My attempts to incorporate some (any) form of physical activity in my life have ranged from the strangely optimistic (I once bought a gym membership for an entire year) to the vaguely absurd (I once signed up for a sport that involved catching hen).

I've finally found something I like doing. Running.

I can barely believe this myself, but I really do enjoy it. The reasons are many.

I chanced upon a great site, Lifemojo, that had a series of articles on how to run, how not to run and how to look good while doing it.

Two things got me started. One, I learnt that I didn't have to run fast. Apparently, it was most appropriate to run at a speed that could allow conversation. I liked that thumbrule. Two, I realised that I didn't have to run a lot, at a stretch. Small bursts of activity (at least to start off with) were recommended. I liked that even more.

Incidentally, I also found my schedule become less arbitrary, and that lent itself well to a 30-min slot being free almost every day. Better still, this slot was in the evening. That meant no early morning wake up struggles. More importantly, there was the cloak of darkness to hide that flab bouncing around, a garden that is practically free of humanity after sundown and a cool, gentle breeze for company almost unfailingly.

What I like most about running, though, is that my mind practically goes blank. I find myself unable to hold on to any train of thought, mostly because I am trying to concentrate on doing what I am doing right. As a beginner runner (not even that actually), I try and ensure that I am breathing right, running at the right pace, stepping in the right place and that my track pants are not falling off. I am like a newbie driver who has to look out for a hundred things while driving, and hence finds himself/herself unable to let the mind drift around.

I have been reading up a little bit on Vipassana, and I found what I experience to be somewhat in line with what they say one must experience when one is meditating. I find myself concentrating on my breathing, and I find emotions come and go without reacting (or being able to react) to them. That can't be such a bad thing.

The 30-minutes of blankness, then, are like a different form of meditation, and that goes well with a life that is unpredictable at best, and absurd at worst.

Greetings.

My last post about anything was on May 29, 2009. I believe my last serious 'thought' about anything was around the same date.

Without further ado, being the abominable narcissist that I am, I welcome myself back to regular writing about randomness. I don't know about the three of you reading this blog, but I missed myself.

As always, there are no guarantees on how long this will last (for all you know, this might be the last post for another six months, but what the hell), but let me try and make the most of it while it does.

In the interim, I have found Twitter to be exceptionally useful in allowing me to express my thoughts (mostly rants to the tune of 'WTF is going on here?') in one sentence. No thinking, no editing - just type and hit 'post'.

It's good to be back to good old, old-fashioned writing.

Giddy up, folks! (Yes, the three of you.)