I went running on the beach today.

This morning after taking my son to his MMA class and after doing kickboxing I felt like I wanted to run. On the beach. To run fast. I almost never went running before. I could never handle running even for two minutes. I got out of breath right away and I generally felt like I wanted to fall down and die right there.

This morning was different. I went with the kids to the beach and I went running. Just along the beach, barefoot. Exactly at the line where the water goes over the sand. The sand is hard there and perfect for running. It was cold and cloudy. The beach was empty. I run fast. After the first minute I got out of breath, but I did not stop. I remembered how my MMA coach told us “Your mind is your general, your body is your army. If your mind tells your body to fight, the body will fight. If your mind tells your body give up, your body will give up.” My mind was clear. It was empty. It was full only of the things I saw around. The water, the sky, the sand. It was empty of emotions or feelings or thoughts. And I told myself to run. To run technically, emotionless, detached. And my body run perfectly well. No sign of tiredness. My breath returned to normal, like if I was running on the beach all my life. I just run and felt nothing except the movement of my body. The movement and the desire to roll. The sand was as hard as the fighting mat, and I can roll really well on those. I like rolling.

I run until I was so far away that I could not see the parking lot and the kids. Then I run back. The ocean water was cold. The sand was perfect for running. My body kept the rythm. No desire to stop. No emotions. Passion.

We are most passionate when we have no emotions. Passion is depth. Emotions are the foam on the surface. Passion is silent. Passion is harsh. Passion is technical. Passion is powerful. Passion is the strength of our minds.

I run towards the kids. The sand was dry and warm where they played. The air was like the sky. Weightless and endless. The sky was everywhere. I looked up; at the ocean, at the clouds, and at the hills. I felt the muscles of my back, of my arms, of my legs. My hands and feet on the warm fine sand.

I knew we could do anything we put our minds to.