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What does your fitness report card say?

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So, thank you for permitting me to look at your exercise log. I see that you have been diligently keeping track of your work in theworkout card gym for the past two months. Congratulations! No, I am not giving you three cheers for your accuracy. Rather, I am expressing my excitement for your commitment to yourself. Reaching the two month point is a milestone for you. As far as the record keeping is concerned, I do need to ask a couple questions and make a few observations.

A workout journal can serve a wonderful purpose. Whether produced by a computer program which is connected to each machine in your gym or the old fashioned way, with a pencil, it matters not. On one hand, these records in printout form or handwritten notes provide a certain sense of accountability. You’ve been here and done that! This proves that you clocked in and out for the fun fitness part of your busy day. On the other hand, it tells me a little bit about you. You are definitely a goal oriented person who has a desire to see progress. Initially, that sought after progress may be reflected not in the mirror, but rather in the accumulated data you see in your journal. This can be very satisfying. In the early stages of your journey, you can make great strides. I should be able to quickly locate areas of improved strength by searching the numerical progression for various exercise movements which you have been faithfully engaged in for the better part of sixty days. Oh, bother! Something on your chart immediately catches my eye. In fact, I must tell you it is a clear red flag. Because of it, I know without a shadow of doubt that you capable of pushing yourself harder!

The first question that I have for you is this: Why do I see the same exact number of repetitions recorded for every exercise you have done since you have begun to workout? The second question: Are you really performing three sets of each of these strengthening moves using precisely the same amount of weight? Question three: How much of a rest period are you taking between these sets? The final question, number four: Are you focusing on correct breathing or just counting? Of course, I already know the answers because I have reviewed countless report cards from the gym over the years.

I repeat what I have already stated. You receive an A+ for attendance! Don’t laugh or dismiss the significance of this accomplishment. However, I have to be honest. Your grade for overall performance is but an average C. Don’t be disappointed. I will give you a little tutorial that will help you change that letter to something more pleasing. Despite the fact that some continue to perpetuate this silly notion, there is no magic number of repetitions that you must perform for any strength training exercise. Some report cards are filled with seemingly unending rows of 10s. Others are chock-full of 12s. Still more contain a boatload of 15s and nothing else. Though you have never been absent from a workout, what has been missing is uniqueness. I want to see something quite different from the collage you’ve created using the same number pattern. I need to see some degree of difficulty which would manifest itself in an odd assortment of numbers. So, please forget what your friend told you about that specific figure. I don’t even care if one of the trainers at your gym prescribed your current routine and said, “Give me ten of each, now!”

Your homework assignment is to work with an amount of resistance that will allow you to perform a reasonable number of repetitions to the point of complete failure. In your fitness classroom, failure equals success. However, if the term failure has you a bit concerned that I might demote you to Kindergarten, then I will use the phrase momentary muscle fatigue. This literally means the point at which you can no longer perform even one more repetition of an exercise without having to compromise the good form that is necessary for your safety. So, a reasonable number of repetitions may be anywhere between 8 and 15. Once again, there is no one number that you will be stopping at for each exercise. It is not possible for you to entirely fatigue each muscle or group of muscles by the same number of repetitions. You are engaging in different movements, which engage different muscles, which have varying strength capacities, and you are utilizing a different amount of resistance. So, does it make any sense to stop at 10 repetitions if you haven’t reached failure? Sorry, momentary muscle fatigue! If you do, which your record indicates, then you obviously have not worked hard enough yet. Consequently, your muscles do not need a rest period. You have not even finished a “set”. When worked to the necessary point of exhaustion, if you are going to attempt to perform multiple sets of the same exercise at the same weight, your muscles require a one minute break. After one minute has expired, your muscles have regenerated 75% of the energy which they expended in working to fatigue. That is sufficient to lift the identical resistance and perform another reasonable number of repetitions to exhaustion once again. A full two minute vacation is called for to reboot your muscles completely so that they are operating at 100% of their capability. Let me repeat myself, since repetition is the first step in learning. The point here is that if you are just camping out on a chest press machine after doing your favorite number of repetitions and then commence the movement again after some 30 seconds or so… you did not need to stop in the first place.

