Day 3,977

Growth:

This line from No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy has been resonating in my brain for the past couple of weeks. How often do we allow ourselves to be distracted, to chase a frustration that really should be let go, only to lose more of our precious time and life energy chasing down that which was never really taken from us?

Even in moments as simple as being stuck in traffic, this quote really slaps:

You wear out, Ed Tom. All the time you spend tryin to get back what’s been took from you there’s more goin out the door. After a while you just try and get a tourniquet on it. 

Cormac McCarthy, No country for Old Men

Appreciation:

On Friday night we went to watch The Odyssey as a family. As a bunch of fans of both Christopher Nolan and Greek mythology it was a sure winner. Over the past few days my mind keeps getting drawn back to it for a variety of reasons, What I’m most grateful for today is the ability of people to pause, listen to a specific story, and then shift the perspective of a main character in a major way.

I’ll save the spoilers, but let’s just say that the Odysseus of the movie and the Odysseus of the Homeric epic are driven by very different motivations. They still do much of the same adventuring on their return trip in search of their home, they have some of the same characteristics, but the character flaws and motivations are different.

For me there is a beauty in seeing the same person through multiple perspectives – no one but the person living the life itself actually understands the full picture (and I question if they ever actually do either!). To look from multiple views helps us better understand the complicated weavings each of us humans are, tapestries of experience and thought and emotion and circumstance.

Christopher Nolan – cheers to another master class in story telling!

Presence:

Woof! The sensation of leg muscles being just about worn down over a prolonged time – not ideal, not necessarily something I enjoy, but something I can greatly appreciate. Each slightly stiff and slightly tender step reminds me of the work I’ve been putting in. Not all sunshine and rainbows, but each little moment of discomfort is a reminder of putting in the reps, or progress being made.

Hot yoga this evening really helped to loosen everything up a bit, I’m feeling like all is well. That said, tomorrow will be a minimal effort day, an opportunity for my body to catch back up a little. Another form of progress was felt when I was able to stretch a little further a little more comfortably than usual at that practice tonight – more signs of growth!

Thanks!!!