Without a road bike in Taiwan, I've gone back to running, hoping it's been a long enough time for my knees and back to have forgotten that they were sports injury casualites. After a fear from soreness in my lower back early on, I think I'm faring fairly well. I'm not going to do the distances I used to do, I'm too old for that now, considering the battering I've given my body through the years, but I'm satisfied with 7:30 miles over 3 miles I've been doing. No, nothing to brag about, but I'm just happy to feel injury free.

I run on a path that goes around Daan Park, across the street from where I live. I suppose it's Taipei's central park, but it's modest at best. Less than a mile and a half around, and I usually go around twice or twice and a half.

My running, however, has recently reflected my overall mental state, and I had started becoming less patient with the local Taiwanese pedestrian traffic on the running path. Aggressive, aggravated, even hostile. It was getting really bad, and I tried justifying it by saying that at least I'm aware of it, and not just reacting blindly to emotions the way most people do, being a slave to them. Right, so I'm a slave with awareness. Yay?

I tried justifying it by saying that negative and positive are both parts of this world, we can't always go denying the negative aspects and putting them down saying they don't belong. Like Chris in the Morning said, "Sometimes you just gotta do something bad to let yourself know you're alive."

Yesterday, I went out for a run, and as soon as my feet hit the pavement for my warm-up jog, I didn't feel like running. I was drained, tired, frustrated, maybe depressed. I dragged myself along, wandering towards my starting point where I stretch, do sit-ups and push-ups on the far side of Daan Park.

I stopped, considered turning around and going home, then decided to bag the idea of a "run", and just force myself to do a slow jog around the park. When I got to my usual starting point, all the fitness apparati were clear, so I decided to make a half-hearted effort to do my warm-up routine, and surprised myself by completing my 50 sit-ups, 20 push-ups and stretching.

I then felt I had enough energy to do a modest run, so I decided to go two times around, easy pace. As I set off, I said to myself out loud, "be civil," and with that I committed myself to giving everyone I encountered the right of way, even if it meant breaking my pace. No aggressive acts or gestures (yes, it was that bad), no brushing by people with millimeters to spare or even buzzing them.

It was so much better. It felt so much better giving people the right of way and communicating with a gesture for them to go first, calling out to let them know I was coming from the left or right side. It was so much better making a connection and communicating.

Really, pedestrians in Taipei for some reason don't look where they're going and often don't notice something coming at them or about to hit them or bump into them until it's about two feet away. But all it takes is communication, a connection, and something else is there. Something's different.

And something has to happen. Something has to change. I'm getting bored with my life in Taipei. I don't like who I'm becoming in the material world.

That was a good run. I felt good afterwards for the first time in a few. Need to remember that.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. We Will Rock You (Queen)
2. 'Cross the Breeze (Sonic Youth)
3. Love Will Light the Way ("Haibane Renmei")
4. Soun Tha Mi Primer Amor (Kinky)
5. You Almost Feel Sad (J Church)
6. Honey Pie (The Beatles)
7. You Won't Be An Orphan for Long ("Annie")
8. Swamp (Talking Heads)
9. Failure (Kings of Convenience)
10. On Earth (The Sundays)