Does it take a little experimentation to find an appropriate weight to lift for the various exercises you will continue to perform? Yes. However, it is a simple, if not painless process. You should not be using the same amount of resistance and counting out the identical number of repetitions for a row movement as you do for a triceps extension. You are certainly not going to be as strong on the shoulder press as you are on the leg press. So, don’t fret about how many reps, but concentrate on perfect execution while lifting a challenging weight. If you can only do a couple of completed reps, then you need to lighten the load. If you find that you have strayed beyond the established reasonable range, don’t panic. Just work to fatigue, and add more weight for the next attempt. In any one day’s workout session, you may continue to perform 2 or 3 sets of the exercises you select. Only now, you will actually be doing a greater overall workload. Consequently, your muscles are going to thank you. Don’t expect extra credit points from me just yet. This should have been your approach to strength training from the start. But, that’s all water under the bridge.

In conclusion: Your muscles are not smart. They cannot count. Remember, you are working to a very specific feeling, not a very specific number! That feeling, which you will become very acquainted with, tells you when to stop. That feeling, which will lead to a bit more soreness, indicates that you have completed your job. So, just breathe out and lift, breathe in and lower, and lift again. Don’t stop breathing! You know how to do it. I hope that you have been taking notes, because I will quiz you on this subject tomorrow. I look forward to seeing your report card next month. Best wishes for straight A’s in your workout!

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Grip it and Rip it

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long drive

U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Ryan Hixson, 28, of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, wins his fourth consecutive Military Long Drive Championship

Have you purchased a new driver recently? Have you had your existing driver reshafted with a pricey, high-performance golf shaft? Have you changed the shaft flex or had your driver lengthened? Have you opted to try a super-light weight shaft? Have you chosen the largest clubhead size available with the biggest sweet spot on the market? Are you “dialed” into the latest technology which allows you to experiment with degree of loft and face angles on your driver? Have you tried a driver head that is non-conforming by USGA standards? Or, have you switched golf balls this season? Have you been trying a different model by your favorite manufacturer or a completely new brand of golf ball altogether? If you’ve answered in the affirmative to a couple of these questions, then clearly you are desperately seeking distance. I am not picking on you, for you definitely have company.

I am quite certain that since the very inception of the sport, there has been this quest by virtually every participant to hit the golf ball with extreme length off the tee. The Scottish lay claim to be the inventors of the modern sport of golf. However, historians do debate somewhat concerning its true origins. Perhaps, it was the Dutch predating the Scotts by a century or two, who played some version of a club and ball game. Nevertheless, I find it particularly noteworthy that some of the earliest references to golf have to do with banning people from playing. As early as 1457, the official word was that members of the Scottish military were neglecting their duties, one of which was archery practice, to smack the little golf ball around. My guess is that the majority of these individuals couldn’t hit a ball as accurately as they could shoot an arrow. It might be a stretch to blame these early hackers, these military men, for the grand obsession with crushing the golf ball as hard as possible, but I think I will. They knew more than enough about the importance of executing perfect form to release an arrow directly at a target. If I were a betting man, I’d say that they abandoned all reason when they picked up one of the earliest golf clubs. So much for focusing on a target. Out the proverbial window went the precision with which they were trained and patience which they practiced in respect to archery. They surely ushered in the shouts of “Fore!” as they sent balls flying every which way but straight. Not surprisingly, we are told that in Scotland there were more bans on golfing issued later in 1471 and also in 1491. I speculate that it was not due to military personnel nor anyone else golfing while “on company time”, but rather such a ban must have been instituted in part due to the incessant chatting and boasting with those whom they usually enjoyed keeping company. Let me explain. What the official decree probably stated was that it was very troublesome that many were partaking in an activity which caused them to behave in an manner unbecoming of a true Scottish gentleman. I believe that it was these golfing pioneers who began the annoying tradition of bragging about how far they hit the golf ball. Competitions ensued, tempers flared as egos were deflated, and a few colorful metaphors were uttered. These long drivers littered the beautiful Scottish countryside with the covers of countless golf balls as they swung out of their kilts in the most ridiculous of fashions, all in the pursuit of outdriving their fellow countrymen. How despicable! I support King James II of Scotland for implementing the initial ban. Parliament thought they put an end to this childish practice by putting in place yet another ban under the direction of King James IV around 1500. However, he was deceived. Apparently, one of these fanatical golf addicts purchased a set of golf clubs and golf balls for His Royal Majesty. You can probably guess what happened. He may very well have gotten hooked himself. “FORE, RIGHT! FORE, LEFT! Play on, that’s my ball!” Um, King, your ball went over into that gallery of peasants.

