Quote:
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive”. Howard Thurman
The Action:
Good run. Flowed smoothly for the three of us. We were told that there was a bear on the trail by a couple, but we never saw it, though the dogs shifted its scent through their nostrils. Thoughts floated through my mind as my feet skimmed puddles and mud.
All my life I have seen shapes, just on the periphery of my vision. Animals, sometimes people. Also human animal combinations, with wings and animal human bodies. Never threatening, somehow reassuring to me in their mystery and magic - just for me.
They are never too close. Elusive. Shy. Just letting me know they are there. I have tried to explain this to a few people over the years. The response I usually get is “there is nothing there”, or “you are just imagining it”, or one of those looks that needs no explanation. So, I let it go. Stopped talking about it.
Stopped talking about the dancing mysteries, the connections of dreams. The subtleties of what we cannot see, but can experience, and feel with our hearts. How a raven can tell you its thoughts. How the wind always knows the answers to what you seek, and a tree can shed tears, for the others that have fallen.
That a feather is not just a feather, but also a message. A gift perhaps or an awakening. That stones have souls and wonder within, and love to be touched, and sometimes brought home.
I know that life is so much more than we know. Deep, flowing, and a myriad of interwoven layers and connections, beyond words. It is a sign to me, that if we are open, that anything is possible.
Love for another that is limitless. Passion for what one does. Being the best that one can be. Magic, and dreams that become real, because we believe so fervently in them, with our whole being. On it goes.
Lying on the floor, dogs draped on me, beside me, with me. I look into their eyes. I see trust, joy, love and belonging. They are sure of what they have, and what we have created with our pack, our union, and belonging to one another.
They don't judge me when I see the shapes; they smile, and look happy, accepting that together our life is perfect in whatever shape or form it is found.
Often when we look at one other, I feel such a confidence that the depths are infinite, waiting to be shared, explored and tasted. Touched, savoured, brought into a fullness and richness with time and shared moments.
The shapes once again are coming back to the periphery where imagination and reality kaleidoscope into a jumble of mystery and certainty. I am not alone at all.
The Book: The Rise of Superman. Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance. Steven Kottler
I love these types of books that explore the limits of human potential. Once again it makes me come back to the concept that if we limit ourselves in our thoughts we create limits to our performance, and our lives. We need to get out of our own way and get on with believing in ourselves.
Anyhow, the book. A fascinating account of how adventure athletes are pushing the limits of human potential, by integrating and ultimately controlling their flow states. The book is divided into three sections Part One “ He is the Frenzy’. Part Two Flow Hacker Nation. Part Three Time to Rise.
Each section explores through the presentation of an adventure athlete the methods and what actually is the flow state, and how being able to tap into this zone allows individuals to push way beyond their perceived expectations of performance. An excellent and gripping read that I look forward to exploring in my own way for peak performance. 5/5