THE ROOT 9: 41.1

I’ve been reflecting on this quote from All That Remains: A Life in Death — a memoir by forensic anthropologist Sue Black. The novel blends her personal experiences as an anthropologist with mediitations on death, mortality, and the importance of accepting the impermanence that comes with life.

She starts the book off with this definition of humanity, highlighting the limits of our knowledge and how we are prone to error. I found this a bit a relief to remind myself of, in a way, reminding ourselves of and accepting this truth allows us to approach challenges with curiosity and humility, rather than expecting immediate perfection from ourselves.

Since our knowledge is inherently limited, there is also an opportunity to remind ourselves that we shouldn’t be active seekers of information, but seekers of new information and perspectives. Recognizing that we don't hold all the answers frees us from the pressure of always being right.

This quote was another way for me to ground myself for the week to give myself the space to make mistakes and see them as steps for learning and improving, not as failures. I don’t think we can ever be reminded to often to listen intently to others and seek out different viewpoints to broaden our understanding on the topics we encounter.

Intention for the Week: Give ourselves the grace of being human, and find the beauty in our limitations.

One of my best friends is currently doing the Solidays challenge at Solidcore: 10 classes in 14 days, that includes prizes like gifts from Salt & Stone and Solidcore merch.

Though I’m not a member and typically lift on my own, I am a huge fan of how challenges like these, when offered by a specific gym or studio, can create motivation, build a sense of community and/or loyalty, and get members back into a routine.

I think there is a beauty in thinking through how to incorporater this into our lives, even if we don’t have a formal membership to a specific workout club and are yearning for something that creates accountability and makes routine feel new and exciting again. We can craft a challenge ourselves, either one we tackle solo or one we build with friends who live far away, giving us something to connect on daily.

Here are a few ideas for creating your own challenge to shake up your routine:

I was on the treadmill last week and felt a little overstimulated by the noise in my own headphones so I did something I rarely do: took them off for the rest of my workout.

I found a couple of songs I liked that the gym was playing throughout it’s speakers, but this was the first one. I liked it’s feel good energy and played it on repeat throughout the rest of the day.

Naturally, I did several ‘shazams’, this being one of them. I hope you like it 🙂 ( + an added bonus of a 7+ minute club mix)