This pursuit clearly encompasses all players of all ages and skill levels for all time. I suppose that is what makes it worthy of commentary or laughter. This pursuit causes a universal problem, over-swinging, shared by every golfer. Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Michelle Wi, Lexi Thompson, and Laura Davies are some headliners on what would be a lengthy list of current tour professional who are known to swing “out of their shoes” on occasion. The up to date statistics for the PGA tour indicate that the average number of fairways hit is just 61%. The lady professionals are far more accurate on average than their male counterparts. This is not too surprising. But no one is immune from momentarily being inflicted with the craving for “taking it deep” and finding the wrong fairway. I have observed tour professionals on the driving range numerous times. They are amazing. They all can hit their drivers straight as a Scottish arrow! I am convinced that most could hit virtually every single fairway of every single round in every single tournament they play in if…here is the big if… they could control that urge to swing just a bit harder to pick up a few extra yards. So, if the world’s best struggle with this dreaded sickness, how are the rest of you to inoculate yourselves from this condition. Good luck finding the answer to that one! Ask the old King of Scotland. I don’t hold in my hand any cure, but I do have some advice. This doesn’t involve you being banned from the golf course.

Golf is not meant to be a long drive competition. So, don’t turn it into one. “Keeping up with the Jones'” never is a good idea in any endeavor. It seems pretty obvious to me that most who swing for the fences with their driver are also guilty of over-slow downswinging with every club in their bag. I don’t get excited when someone tells me, “I can hit my pitching wedge 155 yards.” I truthfully think that too many of you are wrapped up in stats of your own. Numbers, numbers, please don’t give me numbers! Can you hit it straight? That is all that matters. Period. It does not matter if you hit a 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 iron or a hybrid or fairway metal into a green. Just find the green and then we can talk about that other game called putting. Here is some food for thought: swing as hard as you can while maintaining perfect balance throughout the entire action. That will slow you down for sure! Try it. As you have hopefully discovered, with the manner in which golf clubs are constructed today, you do not ever have to swing overly hard. The ball just flies off the clubface if you strike it solidly. Yes, it goes as far as you need it to. Your timing is invariably off when everything is moving too rapidly. So, once again, I beseech you to slow it down.

If you want to hit the ball longer, relax your grip pressure. Squeezing the life out of your driver is a power killer. You need to avoid tension in your wrists, forearms, shoulders, etc. in order to potentially blast the ball out of sight. Do your rotate your upper torso sufficiently? If you can turn behind the ball so that your front shoulder and your chin make contact, then that should mark the top of your backswing. Do you create enough resistance between the upper and lower body at the top? If your back leg is not solid but rather collapses creating too much hip movement, you are going to be yelling “FORE” an awful lot. If you sway off the ball with your lower body, you are probably going to be yelling at yourself. Do you create and sustain a significant amount of lag with your trailing wrist in your downswing? If you don’t utilize this vital power source correctly, you are simply not going to be able to generate as much speed through the hitting area as you would like. Do you setup with your head positioned behind the golf ball? You must not move your head forward of its start position during the swing. Is your ball position too far forward or too far back in relationship to the width of your stance? So, if your investment in new driver technology still leaves you frustrated and wanting for more, I have shared with you a few questions to ponder.

Yet, I suppose the big question still remains, “Would you rather launch it long or stripe it straight?” I am convinced that the majority of you realize that with a few fundamental adjustments, a little compromise on the part of your ego, and good practice sessions, you can have the best of both. But, Oh, how tempting it is to simply “Grip it and Rip it”! Have a safe drive!

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Do you have the will to lift?

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Of the many magnificent purposes served by including weight training in your life, one great aspect of that decision often goes man with dumbbelluncelebrated. Some of you who have been “lifting” for a while have not completely understood it in the past, and others who are hesitant to begin a strengthening regime today do not fully grasp it now. But I have spoken of it to you repeatedly and emphatically. It is the grand truth that of all the wonderful benefits that may come to pass by spending time “pumping iron”, none is as important to you as is the objective of injury prevention. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin Franklin

Good health is such a wondrous blessing. You know that it is not by mere chance that one experiences what you know as good health. No longer can one define such a condition as simply living disease free. Chronic aches and pains in the body, anywhere from head to toe, do nothing to contribute to a happy, healthy lifestyle. Limited flexibility and range of motion at various joints generally do not promote a smile on your face as well. You know that being tired, sore, and stiff on a consistent basis is not an enjoyable state of existence. I know many of you who regularly pop pills for occasional back flare ups or even daily discomfort. I understand that some of you receive injections in your knees to quell the raging fire you feel. Others will try anything advertised on their computer or TV screens which promises relief. You do not have to accept this as part of the aging process of life. I am not offering you a panacea, but a reasonable alternative to pills, needles, and chiropractors and other temporary fixes. Think of all the money you have thrown away and you’re still complaining about your body hurting.

