Martin Luther King Jr said “If you can’t fly then run”…
“…if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward”
Dr King was not a runner but as we talked he told me of his respect for runners. It was my senior year at Wesleyan University (CT) and I was on the Assembly Committee–which invited notable speakers to campus. We had toured briefly around campus and the audience was pouring in—filling every seat in the meeting hall.
We were both from Atlanta but had never met and I wanted to ask this great man only one question but sensed that there was a lot going on in his active brain. I was a few days away from leaving the security and intellectual stimulation of a vibrant academic institution but had no idea what I wanted to do as a career. During an awkward silence as we waited, I released my anxiety about asking him and the words just poured out: “What would you advise a young person who was still looking for the right career.”
He thought for a few moments and then looked me in the eye and said that I should choose a profession that would allow me to help people improve the quality of their lives. I had been looking for a thought that could provide a philosophical anchor to my search and he had given me that gift with the inspiration to search for ways to make a difference.
A few years later I had fulfilled my military duty, had represented my country in the Olympics, and was following his advice by setting up a running center to teach fitness and the healthy lifestyle.. To this day, when I am trying to make an important decision or give advice, I go back to that connection in Middletown CT in 1967.
I’m proud to say that Dr Martin Luther King Jr inspired me to help as many people as possible to walk and run—and change their lives for the better. I may not be flying but I’m still running and moving forward.
Jeff Galloway
