Oh how I love this book about running and writing

Because it's so much more than that ... in my mind, it's a totally Buddhist way of looking at them both. I don't know if the writer is Buddhist or not but he has what I think of as a totally Japanese perspective on the world. (Fortunately he is Japanese so that makes sense and I'm not being inappropriate.)

I was so moved at several points while reading this book that I wanted to set it down and write a letter to the author exclaiming about how he seemed to be speaking directly to me. I didn't, because I read it on the elliptical machine at the gym -- but that doesn't mean I won't.

I'm not the kind of writer that he is, obviously, but the beautiful parallels he drew between running and writing were so inspirational to me ... they make me want to try writing something with more depth and intention than what I've attempted before. Plus, I loved his spirituality and acceptance of the ways things are. He writes at several points about growing older and feeling at peace with a decrease in endurance/performance while running. He likens it to pouring water in a pail that has a hole in the bottom. Then, near the end of the book, he points out that even if he is pouring water into a pail with a hole at the bottom, the strength and intent of the effort remain -- even if the water does not. Oh, profound!

I want to buy this book for every person I know who runs and engages in any kind of creative endeavor. Here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0307269191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265162732&sr=1-1