I promised that this week’s column would be of a strictly positive nature. Good vibes, healing thoughts, smiles abound, blue skies, and not a cloud to be seen…What makes you happy? That is a nice, positive topic. Please be advised that if any of you get bored or fall asleep while reading this, do not do so while operating heavy machinery or driving a car. In addition, if you do become bored, please let me know, because being positive for 750 words or so is not an easy task for someone who is 80% cynical on a good day…

So let us begin. I have a friend who loves to ride her bike. She loves it so much that for the past few years she has participated in the Alyn Children’s Hospital Wheels of Love bike ride in Israel. This ride has taken her up 90° inclines (I am not very good at math, the inclines are very steep, I have no idea if 90° is a steep incline), rough terrain, extreme heat, wild winds, and two years ago, if I recall correctly, a series of rocket attacks. She has been privy to amazing scenery, intense bonding with other riders, and experiences that have been so unforgettable that she continues to do this ride year after year. From speaking with her, I have learned that biking for hundreds of miles over a period of just a few days can cause your knees to make funny noises and your hips to hurt, and makes you, overall, really, really exhausted, but “a good exhausted.” I asked her why she enjoys biking so much. Her reply was simple: It makes her happy. She does this ride, in particular, because the ride make her happy and the fact that her fundraising goes toward such an incredible cause makes her even happier.

She gets this dreamy, faraway look in her eyes when she speaks of the freedom she feels when she is on her bike and pedaling into the great outdoors; even seeing a bear on one of her excursions hasn’t scared her off. Now, since this is a positive column, I won’t tell you what I tell her when she asks me why I don’t try biking, because it is self-deprecating and has the phrase “caution wide load” in it, so we won’t go there. But I love knowing that my friend has found her happy place, and that it is on a bicycle…a really cool, light-weight, aerodynamic bicycle.

Five years ago, for son #1’s bar mitzvah chesed project, he asked me if I wanted to do the Chai Lifeline half marathon in Miami. We needed to raise $6,000 dollars and that would entitle us to Shabbos with Chai Lifeline families and entry to the race. Of course I said yes, because when you have a son, and he asks you to spend an entire weekend with him and run/walk/waddle 13.1 miles with him, you say yes. And we did it. With the help of our friends, we raised a lot of money and we spent an incredible weekend with the other participants. Even though he finished the marathon ahead of me, crossing that finish line felt like one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. It made me really happy–until a few hours later, when I discovered that I couldn’t sit, stand, or walk…but I will remain positive. So positive, in fact, that we decided to do this half marathon again the following year. This, too, made me happy because son #1 wanted to spend another weekend with me, though this time his brothers tagged along and husband #1 also joined us (positive article, no comments about husband #1, this is very difficult for me so give me a minute). Yes, the whole family came to cheer us on and son #1 and I cut our time down 40 minutes from the year before and I made him cross the finish line with me…so I was even happier.

Since two half-marathons equal one whole marathon, I crossed that off of my bucket list and called it a day. But, I totally saw the appeal and no longer questioned the sanity of marathon runners. It is just an amazing, positive, and happy experience. So whether your happy place is on a bike, running on a track, or sitting on a couch watching sports–not referring to anyone in particular–all that matters is that you have found the place that makes you smile to yourself and say “life is good.” May positive energy follow you wherever you go.

Banji Ganchrow is a self-proclaimed writer who has trouble seeing the glass half full, unless it is full of Tab.

By Banji Latkin Ganchrow