THIS

“Practice, both the athletic and the spiritual kind, is not a manifestation of perfection, but an acceptance of imperfection. One does not achieve or attain compassion; one develops it by meeting the moment over and over again”. —Alex Tzelnic, “(Meta)Physical Education: Temper Temper” 

This.

We jump into the fire and meet the moment head on. We repeat as necessary until, as the poets suggest, the dust has settled and the tempest passed. Or until the injustice ends and the bully leaves of boredom. Fill in a few of your own metaphors at this point should you desire to engage with the exercise. 

The idea of our acceptance of imperfection is an important inflection point on our creative journey. And trust me when I postulate that everything from running a faster 5K to hanging your hat in the cowboy hall of fame, is a creative journey. One must judge with brutal honesty where one stands in the pursuit of the shinning object we call the goal. There is a reason why we are chasing it, and I believe one part of this cognitive process is that we recognize an imperfection in our current state. And, naturally, we desire a place, physical, emotional, interpersonal, professional, financial, that’s better, sometimes much better, that our current state of affairs. 

It is easy to become discouraged about it. Why can’t Amazon ship it over by drone delivery in the next twenty minutes? Our entire mantra as a society is about quick and easy (not cheap) access to anything we happen to desire in the moment of weakness. Because most assuredly a new pair of $125 Adidas sneakers will ease the pain that the boredom of this current circumstance has wrought. It is easy to default to your tried and true excuse(s). I am too busy, inadequate, un-deserving, too slow, too fat, too old. The easiest of all is to search for your limitations and once found, own them. If there is one statement I have heard more than any other over all these years of training and racing, especially Ironman, it is this: ‘I could never do that.’ 

Well, congratulations you have just identified your limitation and made the decision to cherish the ownership of it. Your are correct however, because with that silly alibi as your reality, you will never do it. 

Meet the moment. Carpe not only the Diem, but Occupandi Temporis, occupy the moment. The role that compassion plays in all of this cannot be over emphasized. Give your poor self a break. Admit that the house in which you live has a room for improvement. Pat yourself on the back (maybe congratulate your fine self for setting another personal best today - the streak of consecutive days alive), or should you have the flip side demeanor, ask a buddy to (please) provide you with a swift kick in the rear. But take the first step. Meet the moment. Not yesterday’s frustration or last weeks setback, or last month’s doubt, grab this moment by the lapels and command positive action. MOVE IT. 

I was, of course, inspired by the opening quote this morning because last night was one of those dark nights. The 45 minutes on the time-line of the new video seemed to run low on energy after a hellacious out-of-the-gate start. I was discouraged, gloomy and the person I saw starring back at me in the mirror looked dark and phony. Who is this person and why is he depressed? 

My answer was in the acceptance of my imperfection. That compassion is relentlessly generated by merging awareness with reality. This is the practice. Without the challenge the victory is bittersweet. Dogs bark but the posse rides on. Persist and occupy the moment, for it too shall pass. 

Possibly the best advice I have ever received in this regard comes from David K. Reynolds from his wonderful book Playing Ball on Running Water where he quotes from the Morita school of therapy that suggests to simply ‘do what must be done.’ 

This.