So I watched this video and was in awe. Honestly it made me feel bad for bitching about...anything. I encourage you guys to watch it and apologize if this is old news. FOCUS: Who and/or what truly inspires or has inspired you? This is going to sound so off the wall for many of you but, for me it's a person, that person is my current Boss. He is the most generous, understanding and patient person I have met in my entire life. He's taught me empathy, to listen rather than be heard and to exercise patience. He inspires me to be a better person. The only regret I have is that I had to wait many years before working for him. Really though, I'm lucky to be here now.
So there was this guy I used to coach. Real quiet. BIG man. Like...real damn big. When I met him he was pushing on 400 lbs realllllll hard. He came into my gym and was just...beyond morbidly obese. He was so heavy that he couldn't stand up straight because his shoulders rounded from the weight. But he came in. Every day. 5 days a week. And every single day he weighed and measured his food. He followed a strict nutrition plan, and when he had questions and I gave him advice, he took it. He walked when I said walk and ran when I said ran and for the hour I had him every day - he was a fucking champ. I coached him through his first hundred pounds off. He's still working. It's incredible, inspiring, and just fucking humbling when he tells me he'd never have stuck through it without me. He'll never believe that there were days when I was so bone tired I thought about getting someone to cover my class so I could sleep in, but knowing he was there, I got up and went in because I couldn't let him down. He's a machine, and proof positive that commitment and keeping your eyes on the prize leads to remarkable outcomes.
Being out on the water. It's hard to be worried about petty little slights at work or striking out with a chick or anything like that when you realise your such a small piece of the world. Even when it's calm and the water is as smooth as glass you can still feel yourself being shifted about like a piece of driftwood. And then a dolphin comes swimming past right next to you and theres not much else you can do but smile for the rest of the day.
Basically getting out into the wilderness, no matter what kind; tundra, forest, desert, grassland, whatever. I like to look at trees that were probably seedlings when my father's father was little more than a baby, and seeing the wild things going about their day. I like thinking about just how small I really am, and I like to humble myself and put a smile on my face at the thought that I am just another wild animal, albeit from a species who made their mark very well on this world and now are essentially its stewards. Also, walking in the wilderness with dogs is always fun. Friend of mine calls those moments, "Canine smelling, human watching." excursions
My son has changed everything. He's found this new trick where he looks directly into your soul like he's about to steal it or maybe say something cute, and then instead motorboats his lips and spits all over you. And while you're cleaning it up, he's giggling with laughter so hard his entire body shakes. (Except no child abuse like that depicted in the youtube. We live on a ranch; once he gets old enough to know better, any discipline will result in the form of manual labor helping daddy do fun shit like "cleaning off the porch" and "move this here pile of rocks 30 yards over there.")