Restart

This blog started out as a fitness blog. Then it evolved to photos of my cat and fitness. Then it transformed again into ramblings of my random hobbies, photos of my cat, and fitness. Needless to say, what started as my little corner of the internet world that served to hold me accountable for my 2012 resolution for fitness has changed into more of a living room of my life.

Just as I have evolved since starting to write here, so has my blog. So it’s time for a little reboot. I’ve decided to drop the “Runs Aground” part from my title. Because I’m doing, and writing about, more than just that.

I originally titled my blog the White Whale Runs Aground as a nod to an inside joke. I used to refer to myself as the White Whale, because I am basically a transparently-colored human who constantly battled my weight (poor whales, what a bad rap), but considered myself pretty strong and awesome (yay whales, what an awesome rap.) What can I say, whales are my totem animal. And in 2012, I challenged myself to lose a percentage of my body fat, so I decided to take up running, among other fitness activities, and write about them here for the world to read. Spoiler: I neither developed a running habit that stuck, nor have accomplished my original resolution to date. #Winning.

But despite the lack of goal attainment as well as the evolution (read: aging) of my body and mind, I’m going to keep The White Whale part. Because I think, aside from being a nod to my journey through health and wellness, it’s also a literary archetype to which, thanks to Herman Melville, we can all relate.

For those of you familiar with the White Whale from Moby Dick, hold tight. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, let me learn you a thing. Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. In this story, a captain named Ahab is pissed at this white whale (Moby Dick) because it bit off his leg. Understandable. But Ahab wants retribution. His drive for revenge becomes consumptive, and Ahab spends every minute of his existence hunting down the creature. Spoiler: Ahab becomes blinded by his lust for vengeance, and it gets him killed. When he finally tracks down the White Whale, he is ensnared in a harpoon line and dragged to the depths. Poor Ahab dies in the hunt of the one thing he wanted most in life.

Woah.

So anyway, what I am trying to say here is that we are all chasing something. We all have White Whales out there that we pursue. Having a goal is great and reaching for it is even better, but the trick is balance. And mindfulness. And assessment. We all know that what we think makes us happy—what we think defines us—can sometimes consume us if we keep our eyes on a perceived “prize” instead of on ourselves.

While self-betterment is, in my opinion, honorable and necessary, somewhere along the line, we can lose sight of who we are in the pursuit of who we think we ought to be.

Boom. Philosophized.

So I’d like to shift the perspective. Am I going to chase after my White Whale of fitness and wellness? You bet your behind. And I’ll tell you all about it. But I’m also going to pursue and write about other whales. I want my blog to reflect more than just a journey toward a resolution. I want it to represent evolution. The pieces of me that make me whole, while I continue to grow into who knows what.

Well, that and adorable pictures of Hatch, of course:

Camouflage.

So here’s to your whales and mine. I hope you’ll follow along!