Saturday, June 2, 2012

Beauty in the Empty- by Sam Davidson

I recently watched Running the Sahara, a moving film about three
extreme endurance athletes who ran across the Sahara Desert. All of
it. Like from one coast of Africa to the other.

The film was well made, well written, inspiring, and moving. It's one
of the better films and documentaries I've seen in quite a while.

Towards the end of their 4,500+ mile run, one of the runners said of
the Desert, "It's so arid here, and so empty. And so beautiful." This
comment paralleled his personal journey through the four-month ordeal.
He was physically empty, running on fumes past the pyramids toward the
Red Sea. And there was wonderful beauty in that for him. He spent it
all in order to gain something he could not lose. That feeling of
completion – at the expense of total exertion – was beautiful.

It's time we find beauty in the empty.

When you go to bed at night, exhausted beyond description from a day
at work, a day of parenting, or a day of living – that is beautiful.

Crying with a friend until there are no more tears is a solemn, sacred act.

Working out until your muscles cannot move so that your health will be
better tomorrow than it is today is worthy of admiration.

When you mourn the loss of something or someone, mourn well and mourn
completely.

Restlessness is a symptom of the disease known as
Not-trying-hard-enough. Get up. Get to work.

Panting and gasping for air after running up a hill or down a street
or through an airport is a chance to appreciate breath and the life it
gives.

Abandoned lots and empty hearts are not full of waste. They are full
of potential. It's time to plant something.

Love until you think you have no more love left. Love those who
deserve it and those who don't. Love until it hurts, until it costs
you something. You may very well find your love never runs out, but is
like an eternal flame that gets ever stronger the longer it burns.

Hope beyond reason for something better. Hope until your heart's
deepest longing cannot be satisfied by anything less than what the
universe is calling you toward.

Give away your last nickel to someone who needs it more than you. Know
that your poverty can make someone else whole.

And when your body aches and your head hurts, when your soul is weary
and your heart is exhausted – then, my friends, you will see the
beauty in the empty, of what it's like to give everything for
something that matters. And therein lies the indescribable beauty of a
life well lived.