dream big | reverse threading

i imagine that we are not alone – dreaming of what it must be like to be an olympic athlete, an olympic stand-out, an olympic champion. it is truly riveting to watch these incredible athletes do the most incredible things with their bodies. we marvel and have great respect for the dedication and commitment it all takes. not to mention talent.

neither of us is particularly athletically gifted, though it is clear to me that david has me out-prowessed. nevertheless, we exercise together and hike together and have biked together and – in our stand-out skill – nap together.

jessie holmes – on life below zero and referencing the iditarod – once said, “where your mind goes, your body follows.” we suspect oprah, with her feelings about visualization and manifestation, would agree. we do find that to be true. what you visualize is often what you become capable of, so it’s best to visualize the best. dream it, do it.

even so, there are certain limitations.

when i was eight i sat on a porch rail, with a string rein tied around a vertical post in my hand, in klamila, finland, visualizing myself as an equestrian. i was galloping over hill and dale, flying over jumps. the only thing that stopped me? i had no horse. my life-long dream…dashed with this single small detail.

when i was in junior high we were introduced to hurdles in gym class. i set up rope between trees in our yard and ran an obstacle course over and over and over, trying to perfect my time, perfect my hurdle. somehow – and it still baffles me – i never turned into a track and field star.

when i was thirty and we had just moved to wisconsin, i decided to pursue my life-goal of being an olympic ice skater. i could skate forward and backward and do crossovers, but i had never learned how to do salchows or axels or anything in the spinny bucket. with the other eight-year-olds in my class i attempted my first spin. my feet got it right but my inner ear has never caught up. i – a motion-sick-queen – was instantly dizzy. it had not occurred to me that spinning was a part of spinning. i retired my new figure skating tutu and turned to my piano.

some things are just not doable for some of us. and that’s what makes this world so wonderful. because there are people who are good at all sorts of things. really good. and together, we can put it all together and be the best we can be. together. the olympics are such a heartfelt and touching example of this ever-present, though somewhat under-recognized in the off-years, possibility.

we looked at each other, pondering which of the sports we would want to excel in – given the chance to pick one. we agreed it all looks incredibly hard.

“where your mind goes, your body follows,” he reminded us.

this olympic athlete stuff is exhausting! “phew!” we sighed.

and then we took a nap.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this SATURDAY MORNING

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while i laid awake, i tried to picture how i would react to someone literally placing me – without ropes – several hundred feet up a sheer granite wall, my hands gripping a crack and small outcropping, my feet perched on a slight deviation in the granite face. it made my hands sweat and my heart race thinking about how paralyzed by fear i would be, unable to move either hand or foot. THIS is out of my comfort zone. far out. and i couldn’t get the image out of my mind.

the wind was gusting about 35mph and there were tiny snow squalls on the way to madison. we were on our way to a movie theatre for a national geographic release of the movie FREE SOLO, the documentary capturing alex honnold’s successful free solo scaling of el capitan in yosemite. free solo. without benefit of any ropes or safety gear. just his hands, his feet, climbing chalk, and memorization, no – absolute physical retention – of the precise moves he would make on the way up this 3000′ beautiful monster.

alex doesn’t talk about his fear much. he, instead, speaks of enlarging his comfort zone, little by little. his somewhat unemotional approach to this challenge is daunting. one of his support team said words to the effect that alex had this challenge: like an olympic athlete he needed to win the gold. no ifs, ands or buts. it was the gold or he would fall to his death. who does that?!! the black and white of that makes my breathing pause. but alex pressed on. clearly his comfort zone is huge, that bubble around him. at least when it comes to mountains.

i know, as fascinated as i am with mountains and climbing stories of all sorts, that this is not something i could or would do. my mountains are different than that and my comfort zone bubble has more to do with my artistry, music, writing. not necessarily less scary, but certainly less physically demanding and clearly, without a doubt, less treacherous. but we are not limited to one mountain at a time.

each of us has this bubble and i picture pushing on the walls of the chrysalis, little by little conquering the fear of the outside – whatever the challenge or challenges – making our way, without ropes or safety equipment, into the next step of our lives. we try to “dream big.” we “go after it.” we “just do it.” but in reality, with no protective membrane around us, we first have to gear up, face fear vs comfort, garner courage and climb. yes. we free solo every day.

read DAVID’S thoughts on this MERELY A THOUGHT MONDAY

reverse threading

the path back is the path forward

Tag Archives: dream big

dream it. [kerri’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab.]

free solo. [merely a thought monday]

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