cornfields were green and gold. The ribbon of black asphalt
that Martha rode seemed to her to head straight into the
heart of God. “Silence, a blue sky, a black ribbon of
highway, God, and the wind. When I ride, especially at dusk
and at early morning, I feel God. I am able to meditate more
in motion than sitting still. Being alone, having the freedom
to go wherever I want, having the wind blow, riding alone
in that wind, allows me to center myself I feel God so
closely that my spirit sings.”
Here in this body are the sacred rivers: here are the
sun and moon as well as all the pilgrimage places.... I
have not encountered another temple as blissful as my
own body.
SARAHAExercise teaches the rewards of process. It teaches the
sense of satisfaction over small tasks well done. Jenny,
running, extends herself and learns to tap into an
unexpected inner resource. Martha would call that power
God, but whatever it answers to, exercise seems to call it
forth in other circumstances when we mistrust our personal
strength. Rather than scotch a creative project when it
frustrates us, we learn to move through the difficulty.
“Life is a series of hurdles,” says Libby, a painter whose
sport is horseback riding. “I used to see it as a series of
obstacles or roadblocks. Now they are hurdles and