See Clear

I chimed in on a friend's Facebook post regarding some grief that he was catching for maintaining his exercise regimen on a holiday and his commitment to stay the course, which, personally, I applaud, subject to the following: The most elite athletes train every day all day, but part of their training entails recovery and relaxation. They cast *everything* as training, so there is always perfect perceptual alignment. This is as opposed to seeing exercise as training and everything else as not-training, thereby creating a conflict. To that end, I came up with an acronym to capture the precedence of things in my life: SEE CLeaR. Sleep, Eat, Exercise, Career, Love and Recovery (e.g. relax, recharge, etc). Love, the most important thing in life, is 5th in line, because without its predecessors, it cannot be enjoyed. One should not feel guilty for doing what one needs to do to enjoy the rest of their life, but should also take care to leave room for the rest of their life. Anyone who takes care of others to the detriment of their own self-care should remember this, as should anyone who takes care of themselves to the detriment of others.

Mind Your Hydrodynamics

Like a ship that leaves the shore, even the slightest tilt of the rudder upon departure can lead one to a significantly different destination than one was otherwise destined to reach. The doubt that we are capable of actually doing what we love, as children, students or working adults. The hope that we are the best at what we do, again, as children, students or working adults. This is partly self-doubt, partly self-confidence, and partly external influence. As we are passengers on each other's ships, it is incumbent upon us to mind each other's tillers, taking care not to cast dispersion on an inner most dream, or taking care to steer the ship against adverse waves when the people we love are adrift in the inevitable challenges that accompany chasing a dream. It is this essential, mutual support that inspires me, and makes me chuckle a bit whenever I hear about the 'self-made' man or woman. No one is self-made. Even the strongest mind can be cut down by a cruel teacher, or built up by a mindful parent. So... Mind your hydrodynamics!