Temperance 10/8/2019
On the obstacle course, the runner’s job [on paper] is simple: Run to the next obstacle, complete it, then run to the next one. The runner doesn’t look at the obstacle as a blessing or curse. It is what it is, an obstacle.
In five weeks, I will run the Spartan Race in Charlotte, NC. This will be my first obstacle course since the Army (20 years ago). In preparing for this race, I was informed that for any obstacles not completed, I will have to do thirty burpees. The first thought that crossed through my mind is that I need to train doing burpees just in case. My second thought was I will do anything possible to complete the obstacle so I don’t have to face the penalty.
The obstacle race is a good life metaphor. In life, we are guaranteed to face obstacles. Not blessed, not cursed, just an obstacle. Your mission is to get past the obstacles. And what happens if you don’t? Chances are you are going to pay some kind of penalty. I’m not sure what the burpees of life are, but I am pretty sure they are not pleasant.
We must remember that there are always going to be obstacles before us. The obstacles make us stronger. They are not a blessing or a curse. Like warriors we must face them and then conquer them. And when we are done, we should run to the next one.
For the normal man everything is a blessing or a curse, for a warrior there are merely challenges. –Carlos Castaneda
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