That morning we all left our houses under a moonless summer sky. Some of us had not personally chosen to go but had been signed up for it by a higher power.
Most of us drove, others walked, and a few were dropped at the meeting point where the numbers increased as the sun came up. In the dim streetlights you could barely see our faces but we recognized each other because we have been together on the road for some time. The ways that each of us move, stand and speak is familiar even from a mile away.
I’m sleepy, I’m hungry, I’m tired, I’m excited! Every person was in their own state of mind but we knew we had to do this: we are bound together by a symbol around our wrist.
And so our journey began as we sat side by side on our way to the summit where a quest would have us compete with other clans equally present to defend their flags. Shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye we shared our hopes and fears with no judgment and no trepidation. In this space we became our true selves, unbiased and uncategorized by the rules of society. We laughed and we witnessed the scenery turn from deep blue to light blue as the altitude increased and trees got taller. The freshness of our surroundings awoke new purpose in our limbs and we stepped up ready to spread our wings and fly.
We stood along our leader behind the battle line and unleashed our battle cry to the world, tapping our colored armors and shields with our hands and feet, wearing the dust on our faces, ready to set our lungs on fire. One heartbeat, two heartbeats…
Different paces, different movements, different purposes, but one goal to cross this uncharted wilderness where man and beast have coexisted for centuries. Some ran in groups, some ran in couples, some ran by themselves but no one was alone. The mountain was there cradling us with it sweetness, the dips and the hills were enticing us with their curves, the trees were calling us to discover their mysteries. And as we succumbed to the experience something magical happened: our humanity awoke in all its glory. We did not belong to ourselves anymore; we were part of something much bigger than our own material existence. We were alive within the stardust that drifts through the universe.
And that’s how it was on Sunday August 21st 2016 while running 10k in the Chouf mountain, we were all the same person: the runner who won the race, the one who stopped after 5k and laid down on the ground, the one who was walking by the side too tired to go on, the one who shouted “You can do it, Good job”, and the volunteers who patiently waited and smiled as they handed out water. Thank you…I ran and I didn’t want to stop. Thank you. I ran happily and gregariously and as I looked around in wonder all I could think of was :Thank you.
Rebels, champions, losers, thinkers, queens, hipsters, we might have been different before this day. But as of now we are one and the same. We are one body that moves with one mind, and our hearts have been joined forever.
#Beirut542 #TeamWalid
