Consistency

More times than not, I find myself swept away in my daily activities, often disregarding the concerns of others, for at the end of a day I feel I have nothing left.

It may seem callous, but I assure you there is no malice in conjunction with this propensity.

It takes a lot for me to notice something isn’t functioning correctly. And the last week has taught me what it means to live, to laugh, and to do the very thing that keeps you sane in a world that yields most painfully to play.

A friend whom I had not yet seen in many a day returned from boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. A man whom I knew well as a strong and distinctive individual, was hammered in the blast furnace of the Carolinian heat, tempered by the finest fighting force in the history of Christian civilization, and emerged a United States Marine.

What was illustrious of this was not the title he earned.

What he became was not simply honorable, though honored it is;

Nor is it a sign of strength, though strong it is;

It is merely the proof of one who remained the very person he was before he entered.

I would submit to you this is the ultimate measure of fortitude. When pushed to the brink of breaking one’s mental state, exceeding the body’s physical limits, and giving immeasurable personal sacrifice. It is here when the human will is most vulnerable. Yet his, remained strong.

In the few short days I was able to spend with Mike Petty, we did, along with our other running buddies, what we know best. We ran.

We carved out time of our schedules, we ran in the dark when no one could see us. We traversed iced rivers, and fell through. And we recognized that despite time, we were truly one in the same.

How is it that one pastime, one passion, or one simple activity can re-unite persons whom have dramatically altered their lives, for the noblest of reasons. A Marine, a law student, and a MBA student; How is it that such polarizing goals in life can seem to meld into such a harmonious illustration of simple passion for one sport. I submit to you the sport transcends these ambitions.

Moreover, it is the drive in each of us that propels us to exceed in our vocations, as it does in our avocations.

Whatever the costs may be, and wherever life may lead us henceforth, it can be stated without unequivocal certainty, that the roads will be waiting.

Hats off, Mike Petty.