“A fool will ask for a glass of water while he is drowning” - American Dictionary of Proverbs
As I lay back in the kayak and stared up at the sun, paddle laying across my legs, I realized I was having a Moment. I’ve developed this particular aspect to my life philosophy; this idea of Moments. It all started when I was running the San Francisco Marathon for the first time. It was as I stepped off the curb on to The Embarcadero, at about mile 25. I suddenly realized that the moment I was living in, that particular moment, was one I would remember the rest of my life. Time slowed down and all the details of the moment got burned into my brain; the way the curb looked and felt, the aching in my legs, the finish line banner up ahead. I had recently completed some meditation training and I think I was looking to live in the moment; *working* at it when suddenly it just naturally clicked and washed over me. I realized it was a special moment, and even though I didn’t know quite what it meant, I swore I would look for more of those in the future. That moment felt like a beginning. I’ve since had one other; when I was on my bike ride and I stopped at a river outside of Sweethome, left my bike along the banks of the river and went and sat down on a rock and let the water flow over me. Again, I didn’t ask for the moment; I suddenly felt it again; this sense that this particular moment was worth the pursuit. It was like a sign that I was on the right path.
And now, here in Puerto Vallarta, I had my third. In that moment I realized that it was all building up to this. It’s hard to put into words, but they’re like lights at the feet along a path, illuminating just enough to get you near to the next one, so that the leaps of faith are a bit less scary. This one felt like an inflection point; a sort of beginning, but maybe more like a transition between acts. In that moment, I realized that only three things really mattered to me; the people I care about, the beauty of teaching, and the joy of personal fitness. Nothing else much matters to me. And so, one of the reasons I’m mentioning that here is that I think it will inform how this blog works going forward. I may still write about philosophy and life. I’ll certainly be writing about travel while I’m on my bike trip. But increasingly you’ll find more here about health, fitness, nutrition and a lifestyle that blends body and mind. Not to sound like a hippie. I think my engineering background will still inform my desire to stick to science and things that make concrete realistic sense. But the goals have shifted; it’s less about success and more about the feeling of the sun on your back, kayak paddle gripped in both hands, arms burning and a smile as big as the bay around Puerto Vallarta. So look for more along the lines of exercise science, nutrition goals, outdoors knowledge and the active lifestyle here in this space.
