When we are kids, didn’t we (at some point) have the urge to run away? I sometimes had that urge as a kid, but I have that feeling more as an adult (honestly more than I did when I was a kid). There is word for that urge, which in this case is an overwhelming urge (I just recently learned about this word) and it is “drapetomania.” Running away is such a strong image. People think of running away when things get tough, difficult or challenging. Some people even have the urge to run away to get away from the same old thing every day and they are sick of it. That is why some people (including myself) like travelling. We use it as a way of escape.
Another reason why people want to run away is to see if anybody truly cares about us because in our minds if people really care about us they would chase after us (something seen in a lot of romance books and movies) or would not want us to run away. However, this part of running away becomes difficult because sometimes the people who care about us (the most) urge us maybe not so much to run away (especially forever), but to run away and travel the world especially. What I want in my life is for people to urge me to not so much run away, but to start walking and enjoying everything. Those are the people who really care about us. Running away in a sense has a lot to do with rushing (another closely related topic that I have talked about in another one of my blog posts).
I was recently reading a wonderfully written book (titled “All For Anna”). It was written by Nicole Deese. It is a heart wrenching book, mostly about loss, but also about hope. I was reading that book and it inspired me in part to write this particular blog post for my readers. In the book, one of the main characters, Victoria, deals with a tragic loss of a young girl named Anna (I do not want to give too much away), but Victoria uses running (in the literal sense) as a coping mechanism. That is what I think about when it comes to running and I like I have said before we use it as a way to get away from our problems and our pain that we try to deal with on a daily basis.
I want to encourage my readers that it is okay to have that urge to run away, but do not run away from your problems because that will get you nowhere. Sometimes you are even lucky enough to find someone who will run away with you. It reminds me of this quote. “Sometimes you need to run away just to see who will come after you.” Keep strong and hang in there!
Running Away
I am taking off and trying to run
Away as far as I possibly can.
I want to go towards the sun
And throw away the set plan
As I go there. I want you to come
With me because it is better than
Being alone. Every crumb
We leave behind does not matter.
It brings me comfort with your thumb
Against my cheek. Let the ashes scatter
And for me to stop running. I want to
Start walking and to enjoy the splatter
Of the colors of the sunset that skew
With my head no longer. Every piece
Of rubble is another reminder for you
And I to slow down. Let us cease
This disarray and getting away
From our problems. Every crease
Is old and boring. I want you to stay
With me for this long journey
Ahead of us. Nothing should weigh
Heavily on our minds. Our worry
Goes out the window along with
Everything else. Let the unworthy
Things go. I am no wordsmith
To explain the things in my head,
But everything is more than a myth.
I want to leave my same old bed
Behind and sleep in a brand
New place. This new thread
We are walking on feels like sand
Beneath our feet. It is no small
Defeat to walk and to stand
Among those who saw me as a doll.
I am not breakable and I will not crack.
Do not back me up against the wall
Otherwise I will let everything black
Out and fade away. Then I will
Never be willing to ever come back.