All light is connection.
Illuminating objects and landscapes in new ways. Casting a spell on the ordinary. Bringing you closer to your surroundings on a run.
Light, like life, is also ever-shifting. Changing by the hour. It flows majestically over surfaces, causing them to flicker or glow in the sun’s beams. Then it’s dialled down, until it eventually disappears. So much magic exists between the two – lightness and darkness – that it warrants its own theme to run to.
Light is a good friend of discovery. It requires curiosity, patience, an eye for wonder. Practice your appreciation for light and you’ll be rewarded with more inspiring, poignant, and touching moments than you could wish for. Not to mention more breath-taking photos, the physical currency of Joy Runs.
How to run this theme: Light
I’m a total magpie when it comes to good light. Here’s a few ways it can illuminate your run:
- the world’s colour emerging at first light
- the moody tones of moonlight
- miniature dramas in the shadows
- the joy of light-filled sky in autumn
- stop and surrender to a sunset
- a kaleidoscope of colour in stained glass
- quench your neon needs at night
- light piercing through tree
…and so much more.
Whether natural or artificial, light offers a wellspring of joy.
Play around with your camera phone when you’re next out running and you’ll discover that light impacts everything in a shot, adding much life, depth, and emotion to an image. It brings out the inherent beauty of a subject and the richness of the scene.
Get the next run challenge 💌
- 1 Challenge p/w
- Run your way
- 100% Free
What the Joy of Light Means to Me
I’m an early bird when it comes to running. Up and out first thing, I love the lottery of sunrise.
Therapeutic fuel for the soul, I find there’s something magical about working out to a colourful backdrop of nature’s choosing.
Scientific research backs me up. Watching the sun cross the horizon stimulates the pineal gland as the direct sunlight hits the eye, moves through retinal-hypothalamic tract and hits the brain. This boosts the secretion of melatonin and serotonin, our “feel-good” hormones. No wonder the best ones leave such a lasting impression.
The dreamlike qualities of a sunrise have long provided inspiration to poets, romantics and artists. I can relate, in my own little way. Every sunrise is its own masterpiece, deepening my capacity for joy and improving my outlook for the day. It’s impossible not to see one and dream.
Running to seasonal light
Light also makes me appreciate the seasons more. There’s the blue skies and intense shadows of summer. The softer, glowing light of autumn. The still serenity of winter. And the cheerful sparkle of spring.
We’re running this theme at a time of the year when natural light is dwindling. That absence of light offers mysterious qualities to our runs and also makes us appreciate the shorter window when the light does come out to play. It could be the sun kissing the roof of a building or creating an amber portal when running in the woods.
Mark these special moments in the day as they grace our running route and I promise you’ll no longer bemoan the darker, colder months. Be grateful for the gift they are.
Running to find light in the darkness
It’d be amiss of me to pass on the opportunity to comment on how running can brighten our spirits, too.
“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place, you think you’ve been buried, but actually, you’ve been planted.”
This powerful reminder speaks to the transformative nature of running.
There’s no such thing as a bad run. When life feels overwhelming, a run can reset your entire week and be the beginning of something new – like a seed being planted in the soil, ready to grow.
Your exercise routine is something you’re in control of. By getting out, you’re choosing hope over darkness. A positive step in the right direction, trusting that good things can be around the corner – literally and figuratively.
I’m always reminded by the lyric “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” from Leonard Cohen’s song “Anthem”.
You can’t have one without the other. Like a runner’s journey, challenging times will be the making of you. The current state of hardship opening up a path to a better future.
I hope The Joy of Light theme brings you inner calm and moments of wonder.
→ Other ‘Running To Wonder‘ themes
