One Saturday morning last August I got a ride with some friends from San Francisco to Mill Valley for the weekly San Francisco Running Company (SFRC) trail run. My favorite route is the ~7 mile round trip to Tennessee Valley Beach and back.

The SFRC crowd tends to be pretty quick, both those from November Project SF and other regulars. I kept up with the beach group most of the way but slowly fell behind as we got closer to the shore. I reached the beach just as everyone else was turning around from the sand. I still wanted to go touch the Pacific.

Running down to the surf by myself brought a lot of things to mind. I was inspired by the waves & rocks to try a handstand on the rocky black sand.

I didn’t think anyone was watching but not everyone had run back right away, and my friend Ali caught me handstanding at a distance with her iPhone 6.

I held it for a split second, long enough to feel the physical shift of perspective, and also gain a greater sense of the possible, of possibilities. Being upside down, feeling gravity the opposite of normal, makes you question the normal, question dominant views, dominant forces. The entire run back felt different. Different thoughts, different views of the trail. I stopped and took different photos.

They say never look back.

I say reflection is a source of insight, wisdom, and inspiration.

...

After returning to the SFRC store, we promptly drove back to SF and grabbed a quick bite at the Blue Front Cafe.

I went home to shower, change, pack, and take a car to the airport. Made it to the gate just as my flight started boarding and found a couple of my colleagues also waiting for the same direct flight to Paris.

After boarding and settling into my seat, the next moments were a bit fuzzy. I don’t remember if they fed us right after take-off or not, or if I took a nap immediately, or if I started to look through the entertainment options.

Whether I napped first or not, I do distinctly remember scrolling through new movie releases and coming upon Tomorrowland. When I saw the thumbnail of the movie poster I got a very different impression from when I saw the Metreon marquee three months earlier.

I decided to give it a try.