A Return to Sanity

As the Grateful Dead once said, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”

It would be an understatement to say that the 2012 Election year was arduous and somewhat strange for me, both personally and professionally. It was filled with new jobs, which later became lost jobs (due to California budget cuts), losses of Elections that were important to me, and being there in the final days for many highly-qualified friends who placed their names on the ballot for the first time – only to be crushed to find out that they, too, had lost.  It was a rough year, one which I’m not ashamed to admit I took hard. And I’m not embarrassed to say, as someone who had only lost one or two races in the prior ten years, it took me a full five weeks from Election Day to get over the losses. I am human, after all.

While I don’t often talk Politics on this blog, it’s a fact that my bio states here that I am a "Press Secretary by day, and a Runner by night" (...or morning, or the lunch hour, or whatever 15-minute period I can eek out.)  Honestly, this year it was pretty much wherever I could fit it in along the campaign trail. Sure, I got by just fine. However, after ten years on the road, I was left wanting more. Amid Election results that were wildly un-balanced, it comes as no surprise that I emerged on the other side craving more balance.

Which can only mean one thing: It’s time for a return to sanity.

I spent the weekend retreating –  a word not often looked upon with a great deal of favour in politics, or war, which I believe are nearly one in the same. But the truth is, it is necessary for the body and soul to retreat on occasion. No matter what little white lies we tell ourselves (that 3 ½ hours at night is plenty of sleep in a pinch), the truth is that human beings need proper rest to function. So does the mind. So does the soul.

This past weekend, I retreated to a cliffside beach not only to run, but for meditation and yoga – two things which I have often viewed in terms of being “out there,” politically speaking. But I’m coming around to the feel-good, meditative lifestyle I have shunned for so many years. After all, in my business it’s all about who can hit the hardest, work the longest, shout the loudest. But after this Election, voters sent a message that they’re not into that anymore. In fact, they’re not into much of anything that I’m into. So, it’s time to re-calibrate, re-invent. Time to do things a bit differently.

Does this mean I’m no longer a pitbull? Of course it doesn't. I'm still as feisty as I ever was when I came onto this planet, and I am steeled to my newly-centered core. I am simply choosing to fight with a bit of a different weapon, to channel my energy from a place of calm, instead of the angst we've all grown accustomed to. I’m only a week into it but so far, I like this new feeling – and more importantly, I’m certain my opponents won’t.

To the small group of loyal followers here, I admit that amid the fervor and the noise and the finger-pointing this Election season, my own fingers strayed from this very keyboard and my posts to you. At times, I even strayed from my own tightly-disciplined running regimen. But I pledge to you (and probably even more importantly, to myself) the words of a famous politician, “Read my lips: No new lapses.”  I hereby commit to take more time to enjoy the little things in life, and to make more time for the running which so clears my head and soothes my soul.  A new year is upon us and in the spirit of renewal I, for one, intend to consistently make the best of each and every day life has to offer – no matter how much noise will undoubtedly swirl about.

My new mission is to be a rock, a good friend, and a solid place of quiet refuge for my friends who are still in this fight with me. It’s the best way I can continue to give back to the life that has given me so much.

Namaste.