Spiritual Recovery

OK so maybe the ego is not what everyone would consider part of our spirit.  But I would like to introduce you to the man who turned me on to OCR.  And he is a really spiritual guy.  Dr. Kevin Gyrina is to blame for getting me into this awesome sport.

I showed up at the gym one day, ego fully intact.  It was the kind of gym I love.  Dark, iron everywhere, cranked music, and lots of sweat.  But it also had some unusual elements that intrigued me.  A climbing rope.  A ten-foot wall.  A bunch of big tires.  I wondered what it was all about.

The owner introduced himself, asked me a few questions, and put me through a few general fitness paces.  Then he asked me to climb up and over the ten-foot wall.  Ego said, "Sure.  Coming right up."
I stepped back about ten paces then charged the wall.  I planted my right foot about halfway up, then pancaked.  Shrugged it off then tried again.  Same result.  Then I got the lesson.  "Here's the technique, appropriate for where I think you are ability-wise," said the owner.

Now, I could have ignored him.  Stuck to my ways, Convinced myself that I was getting over that wall my way.  But ego shut up and I listened and followed instructions.  I got right up and over - easy.  On to lesson two.

"Now let's see if you can climb up this fifteen-foot rope."

"Sure," I said.  "Just like in high school."  Right,  Ego conveniently forgot that I could not do it in high school.  What made me think I could do it now?  Three rounds of P90X?  Certainly I was unstoppable.  The wall was just a fluke.

I did not get two feet off the ground.

Again he kindly showed me the proper technique.  I left ego on the floor and zipped right up.

One of the mantras of this gym is "Humble".  I will never forget it.  As I coach people in the gym or on the course now, I follow that same pattern that the owner taught me.  Be humble.  Be helpful.  Be kind.  For those of you at the beginning of your OCR journey, be humble too.  Be teachable.  Be grateful.  Accept the help offered to you.  Team up with others on the course.  It will make their day.  You'll make lots of new friends that way.  That's one thing I really love about the people in OCR.  We seem to make easy friends because we are all in this together.

Kevin, you win the Mud Smear award today my friend.  Thanks for bringing me aboard and helping me to learn to leave my ego dead and buried.