Random hits on the keyboard

I cannot remember the exact day I started running. It was sometime around July 2023. I only remember that it began with a few kilometres. I did not have proper shoes or gear. Looking back, those first few kilometres changed my life in ways I never imagined. Three years later, I can confidently say that running has become one of the best habits I have ever built. Like most runners, I did not begin with ambitious dreams of marathons or ultramarathons. I simply wanted to run a little farther than yesterday. A few kilometres gradually became five. Five became ten. Every run quietly pushed the boundary a little further. By the end of 2023, I had made a plan that by the end of 2024, I would run 15 kilometres without stopping. To my surprise, I achieved that goal in February. I was almost ten months ahead of my own plan. It was a gentle lesson that we often underestimate what consistent effort can accomplish. Progress is rarely dramatic. It happens one ordinary run at a time until, one day, t...

On the very first day of 2026, I collected some of the most memorable moments, almost as if the morning shows the day. The good start is a good omen. I have a feeling that it will lead me to a good year ahead. But wait. According to Neil deGrasse Tyson, this day is entirely arbitrary. We celebrate it because we have collectively agreed to do so. It’s culture, not cosmos. He says, “And it is fine.” I agree with him. It is fine. The New Year is a story we tell ourselves. A shared fiction, which is so powerful that we all believe in it. We draw an invisible line in time and say: from here, something begins. Unsurprisingly, it has become a festival. A pause. A reset. A permission slip to start again. And like everyone else, I happily join the pack. I wanted something special from the day. I live by three simple R’s: Running, Reading, and Resting. January 1st feels like it will mirror the year, a full package depending on the single day. The day began with responsibility before ritual. I dr...

The year 2025 passed like a blink of an eye. I was welcoming the year some time ago, and suddenly it's the end of December now.  I look back, and I say, it was an amazing year. It was a smooth year in a subtle pace, unnoticed, and in the end, the year whispered goodbye to me. Most of my morning began with my routine. I was up on time, and every alternate day, I ran. It has become a habit. I can not not do it. I will make sure that this habit remains with me in the future. I am proud to say that this year, I ran about 2,100 km, which was 1,376 km last year. So this is an achievement for me. Every morning, I put on my earbuds and listen to some wise person's podcast or interviews while I run. Amazing talks. When I get tired, I switch to some music. Spotify prepared my year-wrapped for me. I spent a crazy time on music; about 21 thousand minutes.  What I liked about my morning routine is that I complete my running/stretching by 06:30 am, then I have so much time to do other thing...