We Can Always

First in a series of lasts. 

This morning was our final Monday session of the year. It has been a wild ride through high-intensity intervals, steady-state climb, sprints, pushes and even a few popcorn sets. Doing something so wholesome and productive, even if that ‘thing’ is but one day a week of the available seven, represents huge value. That is 52 hours of work, and no matter how you slice and dice it, that is better, bigger and bolder than than zero. Zero means nothing. No gain, no adaptation, no progress, no growth, no challenge, and nothing to bask in the afterglow of satisfaction that only comes from the sincere self-respect of a job well done. 

This is a state of being that I am very aware of these days. It represents a return on the investment in myself. There is always a payoff, some reward, no matter how seemingly trivial or tiny, that follows a focused effort. There is also a release of caged tension, that inner voice that relentlessly attempts to speak loudly enough or delicately enough, or diplomatically enough to capture our attention. After a period of time, as we feign to have a bad connection, we become master compromisers. Yes, we might say, I know I need more exercise, less sitting, better dietary habits and less consumption of liquid toxins, but I am so busy with the current project and…… and then….. and well….. Before we know what hit us, there are ten years of bad habits, the residual of which rests on our hips, bellies and butts. We even have the audacity to call the resulting heart attacks caused by all the sludge backed up in our systems, a ‘wake up call.’ How utterly quaint. And how potentially catastrophic. Interestingly it all starts upstairs. Inch by inch and dollar by dollar we start to believe the talking TV heads and plea-bargain our good health, fitness and self-worth for a chance to win the lottery. We put everything on Red Five. 

The odds are not with us. Nor is God, Buddha, the laws of probability or our definition of justice, luck, fairness or karma. In every one of those situations the deity in question rewards your effort in the face of challenge, not your luck in the draw. Money is not, never has been and never will be an indicator of success. One needn’t have the ability to count any higher than forty-five to see the truth in this. It is about service to your fellow man, and one’s ability to transcend the boundaries placed upon us by those who still play by the archaic rules that in order to become stronger one must prey on the weak. 

Clinging to the last remaining things we actually own, our thoughts, we see them in the constant struggle to organize, unionize and stand united in our individual struggles. That inner voice, sounding like a man fully formed or a mouse scampering towards the safety of a cave, is our last beacon of hope. It is the flickering lighthouse that keeps us from being shipwrecked at sea. It is the image of the light at the end of the tunnel, and here, so close, we don’t need to be thinking about digging more tunnels. 

Listen to that voice. Hear the call. Agree to its warnings, suggestions and intonations. That voice is your best friend. 

There are always a handful of ‘easy’ changes we can incorporate to our routines, a commitment to refine, reduce, reuse, rejuvenate or restore the critical elements that contribute to our ‘satisfaction.’  We can create addition by subtraction.

We can always exercise smarter, with more attention and consistency.

We can always clean up our diets. 

We can always drink more water.

We can always get more quality sleep.

We can always smile more and laugh louder.

We can always seek truth and beauty.

And my favorite,

we can always be more authentic and stop trying to please everybody on our Amazon.com shopping lists. 

Last in a series of firsts.

Good luck and God Bless.