Many years ago I read "The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy" series. In one of the books there's a part where a scientist has spent his life creating a complex machine that analyzes the structure of a piece of cake. And by measuring the gravitational pull of the rest of the universe on this cake, the machine is able to accurately re-create a full scale model of the whole universe.
When I read that, I had an epiphany. When you know everything there is to know about one thing, you know something about everything. That's very different than actually knowing everything. But that's where real knowledge starts.
My "piece of cake" that I've been analyzing to the molecular level started out as martial arts for self defense, which lead me to embrace combat sports, which lead me to a love of the world of physical culture, dance, strength training, kinesthesiology, kinesiology, anatomy, physics, chemistry, biology, food science and nutrition, and sciences of all kinds.
Competing in combat sports lead me to learn about performing under pressure in front of crowds of people with high expectations, stress management, a tolerance and appreciation of pain.
The many subsequent injuries of training and competition lead to me a knowledge of practical first aid, sports medicine, injury rehabilitation and prevention.
Becoming a coach taught me hands on the principles of pedagogy, human psychology, how to influence people in a positive way, leadership, and service to my fellow man.
And after all this, I feel I've only scratched the surface of what I can do in this field.
Why do we go exclusively to schools to train our heads, exclusively to gyms to train our bodies, and exclusively to churches to train our spirits? It's all part of the same thing. The mind, body, and soul are all connected into the same package. That was the central theme in the modern dance department when I was at Brigham Young University. And I see that theme repeated throughout all aspects of life.
We often tend to think of ourselves as a mind having a physical experience, or a soul living inside a body, or a body out of touch with the mind and spirit. Not so.
We forge our souls by disciplining the body. We shape the body by transcending physical limitations with our mind. We engage the mind only through our souls. It's all the same thing.
I believe in the power of education- but schools can do better. I believe in God and the power of a faithful congregation that assembles to worship in spirit and in truth- but churches must always do better. I believe in the power of a gym as a positive institution to promote physical fitness- but that's far from all they can be.
So when I go to my gym, it's not just a gym. It's my school. It's my church. It's my home. It's my playground. It's my laboratory. It's my library. It's my art studio. It's my life, because when I'm there that's where I live in that moment. It's a place of learning, it's a place of spirituality. It's a place where strength is forged through brutal resistance. It's a place where character is built through opposition. It's a place of peace and place of dynamic violence simultaneously. It's all the same thing and should never be anything less.
When I read that, I had an epiphany. When you know everything there is to know about one thing, you know something about everything. That's very different than actually knowing everything. But that's where real knowledge starts.
My "piece of cake" that I've been analyzing to the molecular level started out as martial arts for self defense, which lead me to embrace combat sports, which lead me to a love of the world of physical culture, dance, strength training, kinesthesiology, kinesiology, anatomy, physics, chemistry, biology, food science and nutrition, and sciences of all kinds.
Competing in combat sports lead me to learn about performing under pressure in front of crowds of people with high expectations, stress management, a tolerance and appreciation of pain.
The many subsequent injuries of training and competition lead to me a knowledge of practical first aid, sports medicine, injury rehabilitation and prevention.
Becoming a coach taught me hands on the principles of pedagogy, human psychology, how to influence people in a positive way, leadership, and service to my fellow man.
And after all this, I feel I've only scratched the surface of what I can do in this field.
Why do we go exclusively to schools to train our heads, exclusively to gyms to train our bodies, and exclusively to churches to train our spirits? It's all part of the same thing. The mind, body, and soul are all connected into the same package. That was the central theme in the modern dance department when I was at Brigham Young University. And I see that theme repeated throughout all aspects of life.
We often tend to think of ourselves as a mind having a physical experience, or a soul living inside a body, or a body out of touch with the mind and spirit. Not so.
We forge our souls by disciplining the body. We shape the body by transcending physical limitations with our mind. We engage the mind only through our souls. It's all the same thing.
I believe in the power of education- but schools can do better. I believe in God and the power of a faithful congregation that assembles to worship in spirit and in truth- but churches must always do better. I believe in the power of a gym as a positive institution to promote physical fitness- but that's far from all they can be.
So when I go to my gym, it's not just a gym. It's my school. It's my church. It's my home. It's my playground. It's my laboratory. It's my library. It's my art studio. It's my life, because when I'm there that's where I live in that moment. It's a place of learning, it's a place of spirituality. It's a place where strength is forged through brutal resistance. It's a place where character is built through opposition. It's a place of peace and place of dynamic violence simultaneously. It's all the same thing and should never be anything less.