Over 15 years ago as I trained for my first triathlon I remember being extremely nervous about one specific part of the race.
The transitions.
In the case that you don’t speak “triathlete,” we call the time moving between sports transitions. “T1” is swim to bike and “T2” bike to run. The clock is still running as you fumble through peeling off a wetsuit, putting socks and bike shoes on wet feet, and then later pulling on running shoes and throwing on a race belt. There are many blunders in transition, sometimes people (ahem, Jamie) put their shoes on before taking off their wetsuit and other times people head out on the run wearing their bike helmet.
I trained hard in swim, bike, and run. And I wasn’t worried about potential mishaps or even the ticking clock in transition—I just honestly didn’t like the out of control feeling of the unknown. No matter how much I could go over them in my mind, or practice in training, I knew that I just had to wait to experience the real moment.
And yet another way that triathlon is a metaphor for life.
As we flow through seasons of life some of the hardest parts can be in wondering about how it will feel to transition to the next stage. I have anticipated and felt many life transitions lately—my daughter moving out to attend college, the loss of our pet, a new job, and the first of the “lasts” for my son who will move out in the fall… all while being in a physical transition of my own into perimenopause.
Anticipating the idea of certain transitions can be scary. And some exciting. And for many, some of both. And then the actual transition can be both wonderful and awful. Change opens doors for new opportunities, and it can also be pretty dang hard.
Feeling it all is part of the amazingly diverse human experience. And it is vitally important since even though we can anticipate and try to plan for each transition, we really don’t ever know what is next.
To sum up my short message for you today: keep your eyes and heart open to the excitement of the unknown. Invite transitions, be present in them, evolve and grow, and allow yourself to be changed.
Love, cry, laugh, hug, grieve, share, scream, and smile.
Don’t miss a moment of your one, crazy, beautiful life.
Cheers,
MB
Recent Comments