I am mystified that far too many suffer from a distressing misconception regarding strength training. “Oh, it’s not my thing.” “It’s far too intimidating.” “I’m too old for that.” “I’ll only hurt myself worse if I try that.” “That’s just for athletes.” “I can’t afford to do that.” “It causes too much pain.” “I’m too overweight.” “I don’t want to look like one of those body builders.” This in spite of the fact, that your own primary physicians and friends or family members have recommended you engage in it. This in spite of the fact, that many of you have even gone through rehabilitation for an injury, not caused in the gym by the way. You utilized some form of weight training during the course of your time with a physical therapist. Was it easy? Of course it was not. That is one of the major reasons why medical professionals, who I train, tell me that people quit their rehab sessions. You don’t like pain of any type, do you? Well, choose to give up, and invariably, due to the ensuing frustration you eventually end up back in the doc’s office. You have to work hard! “It is better to try to keep a bad thing from happening than it is to fix the bad thing once it has happened.” – old Proverb

So, what is to be done? Resistance is futile. Your reluctance to apply a resistance to your muscles will over time result in further deterioration of what strength you do possess while increasing your vulnerability. Your unfounded fears will not add years of increased physical productivity to your life but rather detract from them. Your rationalization will never lead to the realization of your desire to become more than a couch potato when you get home from work. Do you have the will to lift yourself off your rear end and put an end to all of the whining? There are far too many ways in which you can hurt yourself during the course of a day for me to consider listing them all. However, perhaps you strained your rotator cuff while painting a ceiling recently, or felt something akin to an uncomfortable twinge in your lower back when you lifted up your child. Maybe you pulled a muscle extricating your golf bag from the trunk of your vehicle before you even moved a muscle on the course, or maybe you are wishing you had a full-time gardener because your hands and knees are saying they’ve had enough. It could be that carrying those grocery bags up the steps triggered a painful reaction somewhere, or you’ve simply been on your feet all day at work and your entire body is screaming at you. The pain in your neck and upper back might not be due to an annoying, stressful situation in your life involving your significant other, but rather due to the significant amount of time you situate yourself in front of the computer typing away your stress. While fighting pain, you tie your shoes, or wash your hair, or scratch your back, or fold the laundry. “Calgon, take me away!” Although a good soak may feel wonderful for a moment, the truth is, your body requires more than a short hiatus from some activities. Your life does not often afford you the luxury of slowing down or even a day off. Unfortunately, a relaxing bubble bath every night is never going to happen. While absolutely necessary, even the marvelously restorative power of sleep is not sufficient for you.

“Pain is weakness leaving the body.” – Marine Corps General Lewis B. Puller The self-inflicted pain of working out is absolutely nothing compared to the pain from neglect of your body or from injury. If you choose to do nothing, than absolutely nothing will change! Through weight training, your weak areas can become strong. The “pain” in training is only momentary. Without the appropriate attention, the agony of your weakened back or shoulder may become permanent. Prevention is the key to avoiding last minute intervention.

The type of prevention I am referring to does require a commitment, but not so much as to be overwhelming. With a minimum of two days per week of some form of training, you can begin the process of fortifying yourself against the agents of injury which often attack the weak points in your body’s structure. Ideally, I would love to see you performing a strengthening routine on three non-consecutive days each week. I promise you that if you receive proper instruction, and pay heed to that, you will not hurt yourself when weight training. I would be thrilled if you were less reliant on the pills and needles. I know that you will enjoy becoming active again without having to be overly cautious due to fear of the unknown. “There is only one ultimate and effectual preventative for the maladies to which the flesh is heir, and that is death.” – Harvey Williams Cushing While you are yet still alive and hope to be kicking, I exhort you, “Don’t be a “dumbbell”! Start strength training today and prevent tomorrows’ woos!

