Before we get to the weekly mettle-maker, a reminder that Spirit Month is in full swing! There are still two more events you can participate in this month…
Christmas Carols and Cheer (Dec. 23rd from 6 PM to 7 PM). Join us at West End Manor Civic Association. Sit around the fire bowl, enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or apple cider, and sing Christmas carols! Open to the public. No registration required.
Virtual Open House (Thu. Dec. 30th. 6 PM to 7 PM). A public Zoom call for friends both old and new. Pose questions, make suggestions, or just chew the fat, chat, or kick the cow pat. Click here to join the call. Use passcode 967346.
Resilience: METTLE MAKER #287
Resilience is on my mind this week in the wake of Monday’s heart attack. I still can’t believe I hiked to the top of Tuscarora Overlook on Saturday and had a cardiac event on Monday — what the heck? Anyway, I’m doing fine now. No surgery needed at this stage, just some meds. Please take note that exercise, a healthy diet and clean living can neither erase the effects of previous bad habits nor overcome genetic predispositions and funky anatomy — so take corrective action and see your doctor for a check-up. Am I ashamed of the abuse I heaped on my body in the past? Yep. But I’m proud of the fact that I overcame my bad habits, and I’m happy to report that my spiritual, martial, and survival training protected me from panic during the event, kept me patient and positive at the hospital, and are insulating me from depression and negativity. Now, on with the show!
Self-defense: Next week is wrestling week, so here’s a simple wrestling drill for you. If you’re training solo, get out your floor bag and set your timer for three rounds. Cycle through the following: Bottom Scissors (squeeze to failure), Bearhug (squeeze to failure with proper forearm and/or fist placement), Back Bridges (4 reps), and Grinding/Cramming (reverse to top position and grinds, crams, gouges, etc. for about a minute). Reverse and repeat for the duration. If you’re training with partner, keep the grinding at low power — just hard enough so that you and partner know that you’re hitting the right spots — and alternate roles. If you’re training solo, get your floor bag and get to work.
Fitness: Mark Hatmaker points out that if you can’t do it every day it ain’t sustainable. In order to be and remain resilient, you have to have a little in the tank when you need it. Training in the red line with too much frequency leaves you in a depleted state. Take a look at your training log. Are you a tortoise or a hare? Would a graph of your training look like a heartbeat — lots of blanks punctuated with spikes — or a mildly undulating waveform? Remember kids - Sloane’s teddy wins the race (it’s a “sure thing”). Adjust accordingly. If you have a serious health event (like, I don’t know, a heart attack?), it’s good to be well-trained but rested, and to have a few pounds of fat on your bones.
Wildwood: Do you have an emergency kit in your purse, fanny pack, or shoulder bag when you’re about town or going on a short hike? You can put one together for pennies. Here’s a picture of mine. It’s not much bigger than my hand. I had one in a plastic case which finally gave up the ghost. So I sent to the dollar store and bought a $1 make-up bag. Clockwise from upper left: saline eye drops, adhesive bandages and butterfly closures, tweezers, Benadryl, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, petroleum jelly (for lips, hands, fire-starting, etc.), needle and thread, mini fishing tackle kit, lighter, water purification tablets, and a lighter. Get there.
Spirit: When was the last time you experienced wonder? Wonder is the experience of something new, unusual, strange, extraordinary, mysterious, or downright miraculous. It’s akin to surprise, astonishment, admiration, or amazement, but its closest synonym is awe. Wonder makes you feel small. But unlike the other emotions that make you feel small by pushing you down – embarrassment, defeat, shame, guilt, and so on – wonder is a positive emotion that makes you feel small in a good way by drawing you upward into and toward something larger and fuller than yourself. The experience of wonder makes you happy, humble, and inquisitive, simultaneously aligning you with a higher power and igniting the desire for deeper understanding. This is why Socrates rightly said, “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”