Run…If You Can….

“My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy.”
John Bryant

Sometimes we take our ability to truly be “in the moment” for granted and spend more time living in the past which is gone and worrying about the future which hasn’t come yet.

A few weeks ago we attended the graduation of our Guide Dog puppy Ajax–now over two years old. We had not seen him for about 4+ months after turning him back in to the Guide Dogs of America professional trainers after raising him for almost 18 months as part of our volunteer puppy raising role.  I can’t describe how excited we were to see Ajax again and the person he was ultimately paired up to be with!

The graduation ceremony is unbelievably touching and each graduation “class” has a spokesperson who shares the experiences of those living for 28 days (it is a State of California law to obtain a guide dog to live in residence for that period) in Sylmar, California at the Guide Dogs of America (GDA) facility.  The spokesperson for the class where Ajax graduated shared a story that was touching and meaningful—for all of us.

The speaker was a woman named “Carrie” who had been totally blind shortly after childhood.  She described just how thankful she was to obtain a beautiful new guide dog and how they immediately bonded with each other.  As part of the residential training, the new puppy and their match go through rigorous training with the professional trainers—learning all the key commands to allow them to fully use the dogs for their own personal use.  The trainers “match” the puppies with each person on the basis of their personalities, level of anticipated activities and current living situation.  This 28-day training period is no “walk in the park“ and each graduate describes it as tiring, grueling, challenging and sometimes anxiety provoking as they learn to trust the dog to help them maneuver through traffic, cross busy streets, take public transportation, maneuver on escalators and/or elevators and take them back to their starting points within stores/shopping malls safely and smoothly.

Carrie shared how through the first few weeks of training the professional trainers kept admonishing her for not “slowing down” her pace while walking with her new dog on harness as they were fearful she might lose control and possibly even fall.  She recalled that on several occasions the trainers would speak to her about not being in such a hurry to walk with the dog seemingly everywhere she went on campus.  The trainers increasingly seemed to be a bit puzzled by her insistence on walking everywhere almost as fast as she could and even breaking into a run on occasion much to the dismay of the professional training staff at GDA.  They had never seen a graduate who was sight impaired or blind try to actually “run” with their new guide dog partner!

So, one day, the professional trainers she worked so closely with just had to have that serious talk about her rebelliousness and apparent ignoring of the trainer’s advice and suggestions to “slow down” with her dog. 

Carrie described how she grew up in a large neighborhood with many children about her age and how she fondly recalls being able to run, play and do all the things that children did when she could see (such as playing “tag”, “hide and seek” or kick ball). She recalled fondly the feeling of “freedom” that came from skipping, and running as most kids do every day.  She went on to describe how the wind hitting her face made her “so alive” and how moving as fast as she could with her dog without the least bit of concern of falling or tripping made her so happy!

She described, as tears started to flow down her face, how she had increasingly become fearful in the last few years just to walk in her own familiar surroundings without bumping into things and how this anxiety about going outside had reduced her sense of confidence, independence and flexibility.  She told the trainers that for the first time since she had become totally blind that she now had a trust with her new guide dog that she could run—and feel totally secure.  Each rapid step with her new guide dog was the step of independence that awakened her spirit and gave her a new breath of freedom.  Carrie ran everywhere she could with her new guide dog — because she could.

As I sat listening to Carrie I couldn’t help think about how we each of us could do a better job of rejoicing in the moment and celebrating the things in life that deeply represent our own independence and freedom.

As an avid runner logging about 27 miles a week, I also reflected on what it would feel like not to be able to run anymore.  It  made me realize that I sometimes don’t even truly see the beauty of the beach around me when I go out for my daily run and just how blessed to have my health, my beautiful wife, my loving and caring family and set of friends always there for me…..

So, like Carrie, maybe we should all run, if we can….Be well….

Ken Nowack

Kenneth Nowack, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist (PSY13758) and President & Chief Research Officer/Co-Founder of Envisia Learning, is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Ken also serves as the Associate Editor of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. His recent book Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don’t Get It is available for free for a limited time by signing up for free blog updates (Learn more at our website)