What Keeps You Going....

I went to the National Mall in Washington DC to photograph the sport of Frisbee throwing and noticed people were running, lots of people were running. Running fast, running slow, some were in brightly colored clothes, and some were barely in clothes at all (hehe). The only thing they appeared to have in common, was they were all focused, they seemed to be too focused. Too focused to smile at those they passed, too focused to notice the beautiful grass and monuments surrounding them, even too focused to notice me taking their photograph. I wondered what they were focused on, where they were going, did they even know where they were going, or were they just going, just focused on going, wherever their feet took them. What drove them to be so focused and just keep going.

I will never know their individual reasons, but that lead me to another question to ponder; "what drives me", "what am I focused on"? What keeps me going when I'm tired, what keeps me going when I feel defeated, what keeps me going, when I just don't want to go anymore? Sometimes for me, it is just mere curiosity, other times it is the shear will to live. I want to know what lies ahead, what obstacles I will overcome, what pleasures I will experience, who I will laugh with, who I will cry with. If I stop going, I'll never know. Maybe the runners on the National Mall were contemplating the same thing, maybe they were running to hear only their breathing, running to hear only their thoughts, running to get to their own destination; Mindfully shutting out all of the distractions around them so that they can just "be". I'm not sure I will ever take up running, but I like the concept of self-focus and of pushing through to get where I want to be. I like the routine of taking time for me to just be me, whether I'm at home alone or at the National Mall surrounded by people; focus... focus on what drives me, and then just drive to get there...... Find your focus, find what drives you, find your peace.