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HOPE can CHANGE Your Direction

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“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and often writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is, with what he hoped to make it.”-J.M Barrie

Dead end, no outlet

Have you been intending to create a “new” you for some time, but just cannot seem to find the time or the motivation to do something about it? I’m sure you are familiar with the old saying about the road of good intentions. Throughout the course of your journey, that is one road you can’t afford to venture down. There is a flashing neon sign located at its starting point which does its best to deter you. For this way is the path littered in abundance with the fearful, the procrastinators, and the broken down. Many travelers with the best of intentions figure this detour might be a temporary rest stop. Some may not even realize at first that they have made a wrong turn. But this trip is headed down a one-way street to nowhere, hurling its unsuspecting visitors onto a fast track to getting off track. Though returning is always an option, most who end up here find a quick U-turn almost impossible to navigate.

Recently, a participant in a health and wellness seminar I was privileged to conduct, questioned his ability to bring to pass lasting changes in his life, or in a sense, re-write his personal story. Given his family’s history of serious health problems for several generations, his ongoing struggles to overcome his own, and the confusing and quite often contradicting information concerning the best method to produce a much desired change, he simply asked if he was beyond hope. “Where there is no hope there can be no endeavor.”-Samuel Johnson

As I looked around the room, my mind opened and showed me the faces of countless people who had expressed the very same sentiments to me over the years. In those brief seconds, my heart swelled with compassion. I knew that I must do everything that I could to lift up this downtrodden individual. I desired to rekindle the hope within him, to enlarge his vision of his personal potential in order that he might feel an increase in the courage needed to continue his journey. I realized in that moment of reflection all who were gathered had heard the same clarion call, the call to learn to change, to grow, and to progress. Each of them wished to find a degree of happiness they’d never known before by coming unto a simpler, healthier, optimistic way of living.

There is not one whose physical being is ever completely beyond repair; not a single one whose past destructive habits cannot be cast away; not one who has been touched with sorrow or grief or frustration who can’t soon feel some degree of relief, joy, and jubilation.

I shared with the assembly a creed which I had committed to memory. “I Choose…to live by choice, not by chance, to be motivated, not manipulated, to be useful, not used, to make changes, not excuses, to excel, not compete. I choose self-esteem, not self-pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinions of others.”-unknown author It is a very serious responsibility to look within yourself and assess the depths of your convictions and the truth of your conduct. For what grand purpose are you desiring a transformation of your physical appearance? Do you believe in yourself, even just a little? Do you believe in the infinite power of hope? You’ve done some things over and over again and yet have not been able to produce a different result. You are not insane. But are you afraid of trying something brand new, something completely different, something more challenging and uncomfortable? Can you clearly identify the pattern of your mistakes? Can you forgive yourself ? Are you willing to accept the reality that all things will not be within your power to control? Will you embrace your personal duty to do your absolute best? Are you sufficiently humble to understand that you can in no way proceed without assistance? Are you ready to make your changes visible to the world? Do you know that it will be impossible to hide the “better way” of life that you may choose? Do you know that others may hurl obstacles taking the form of hatred, jealousy, and temptation your way as your conversion to a newness of life begins? Are you willing to do this even with the foreknowledge that your physical transformation will not be lasting? I encourage you to honestly search and ponder for the answers to these questions. To the gentleman at the seminar and to you, I promise that no one is a hopeless case. You can become a new man or woman, full of good health and enriched with hope.

“Those who stand in the threshold of life, always waiting for the right time to change are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land. Today is the day of decision.”-Joseph B. Wirthlin

So, the warning is obvious. If you choose to indulge in further procrastination, you will most assuredly come to a crossroad, even the “road of good intentions”. It matters not whether your choice to delay was born of sheer fatigue with your journey, mere laziness, fear of failure, or clear complacency. You run the risk of condemning yourself to this awful state: you cannot do the thing you most desire for you have run out of time. Don’t let this happen to you. Set your alarm clock for now. Give thanks that you have this very moment to decide that hope can propel you to change.

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Are We There Yet?

