Hello Apprentices-- Three cookies for you this muggy February Monday. First, one of my favorite quotes, from noted novelist and theologian Frederick Buechner (to whom I once wrote a fan letter, and he wrote back!!)… “Doubt is the ants in the pants of faith.” If your faith, or your art, or your politics, are intractable, are unable to be challenged, are unable to be questioned… what does that actually say about said faith, or art, or belief? It says, that on a deep level where most of us don’t like to visit, we don’t trust that the truth can hold up to scrutiny. Which begs the question… is that truth truly true? Stagnation leads to rot. In rehearsal. In performance. In relationships. In beliefs. DOUBT… lets in air. Allows water and sun to filter. Creates room for growth and discovery of newer/better/deeper truths. The ants in the pants metaphor is so hilariously simple and apt. Ya gotta keep moving, keep jiving, keep looking for ways to encounter each doubt, so that your belief and your art can be stronger, more supple, more earned, more vital.
1 Comment
My official race time was two hours… and two-tenths of one second. Two-dang-tenths of one second. That’s not even a STEP. But I tell you what… it was awesome. Other fun facts… the course was actually about two-tenths of a mile SHORT. Numerology!! Which means I actually would have come in at more like 2:01:30. I needed to average 9:10 per mile to hit my two hour goal. The official results say I averaged 9:11 per mile. My super cool Garmin GPS watch told me my average was 9:18 per mile. Cuz of those missing two-tenths of a mile. What’s the truth? And since I finished the race with no injuries and with new personal bests in both time and distance, and my girlfriend finished and shared victory beers with me, and my dad finished and shared victory bacon with me, and my good buddy finished and shared victory selfies with me… does that mean that those two-tenths of a second (or that minute and a half, WHATEVER) necessarily DEFINE my race? Absolutely not.
Nope.
So. Re-define “miracle.” My dad’s in his 60s. He completed his first half-marathon last year. His second one this year. Is already signed up for his third one next year. And you better believe I’ll come in under two hours next year. Like, there is zero doubt. Not doubting that goal? Miracle. This week… do something you know you can’t do. Just try it. Doesn’t have to be huge to have a huge impact on you. While you do that new thing this week, I’ll be hanging up my medal. So that it hangs two-tenths of an inch off the wall. |
AuthorTheatre pro, amateur yogi, and competent home cook. Categories
All
Archives
May 2019
|
Proudly powered by Weebly