Running, but in which direction?

I was recently chatting with someone who had undertaken a similar European adventure to us, and during the conversation they posed the question of whether my reasons for living this radically different way were because I was running away from something. It’s not a question I had consciously given much thought to, but I have always strongly known that I (and we) had based this adventure on running towards something, not away. Both in the now, and hopefully after, this journey ends.

Leaving the UK behind to travel in this way wasn’t about us trying to escape personal issues, and praying they wouldn’t follow. It wasn’t that we hated the lives we were living. However, for us it has been about seeking a different path to live on, as individuals, as a couple and as a family. There’s a desire to question all that we know, so that we can seek a new normal that enables us to live out the true purpose for our lives.

I am not yet sure about the detail of this new path we seek, but three months into it I know this is a positive road to be on and I am already feeling so grateful for this special time in our lives. I can already feel the fruit growing out of spending so much time together as a family, by investing more time in educating our girls (and thinking about what, why and how they are learning), by seeing the amazing way the planet around us has been created, and by learning what I miss (and don’t miss) about the way our life was. So it’s exciting to think about where this journey will end up.

I love an occasional 3-4km run to gain some head space and to think through things. Whether it’s running along a leafy public footpath or the seafront at sunrise, I like the change in pace and I draw peace from being able to take in the natural beauty around me. For me this journey to date has been much like one of these runs – I’ve been able to step back from the everyday busyness of family and community living, and am beginning to have a fresh perspective on what is truly important in my life. I have set aside many of my life’s usual demands that make living feel like it’s a constant sprint: school admin, life admin, housework and juggling an oversubscribed family diary of clubs, socials, charity and community commitments, oh and client work!. Instead, this has been replaced by an enforced slow and steady pace (you can only go so fast in a 9 metre motorhome that weighs 4.25 tonnes!) to experience this new world around me.

And as I move along at this new pace I am realising that I have a responsibility to ensure that when this journey finishes I am spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically in a different place to where I started. Whilst my runs are always circular – my legs bringing me back to the same location that I started out from – it’s up to me to seize that opportunity to enjoy the headspace and think things through. My personal goal for this ‘run’ is to ensure that my thinking leads me forwards towards something different. So that at the end (whenever that may be!) I am able to look at life from a different perspective, believe in the new way and be changed.