Day 10.206 Truth be Known

Truth be known, I am no different from anyone else. Sure, I have some interesting perspectives that come from tenure, but I still seek guidance and inspiration with the ultimate goal that some of my more urgent questions will one day be answered.

But maybe that is exactly the point. That the urgency of seeking is actually the goal itself. Let's be completely blunt here, no one will ever have all the answers, know all that can be known or understand with perfect explanational depth the complexities, paradoxes and double-edge razors that whirl about our ears at the speed of sound. Nobody. Ever.

Making the journey there (wherever there is) the goal. Here is what we have in common: We are all there. Right now, this very instant. On that path, in the hunt and on that quest.

YOU ARE IN THE GAME.

And the game has rules. The game has nuance, minutiae and the game has secrets to success. There are team games and individual games, with the goal of either to succeed, to learn and to grow. Notice I didn't say to win. Losing or failure of any type can be as powerful a learning experience as its opposite, as long as the lesson is absorbed, assimilated and addressed.

There is a lot of rhetoric these days about politics and economics, about war and famine, about people named Bush, Clinton, Sanders and some guy called El Nino. I will leave the analysis to others here, but instead segue to the one thing (outside of religion) that can 'save' us.

Your health.

Interestingly enough there seems to be nearly as much verbiage on this subject as there is on politics. What do we go? How much do we do it? At what intensity levels? How many times per week? What about protein? How much sleep do I really need? Will hard interval training actually be harmful to my heart? Will my baby become an Olympic champion?

You get the idea. On and on we go with the medical community in constant battle with the marketeers emanating to sell you pills and washboard abs.

Seems sometimes that the more we know the more we market. The more we see the more we sell. World Class Exploitation.

And this, of course, pisses me off. Royally. It is very much like having to buy bottled water because big oil has polluted the oceans to a remarkable (and legal) level.

Gawd.

Rant over, Here is something you can use. It is a quote by someone I have had the pleasure of interviewing (Kona 2002), it is simple, direct and extraordinarily powerful. Please take a look at this article and see if you agree with Joe. As I do.

 MR. FRIEL: The best way to maintain health and performance for the dedicated but aging athlete is by doing high-intensity interval training, doing strength training with heavy loads, including adequate protein in the diet, and getting lots of sleep.

Truth be known.