For the past five and a half years or so my trainer Lorenzo has been offering me by-weekly opportunities to strengthen my body, improve my balance and coordination and keep my heart in good shape. I never know what he’s got planned for me when I walk in the door and generally, when I get used to any particular exercise or routine, he mixes things up. Sometimes after my first morning of a new set of challenges, I leave the gym a little frustrated that I’m either just not getting it or I’ve reached the age when I can no longer improve myself. But other times, like today, I skip out the door as if I’m walking on air because I’ve been able to meet the challenge headfirst and have actually excelled.
What did I do this morning that was so special? I pressed 505 pounds on the leg press machine exceeding my previous personal best by five pounds. How did I do it? I haven’t been practicing on that machine. In fact, I haven’t even sat on it since I did my last press of 500 pounds just before Christmas. What I have been doing is showing up twice a week and doing whatever Lorenzo has me do. By keeping to the regular routine, I’ve been able to maintain my strength to not only handle what I could do before, but even achieve more.
Isn’t that how most things go in life? We all have routines we are comfortable with. And, even though we complain about it, we humans love to pretty much do the same thing day after day. Unexpected change in our lives can leave us feeling uneasy and maybe a bit inadequate as we attempt to navigate through the uncertainty. But, then there are other times when we are able to stay focused and are able to draw on all of our other previous life experience to carry us through.
Just as I was a late starter in getting myself in good physical shape by regular exercise, I have also been late in setting regular spiritual exercise for myself. As a child growing up in the Catholic Church, I was taught many prayers which I dutifully memorized. For me, prayer was simply reciting the words with some type of request tucked in the back of my head, “Please help me pass this test,” “Have Mom let me go to the beach with my friends,” “Make it stop raining.” The thing was, I knew God knew what was going on in my life, and what I wanted and needed, but I never quite learned that prayer was a two ended conversation and that I actually needed to listen to God.
Learning how to listen to God and disciplining myself to actually take the time to do it, have been a tremendous challenge for me. To be honest, dieting is easier! But I keep trying to set aside just a few minutes each day to quiet my mind, sweep away my own thoughts (I visualize the little street sweeper from “Fractured Fairy Tales”)and open myself to whatever I need to hear from God. I set a timer for ten minutes, close my eyes and sit back, waiting. I think of it as more like downloading information than an actual spoken conversation. When the chime rings, I open my eyes, refreshed and go about my day. I can’t tell you why these few moments a day strengthen work to strengthen my spirit, only that it does.
At the end of some days I still feel like I could have done better, but others, I have that some rush of pride like I had this morning in the gym, that I used all the skills I’ve been training for and have met the challenge of the day head-on.