We Win

Draw inspiration from every corner. See metaphor in everything that moves. Connect the dots of what is and what should be. Learn by watching. Through success as well as failure. Timeless words echo in the warrior's heart: The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Class is here. The ABC's. School is back in session. Books are open to page one. Life, as professor, speaks authoritatively. One voice.

She suggests that we all desire to belong. We long to be a part of something of value, to fight for a cause, to dial-up drama, to test ourselves. We seek ways to do this. We want to be part of a team, in colors and with purpose. She speaks of growth, courage, self sacrifice, teamwork, mission, leadership, commitment, struggle, suffering, and finally, the transcendent emergence into the light. She also intones that the light doesn't care about anything other than the experience. She has the audacity to present the theory that score doesn't matter, that the difference between winning and losing is an illusion. That time, like a single inhale of oxygen, is here one breath and gone the next. Clinging to one, making it your goal, allowing it to define you, is human folly, just numbers, stats, a marketing ploy to quantify quality (go ahead and try to define it). For there comes another breath, and another and another. She finishes with the thought that the secret is to experience each one to its fullest, deepest, most aware, dynamic and challenging, then let it go. And start over. Making…..

…..every workout session, every pedal rotation, every (sometimes barefoot) foot strike, every meal, every day, a unique opportunity for improvement, acceptance, growth. This often means failure in order to experience the sensation and manage the ways and means to correct, adjust, tweak, improve, mature. We lose (gasp) for similar reasons, appreciating the ride, examining the performance, dissecting the whole into parts to find the "culprit". That AH HA moment that totally refines and restructures our game, and takes us to into the illuminated and glowing victory circle. That is the thrill of victory, it is sweet, tasty, satisfying. It is all the more so if we have struggled and paid the price of effort and determination as prerequisites.

I enjoy this process. I like the struggle. I admire the magic of nuance. Individual moments, like snapshots along the way that define turning points. Sometimes it's feeling your second wind on a long run, gearing up to a powerful groove zone in the saddle, watching body mass change (this one takes patience). Sometimes it is much more subtle. Sometimes it's the sparkle in your lover's eye, a teacher's turn of a phrase, a client's comment, a competitor's compliment. Sometimes it's the visage of a warrior athlete after battle, or the way that your legs feel after a hard effort. Sometimes it's the rain.

Seek. Experience. Awareness. Challenge. Life. Met head on, helmet to helmet. In battle. Give. Compete. Love. Grow. Make it your best. Always. Rest and reflect.

After that I don't care what label you apply. You win.

Pic: The visage of the warrior athlete after battle. The Huskies Keith Price with mentor Steve Sarkisian after another last play victory. We live to fight another day.