Running from Fire

A common piece of advice for recovering addicts is the importance of exercise.

Ugh.

I have never been good at staying on top of excruciating physical exertion! It's, well...excruciating. For one, my preferred types of activity include things like drawing, playing the guitar, reading, playing games, and enjoying movies. So basically, sitting on my duff is what my life is about.

 On top of that I have asthma. Physical exertion hurts!

Well, I sat down and wrote a list of goals. I needed to show myself, the Savior, and my wife that I am committed to my recovery. So goals were something my wife and I decided I should set. She recommended exercise, which she takes a lot more seriously than I do. I decided to exercise three times each week.

And I put it off until today, which is a Thursday. That gives me tomorrow and Saturday to work out.

I just tried to run.

My chest still hurts. Whatever. What's worse: burning lungs or burning in hell fire and brimstone? I'll take the former, thanks.

One thing is for certain: running helped me to clear my mind. The reason I actually got myself motivated to run was because negative emotions were beginning to dominate my mind. The sorts of emotions that lead me to act out. I recognized it was happening, so I booked it out of the house.

That was pretty awesome for me to do, even if I say so myself. Turns out that burning lungs feel pretty good. Especially compared to a burning conscience.

I plan to run from fire regularly now. I hope it becomes more enjoyable, but if not, who cares?

Not me.