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Congratulations!
With a helping hand, you have just stepped up the intensity of your workouts. I must say that I am truly kids in a carimpressed!  This portion of the journey may lead you to previously untraveled territory in your quest for improving both your physical and mental state of being. Yes, this is certainly new. Yes, this is definitely difficult. Yes, the bar has been set high, but your expectations are that nothing short of your desired goal will be acceptable. You are, even now, making great strides as you tackle the tough incline on the treadmill or the increased resistance on the elliptical trainer. I see you progressing workout by workout. Those cute, little pink and green dumbbells stay in their place. You no longer pay any attention to them, because your weight training requires a greater, less colorful challenge. You do magnificently as you huff and puff and sweat and lift your way through each grueling session. I think you have finally realized that transformation is not a cheap experience. You must pay the steep price of sacrificing both your will and your body.

 

I do have a question for you, though. Please don’t misinterpret my inquiry. Are you sitting down? No, of course, you are not. You’re exercising. Nevertheless, I do desire to know why you keep asking me when you will arrive at your destination? Hey, look over, I am not behind the steering wheel. You are. And don’t forget, this is a journey and I am merely your humble tour guide for a very small portion of it. I am not screaming at you telling you that you are in the wrong lane. I am not shattering your ear drums with bellowing commands to turn right here and then left there. I am only that still, small voice in your head saying you are on the straight and narrow path. Just keep going. I am that one clear voice whispering to you truths which you have always known. I will never lead you astray. But, remember this, I cannot do the driving for you. Never. It is not part of the plan. I am in charge of my own journey. Just because you perceive that I can drive with no hands on the wheel, which, by the way, could not be further from reality, does not mean I’m going to grab your controls. Even if I wanted to do so to help you even more, I am not permitted. I would be sited for the most egregious violation. I would be depriving you from making the choices that you must make for yourself.

 

So, let me be completely honest. I am not belittling you when I offer the following analogy in order that you might more clearly see what precisely you are projecting by your constant questioning. Imagine yourself as a child again. Your dad and mom are taking you and your siblings to your favorite park, or restaurant, or to grandpa and grandma’s house. You are excited beyond measure. Your parents are so happy that you are along for the ride. No sooner than your parent’s car has pulled out of the driveway from your house, you begin asking that wonderful question, which is music to mom and dad’s ears, “Are we there yet?” Dad laughs, “No, my precious, little ones, we have only just begun the journey.” Only a short time has elapsed, and now from the back seats comes the same hopeful pleading.  “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” “No, no, we are not there my children, but, soon,” Dad responds. This is not exactly the first trip you’ve taken.  Never before had you not arrived safely. Maybe you had gotten lost once or twice with dad driving, though only momentarily, but you trusted your parents had not forgotten the way. Mom probably quotedMandy Hale, “You will get there when you are meant to get there and not one moment sooner. So, relax, breathe, and be patient.” Both mom and dad sounded reassuring. Yet, in your childhood enthusiasm to enjoy yourselves somewhere other than where you were stuck, in the vehicle, you couldn’t help but cry out, “Are we there yet?” Does this sound all too familiar? Of course, it does. How does it relate to you, today?

 

Well, here are a few things you need to take away from the analogy. First of all, be grateful for your parents. They were the absolute best individual teachers and personal trainers you will ever have. They loved you like no other person you will ever encounter could. Second, the lessons learned through your family training sessions in your youth are still very much applicable today. In your childhood, you had this idea that after you were all loaded up in the family car, you should be immediately transported to another place . So, quite frequently, due to impatience, you didn’t enjoy the journey. As a mature, intelligent adult, one might think that things have changed considerably. The problem remains the same. Instead of piling into the car, today you are hopping on the piece of cardio equipment. You still expect an instantaneous solution to your challenge.  There is no portal to some point in your future when you have pre-determined that you will find the happiness which seems to elude you in the present.

 

“The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.”-Henri Nouwen  You are on the cusp of something great. Learn to trust once again. You did as a child. You can do so now. I ask you to stop listening to the many discordant voices beckoning you from every direction. You will only become lost if you choose to make this journey more confusing than it has to be. It is natural to experience times when we doubt that we can make the journey’s end. It is completely appropriate to ask questions in order that you might acquire knowledge. It is not productive anymore to ask, “Am I there yet?”.  You are here now. Enjoy it. In fact, love it. You will find the answer to your four word question.  I might not be around when that occurs.  I wish you all the best in the process of discovering it.  For now, remember when your dad finally lost his cool on the way to your grandparent’s house. He said something to the effect of “Be quiet and stop hitting your brother!”  Along a similar train of thought, Alexander Dumas once said, “All human wisdom is summed up in two words-wait and hope.” I know you’ll understand my final thought to you this day. Be still and keep moving!

 

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