The Vortex

A friend and I went for a run today on a new trail.  After a nice warm-up, we launched into some sprints.  Well he sprinted, at least – I’m not sure what you would call what I did.  For some reason, something in me hinders my ability to accelerate.  I never start tasks full-throttle or sprint fast initially.  He, on the other hand, ran as if he were sprinting over shards of glass.  

Even more peculiar than my pathetic lack of acceleration is the observation that we make on the way back to our “starting line.” We look back and notice that our gravelly foot prints seem to start very far apart until about halfway down the trail, when our prints curiously merged together.

Later, during our final sprint, I inadvertently tucked in right behind my friend as he sped off ahead of me, merging our trails once again.  

My speed-demon friend proceeds to give me a chemistry lesson.  He jokingly says that the wake of his lightning-speed running is like a vortex – like suction filtration.  Suction filtration is conducted when the force of water pulls air out of an apparatus creating a great deal of suction.

– It’s like Niagra falls, he says.  Ever been?

– Yep.

– Know how you just feel eerily drawn into toward the falls when your near them?  It’s the force of the water.  The vortex.  It sucks you in. 

Well of course, my tendency to over-analyze and produce metaphors kicks in.  Could we all live like the Niagra waterfalls?  Can we all produce so much energy – such power and force – because we harbor such passion for purpose that others will gravitate toward us because they’ve been inspired?  

My friend is pleased with his new nickname; I can tell.  “Vortex” is a cool name.  Sounds like a super-hero.  Just as he sucked me into his speed-wake, Vortex attracts people in all aspects of his life because he radiates with spirituality.  He is constantly aglow with love and generosity.   If we are passionate about something, others want to know what secret we have that they don’t.  If we live for something, our enthusiasm radiates.  We glisten with purpose.  

I don’t want to be lukewarm and drift through life.  I don’t want to be an algae-infested, stagnant pond.  I want to be passionate and commit fully to my life’s purpose.  I want to be Niagra falls.