Community

All my life, the one thing that was always present during moments of happiness was a sense of healthy community.  It is so odd that in our current era of advanced technology and social networks, it is mostly absent.  I believe this is a phenomenon that is deeply embedded in the psychological structure of society.  There is nothing healthy about greed and that’s what most of human interaction encourages these days.

While I was training in the gym today, I had to wait on the squat rack.  Initially as I was waiting, a sense of entitlement arose in me.  It was based on the conceit that most in the gym don’t do what I do.  I manage to notice the shift in my mind, when it began to color everyone in the gym grey with hostility.  I began to tighten up, and feel threatened.  But, I paused, took a deep refreshing breath, and then I asked myself “what if I just feel glad that everyone here has made some type of commitment to be here in the first place?”  I let the question drop.

The shift encouraged me to ask some guys that were training “would you guys mind if I squat with you all?”  The guys seemed elated; they smiled, and said “sure, jump right in!”    As we trained we exchanged ideas about training ethic, shoes, and even spotted each other.  I put my ego aside, and fed on their interest, and commitment to leg training.  Then it occurred to me that we were in fact a community of fitness enthusiasts that trained in the same gym.  Why can’t every human experience lead to new and renewed bonds such as this?

There is always something positive to feed on within another human being.  It doesn’t matter how little you like them, or know of them.  Seeing the goodness in others doesn’t require you to ignore any wrong they’ve done, or to love them.  It just means that you’ve made a conscious decision to train in the habit of resting your mind on others good qualities first, and that is an invaluable habit.  Especially, to those that tend to be very-very hard on themselves!