Doing the Work

Walking in today, I passed a young woman running hill repeats. She was focused and deliberate. Her form was good. She looked athletic and strong.

Doing the work. That’s what I thought when I saw her. She is doing the work that is necessary. Paying her dues. I was inspired. You start where you are, you rein in your expectations, and you do the work. That’s all. There’s no room for vanity, or self-condemnation, or greed. There’s no rushing it. There’s a comfortable tension, neither slack nor strain. You come to live within that tension, to understand when you can push it and still maintain control, and when you need to back it off. You learn to feel, and to be honest--not to cheat yourself.

At the top of the hill was another young woman, run-walking. She was a bit overweight, no athlete, but she too was focused and deliberate. She too was doing the work.

It begins with a commitment, and that, since the marathon, has been hard for me to muster. It requires a stripping down to what’s important, and immediate. Discipline is remembering what you really want.