Fit is Freedom.

In the never-ending search for the ultimate freedom, it becomes apparent that the freedom of the soul, mind and body are quite different and thus require unique mechanisms for attaining. Or are they? It occurred to me recently on a run in the lower mountains in Colorado that I felt more free and uninhibited with tennis shoes and a vague idea of where I was than with my possessions in my car en route to another destination. It is rather an intriguing feeling; the idea that the most free I have ever felt involves only logistical restraints, such as figuring out how to get home and whether I would have the energy, than the prospect of a new life, albeit tied down by physical obligations like my car and housing. This led me to wonder, what is freedom to me and how do I pursue it?

It was at that point I realized that my ultimate freedom was the result of my actions at the moment: running without regard to location, possession or time. Through the perpetual motion, the incessant beating and breathing, nothing was still, nothing was stagnant. And while my pursuit of freedom was the motivator, my body was the enabler. Without the strengths and weaknesses combined and the continual testing of those limits, I would never have experienced such a moment; a moment that makes life worth living.

Besides the purely philosophical, there are other more practical reasons for the proposition that physical fitness allows for freedom. The following are merely examples of the multitude of possible manifestations of fit freedom.

• If you have people who love you and are concerned for your well being and wait on edge by the door until you return from your adventures, being able to extend those adventures by, say, a few miles, can prove to be quite liberating during as well as amusing upon returning.
• You can eat what you want and not have to starve yourself to be a skinny bitch.
• You can live longer, but if that’s not your goal you can die gloriously doing whatever crazy shit being fit allows you to do. Like climbing Mount Everest. Or like getting hit by a car while street running. Or lightning when you get caught in storms.
• You can run across the street to beat the light or make it to your favorite restaurant before it closes without getting a stitch in your side.
• If, by chance, you are at a party and the cops just happen to show up, you can hop fences and avoid the inconvenience of questioning and/or potential arrest (all depending on the kind of party you are attending, of course).
• It is always great sport to try and outrun a rainstorm. It is advised, however, to not bring your ipod along.
• If you’re having a bad day and the last thing you need is a mugger to make off with your purse, being fit will allow you to knee the bastard in the balls and take off in your Prada heels.* The mugger will probably be more fascinated with the fact that you can and are willing to run in heels than in your purse at that point.

*Note: No Prada shoes were hurt in the testing of this theory.