Freeze, freeze in the winter, if you really want to appreciate the summer!
Walk, walk at the edge of the precipices, if you rightly want to learn the meaning of safety!
Switch the light off, if you want to see the amazing beauty of the light!
~Mehmet Murat Ildan
Walk, walk at the edge of the precipices, if you rightly want to learn the meaning of safety!
Switch the light off, if you want to see the amazing beauty of the light!
~Mehmet Murat Ildan
My countdown to the winter solstice began nearly two months ago, much to the amusement and bemusement of friends and colleagues. I can’t blame them, it’s not a date on the calendar that I’ve paid much attention to in the past. This year though I have anticipated the solstice perhaps even more than Christmas and definitely more than the calendar New Year. While I certainly don't want to wish away the present, I am excited about the changing seasons and the approach of longer days.
My balance training is--by necessity but also by preference--primarily conducted out of doors. While I'm enjoying the starry winter skies, especially seeing the constellation Orion, the fact that only twilight is left to me after the work day ends is highly inconvenient, hence my looking forward to the increasing daylight that comes with the passing of the solstice. Tonight, the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, is a turning point in the solar cycle: “Starting [tomorrow] at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day.”
I firmly believe that turning points deserve both looking forward and looking back. Since the Gregorian calendar currently has little bearing on my training, and the solar cycle has a large one, this year I’ve chosen today for my reflections and resolutions.
The dark and cold of winter quite naturally tend to send me inward, warming my soul in the glow of good memories. Looking back at the last year, a lot has happened especially for balance: I practiced on a real tightwire for the second and third time (and my very first tightwire experience was just a little over a year ago); I conquered a waterline, scooted out on a highline, I took up slackrope, watched a sky walk live…and of course I started this blog.
One last success for the year was a high-walk challenge. On the way back from a party, a friend jokingly challenged me to walk the handrail of a low pedestrian bridge. I'd resisted the urge in the past, but the nudge of a challenge had me mounting the wide, flat rail without a second thought--much to the consternation of my poor friend who will definitely think twice before daring me to give in to temptation.
The width and stability of the rail put the focus of the walk on the mental challenge of having a large drop off on one side rather than on a physical or skill challenge. I was solid in my balance and calm in my focus; and I am quite pleased that I wasn't phased by 14 feet of empty space lurking on my right hand side. I don't think it's a stunt I'll need to repeat (not that particular handrail anyway); I'm focused on skill building not adrenaline rushes. Still it was a good mental challenge, and that mini success definitely left me a giddy.
So that's my recap of this year's balance recollections.The solstice is also a time for looking forward. As Gary Zukav put it, "The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination."
Looking toward the coming months, I have to confess to feeling a bit rudderless. The big goals and dreams are in place--the 'verdant future' I'm imagining and working toward; the tenacity to practice and focus on micro-goals I also have; the gap is there in the middle. While I feel positive that the new year will bring new adventures and opportunities, I'm struggling to know what medium term goals would be most important (and which I am prepared publicly to commit to). I'm going to be feeling my way along, but I'll set down what I have so far.
My balance training is--by necessity but also by preference--primarily conducted out of doors. While I'm enjoying the starry winter skies, especially seeing the constellation Orion, the fact that only twilight is left to me after the work day ends is highly inconvenient, hence my looking forward to the increasing daylight that comes with the passing of the solstice. Tonight, the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, is a turning point in the solar cycle: “Starting [tomorrow] at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day.”
I firmly believe that turning points deserve both looking forward and looking back. Since the Gregorian calendar currently has little bearing on my training, and the solar cycle has a large one, this year I’ve chosen today for my reflections and resolutions.
The dark and cold of winter quite naturally tend to send me inward, warming my soul in the glow of good memories. Looking back at the last year, a lot has happened especially for balance: I practiced on a real tightwire for the second and third time (and my very first tightwire experience was just a little over a year ago); I conquered a waterline, scooted out on a highline, I took up slackrope, watched a sky walk live…and of course I started this blog.
One last success for the year was a high-walk challenge. On the way back from a party, a friend jokingly challenged me to walk the handrail of a low pedestrian bridge. I'd resisted the urge in the past, but the nudge of a challenge had me mounting the wide, flat rail without a second thought--much to the consternation of my poor friend who will definitely think twice before daring me to give in to temptation.
So that's my recap of this year's balance recollections.The solstice is also a time for looking forward. As Gary Zukav put it, "The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination."
Looking toward the coming months, I have to confess to feeling a bit rudderless. The big goals and dreams are in place--the 'verdant future' I'm imagining and working toward; the tenacity to practice and focus on micro-goals I also have; the gap is there in the middle. While I feel positive that the new year will bring new adventures and opportunities, I'm struggling to know what medium term goals would be most important (and which I am prepared publicly to commit to). I'm going to be feeling my way along, but I'll set down what I have so far.
- Invest time daily. It takes time to develop fine-tuned balance skill, time spent actually balancing. I'm committing to at least five minutes of balancing daily six days a week. That might sound small, and I imagine that most days I will put in significantly more time than that, but for the hectic and tired days, 5 minutes is certainly better than none.
- Learn how to rig and purchase equipment for a basic tightwire. Slackline and pipe are great for learning balance, but I need a tightwire to learn tightwire.
- Connect moves into sequences. Even though the focus of my dreams isn't artistic choreographed performance, I would like to transition from focusing on simple practice of individual skills, to the challenge of series of moves/skills in predefined patterns/orders.
- Master turns. I set this goal once already back in June, but turns are still my nemesis, so it goes back on the list. This will mean half and full turns on pipe and tightwire and spin walk on slackline.
- Try yoga for cross-training. Ballet was my summer cross-training experiment. Yoga is next on the list. Yoga is supposed to be great for flexibility, balance, and core strength, so it's worth giving a try.
