Went running on Sunday evening with 3 others. Was nice to be running in a relatively bigger group than the usual pair or solo. One of our usual routes involved running along a canal in a relatively unpolluted area, followed by cutting through some private estate, past a busy road and then last but most definitely not least, slogging up a very long slope. Generally, most people are fine with running on level ground. I am too, on most days. But the slope.....THIS SLOPE....really takes the wind out of you...It's not only arduous and terribly exhausting, it's mentally draining because you really have to super-psych yourself up, especially halfway and three-quarters way through. The journey up the slope is not the only difficulty, the next test of endurance comes in being able to CONTINUE jogging AFTER the slope. Because very often, you target the end of the slope as your destination or goal, so after you reach your goal, there's hardly any motivation left to continue, not to mention any physical energy remaining.

It was at this point, jogging the distance after the slope when some thoughts struck me. I guess THE SLOPE could be likened to the TRIALS in life. And the whole jogging route? Our journey through life i suppose. There are times in our lives when the going would be more pleasant, the 'scenery' more captivating and the experience more enjoyable. There would also be times our surrounding environment would threaten to 'pollute' us, especially as christians in a worldly culture. Most of all, there would definitely be times of trials, where we slog and plod on wishing that the trials would just end, just like that slope. And the more i thought about what that slope was doing to me, the more likeness i saw between trials and the slope.

I always say 'conquering' a slope is more about mental strength and motivation than about fitness. Of course, fitness does play a part to some extent. But the mind is needed to give that added boost sometimes. And the same goes with life. At some point when i was running up the slope, my lungs felt like they were going to burst and my legs had turned to lead. I would have given up and walked if it weren't for my mind, pushing me on. And i found that one of the ways i push myself, is to set a target for myself. I pick a specific point that i die die have to reach before i allow myself to walk or stop. Somehow, i've never stopped before my 'destination'. And i think, in life that helps too. To set targets for ourselves to achieve before allowing ourselves to give up. At least, we'd be able to say we tried. The less we push ourselves to overcome the obstacle, the longer we'd stay in our troubles. But if we just press on and tell ourselves it CAN be done, the sooner we can get over the problem. We have to make an effort. And in doing so, we build ourselves, our bodies and mind up, so that the next time trials come along, we're all the better for it.

At the end of the slope, i pushed myself on and refused to allow myself to stop. I set a second target, by timing this time. Not allowing any stops till i had jogged a certain length of time. And even though this time i was running on level ground, my lungs were still suffering the effects of the slope. My breathing became laborious. It was no longer as easy as before the slope. I thought to myself,"Yes, trials are the same. It doesn't mean that things will become a bed of roses straight away." Sometimes we have to 'suffer'the after-effects of the 'slope' for a while. Like in breaking up, dealing with a hard-to-handle situation, handling relationships around us etc. Things often don't go back to normal. But then, as i continued running, the pain in my ribs started to subside. And then some time later, it went away. The pain we suffer in life will eventually go away. We'll remember it, but not quite in the same way as when we first struggled with it. It'll become a blurry haze in your memory. Just like it did mine.

Then again, I'm a Dory.