Running also is a fine act of insurrection

It has been close to three months since I last posted. Partly that’s because work at the office has been even busier than usual. But, partly it’s also because of that worrisome orange horizon I see, whenever I look towards downtown DC. What have I been seeing?

Well, you know the story of the “knight in heavy armor,” right? There was this “exceptional” knight in heavy armor, the heaviest in the world. Oh, you would be amazed how heavy it was! It was heavier than those of the next 12 heaviest armored knights—combined. Of course, none of the other knights wanted to engage in direct combat with this “exceptional” knight. But, one of those 12 other knights was very wily. Instead of directly challenging the “exceptional” knight’s heavy armor, this wily knight exploited weak points in the heavy armor to penetrate. Then, after gaining entry and exerting strategic influence on the “exceptional” knight’s sources of soft—and real--power, the wily knight just stood aside, with a cunning gleam in his eyes. He did not have to do more, for he had convinced the “exceptional” knight that the main threats to him emanated from without--despite clear evidence to the contrary. The “exceptional” knight then proceeded to spend even more resources and add yet another layer to his armor; while, at the same time, ignoring or actively decimating everything inside the armor that was foundational to his power in the first place.

Hmm, this knight story would make for a really great Hollywood script. Oh, wait, …

So, that’s why, in this daily swirl of maddening events, writing about running had seemed to be relatively unimportant, perhaps somewhat selfish.

More recently, however, I’ve come to view all this somewhat differently. Of course, given that orange horizon, we have to resist. But, we resist not just by protesting. We resist not just by being against. We resist also by being for. Sure, we have to push back against, e.g., the KXL pipeline executive memos. But, we should also focus on the increasingly positive developments, e.g., the macro economics of renewable energy, the micro economics of solar roofs, as well as the ironic economics of solar panels powering the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum.

There is much we can do locally; there is much we can do individually. And, we can do all that joyfully. The social discourse shouldn’t be centered on the ranting and raving of a certain individual on Twitter. We effectively resist—and eventually prevail—when we succeed in shifting the light of social discourse. We don’t just react. We also act. In fact, we’re not really opposing. We’re complementing. We can control the currency of social discourse.

Rebecca Solnit, in her book, Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power, wrote, “Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine initial act of insurrection."

Running also is a fine initial act of insurrection.

Largely addressing similar themes, Otto Scharmer (@ottoscharmer1) of u.lab and MIT recently wrote a wonderfully insightful article, Trump, Dark Money, and Shifting Consciousness, analyzing current events. One key point he made is summarized in the following figure and, in his article, by a quote from Goethe’s Faust, of Mephistopheles, “I am part of that power which constantly wants to do evil and constantly generates good.”

Also from Hope in the Dark: “Resistance is first of all a matter of principle and a way to live, to make yourself one small republic of unconquered spirit. You hope for results, but you don't depend on them.” Go solar. Become a vegetarian. Show up. Start running. Running is democratic, as well as insurrectional. There’s a lot life can learn from running.

Running is my means to reset, recharge, and reconnect. Christopher McDougall's book, Natural Born Heroes (See BOSS part 2), is a story of the Cretan resistance during WWII and the important role parkour or natural movement played in that successful resistance. “We should be fit to be useful.”