully understand what it was like to run towards something until I did the Navy Seal Triathlon. I always said, I run if I am being chased, but it all changed when I set my sights on the finish line. Maybe some practise in running towards something is a good idea, so you get to know what it feels like.

Most importantly, I can think back to all the times I ran FROM the world; I don't want to bring that to paradise. I'm working on setting life right before I go so I don't spoil Hawaii.

Forever Seeking Aloha,
Britt