I was listening to a radio programme on fanzines where there was a nice example of how this can happen in an informal way. Dave Haslam described how he produced a small fanzine called 'Debris', which he used to sell to people queuing to get into gigs. In the mid Eighties Raymond Carver made his first visit to the UK where there was so little interest he was only interviewed by three people: someone from the Daily Telegraph, the Times and Dave Haslam (hard though this is to believe). When he was selling the issue of Debris with the Carver interview (which can be read here) someone asked him what he meant by including an article about a writer. "Read it and see what you think" was the reply. The next time he was selling the magazine the same person made a point of coming up to say how good the article was and show him the T-shirt he was wearing, which had a picture of Raymond Carver's on it. In other words Carver was his new passion. Dave Haslam thinks this is one of his finest achievements.
With running, if we can pass on our enthusiasm in the same way then we have similarly done something good. In my family my wife runs as does my sister and brother-in-law. I take no direct credit for this but my evident enjoyment of the feeling you get from running might have helped.
For Beanz, and all the other good teachers out there I will pass on this quote from John Ruskin:
There is no wealth but life. Life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest numbers of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest, who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influence, both personal, and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others.
Unto This Last essay IV, paragraph 77 (1860)
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