We're at the halfway point for the Zen series. Nick and I got together yesterday and had a marathon session (I guess an ultramarathon session for him, a marathon session would be a morning run by his standards) to get a ton of work done for the blogs. Several times we noted, with some incredulity, just how productive we were being and were quite pleased with ourselves. To celebrate that productivity, here's an amusing Zen cat.
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| In the here and "meow" |
Top Ten Zen
Andrew and Nick have compiled a list of Zen-like
philosophies comprised firstly of a quote, an interpretation of said quote, and
finally a story to drive their point home. This list can aid you in doing
anything from completing a 100-mile race to surviving cancer, or obtaining any
goal you set your mind to.
Here are the previous posts for those who missed them:
- The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
- Body follows mind
- The faster you hurry, the slower you go
- You are not bound by your past
"Life is only available in the here and now."
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| Onward and upward in the moment |
The Survivor’s Take: By
focusing on this current moment, you can avoid all the stressors associated
with worrying about the past and future.
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The Runner’s Take: Ground yourself in the present. When you run, just run. Be
in the now, and be the best you can be in that moment.
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Survivor’s Tales: In September 2010 I went in for surgery to have
a double ankle transplant that would require me to be in a wheelchair, unable
to put any weight on either ankle for upwards of three months. Three…months!
Anytime I thought about how long I would be unable to walk, I nearly had a
panic attack, and sometimes did. I couldn’t imagine not having use of my legs
for three months. After about half a dozen panic attacks, I wondered if there
was another way to look at the situation. Maybe I shouldn’t focus on how inconceivably
long three months was, maybe I should just focus on getting through it one
day at a time. By focusing on the now, I managed to almost completely reign
in my panic attacks and those last few weeks in the wheelchair didn’t seem
all that bad. I stopped worrying about the future and focused on getting
through that moment.
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Mountain Tales: Trail running, especially technical trail
running, demands a certain sense of presence. When I was pushing my way up
the notoriously technical Comapedrosa, large boulders shook underneath each
weary step I took. The climb required my full attention and presence. If my
thoughts had been anywhere else during that climb, I’m sure I would have
slipped. But what about the not so technical parts of the race? Places where
my mind could wander? I kept control of my drifting thoughts by zeroing in on
the next red flag, the next course marker or, at times, the runner ahead of me.
In this way, I was grounded in the moment and felt I was able to move forward
with efficiency and purpose. Endurance racing is often about conservation of
energy and there is no better way to preserve your mental energy than to
ground yourself in the present.
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| Living in the moment with giant medical boots |
This series has been a fun, uplifting experience for the two of us and has opened our eyes both to each other and our unique experiences. We've learned a lot about each other, little things, big things, and gained a new understanding of ourselves. We hope that this series has been helpful to those that read it and has allowed you to gain a similar enlightenment into your own life and thoughts. It has been a pleasure and an honor to share ourselves with you. Thank you all for reading, and a big extra thanks to those who have shared our posts with others, it means a lot to us that you think highly enough of our work to show it to others and we hope you continue to do so. As a thank you to everyone, Andrew wanted to share a short story he wrote a few months ago: Relax.
Nick Hollon
Andrew Bundy
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