Dear Body,
The day after racing for almost 16 hours, after running down the beach with a bunch of plantains, swimming in a lake, carrying a heavy sandbag, scrambling along treacherous rock, the day after ALL that, I wake up to realize that you are not even that sore. A little scratched up, perhaps. A little chafed. A little sunburned. But, mostly ok.
I am in awe. Is there anything you cannot do?
hike up a volcano
summit a Himalayan peak
do a headstand
do a pull-up (with a 45b plate!)
swim across a lake
digest all kinds of agreeable and disagreeable foods
heal yourself after all the abuse I (and others) have inflicted
put up with me ignoring you, hating you, trying to destroy you, and yet forgiving every time It dawns on me that of all the people you could be stuck with, I put you through a lot. And you have been on my side the entire time. I am sorry I have not always been on yours. I have a lifetime of repaying to do. I spent so much time treating you like a foreign object. A container to be shaped and moulded, decorated. To be evaluated and judged. I am sorry for trying to work against you, and trying to change you, make you into something you are not. I am so much smarter now. It is like the curtain has finally dropped, and I see. I really see. And all of a sudden, I am in love. I am just so stupid in love with you. It’s like waking up one day, looking outside and realizing how fucking lucky I am to have you. Too tall, too broad, too strong, too hairy, too thick, too strong, too much? Actually, not “too” anything. Just enough.