The other month I learnt about how in certain countries they use a fresh snowfall of cold dry powdery snow as a chance to take rugs and quilts outside. They cover them in snow, then they trample over them, beat them, roll on them and the snow lifts the dirt and leaves them clean and fresh and like new in a way that a regular clean doesn’t.
It hasn’t snowed in my part of London but we have had a week of below freezing temperatures and crystal clear blue skies. As a herald of a new year, it feels like the universe is cleaning us with the cold. We are all being refreshed for a new year and a new start.
I went for a run round our local park earlier this week to try and start the shift from Christmas gluttony back into a more normal regime, taking advantage of still being off work. The cold, dry still air stung my skin and teeth and cleaned out my lungs. There was something wonderfully restorative about it, and I am definitely not one of those evangelical runners.
I hate running. My runner’s high comes when I finish running. The only good thing that I have to say about running is that if I need to get out of my own head, running helps with that, because the only thing I can think about when I am running is how much I dislike running and my only focus on is putting one foot in front of the other. Nevertheless, I sometimes run. I run to prove to myself that I have a certain level of fitness, to balance out my calorie intake, and I run because of convenience. I can run from my doorstep if I want and I can run at any time (as long as the weather isn’t inclement or if I’m in a gym).
But this run was different. I felt unencumbered. I took a new path, let my feet determine their own pace and embraced the clear cold day.
As I start back at work, I want to take that feeling of being new and clean with me. It’s a new year and a new start.
