Proverbs – Serenity Through Sweat

Happy new year! Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog. As we leave 2020 behind us and move together into 2021, I want to offer the advice of a sage Russian proverb, Doveryai, no proveryai.

I recognized this quote from the Reagan administration, without realizing is origin as a Russian proverb. Suzanne Massey introduced the phrase to Reagan as saying that the Russian’s liked talking in proverbs and he should know some. It has been used in political context several more prominent times since Reagan.

When your toddler is in his room “putting concrete on the road” trust but verify he isn’t spreading lotion all over the floor

Trust, but Verify, is a critical concept and part of the daily routine for both aviators and parents. All the checklist discipline and training in the world is still no substitute for verifying switch positions and systems functionality prior to a critical phase of flight.

Despite how charming El Duderino’s smile is, and how nice he interacts with Speedy, I still need to make sure he isn’t taking up the familial grappling mantle using his 9 month old brother as a drill partner every time I walk out of the room. (Training starts promptly on Speedy’s 4th birthday matching family singlets mandatory)

Despite the prevalence of Trust, but Verify, in so much of what I do day to day, what brought it to mind for me today was science, and more specifically scientists.

I’m working my way through Breath by James Nestor. A little more than half way through, I’m captivated by Nestor’s ability to weave complex scientific research and sometimes ancient beliefs and practices into his own narrative of breathing better.

Last run of 2020 working on buteyko breathing

Throughout the book (thus far) there are a myriad of examples of scientists, doctors, instructors, or other uncertified but results verified “pulmonauts”, whose work has been derided, ridiculed, banned, or otherwise lost to history.

These men and women used various methods to improve breathing in their patients and have both legitimate scientific, as well as anecdotal results to back up their methodologies. Every chapter seems to feature a new brave soul who discovered either the cause, or the cure, to a breathing ailment only to be chased out by scientific peers and forgotten.

Slogging through the wind and the nasal breathing for the first run of the new year with my favorite running buddy napping.

In a very complicated and somewhat oxymoronic twist of fate, good science requires both trust and doubt simultaneously. We as the public must trust scientists to follow the strict procedures and processes that are demanded of true experimentation. Scientists are taught to doubt their own preconceived notions and trust the data. Scientists are also taught to doubt the data and trends that may emerge unless they are repeatable.

Trust and doubt can together be a uniting or a dividing force. They can be used to create the robust science we need for modern problems or they can be weaponized to divide what is already a polarized nation.

Trying to find a rhythm breathing easier through the nose on runs, still a lot of work to do

As we move into a new year there will be plenty of opportunities to be divded by doubt. I think we can all find a little serenity, if we trust, but verify.

Thanks for joining me, stay safe and stay sweaty my friends.

There is an old proverb that says “smooth seas do not make skillful sailors”. When I think about Serenity through sweat, this is something that always comes to mind.

Obviously hard times make hard people. Some might say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. There are a dozen other cliches we can use to say the same thing. The bottom line is, we are made stronger by the challenges we face. Those can be challenges that we take on willingly, or challenges that we are forced to take on.

We are living in the most advanced and prosperous time in human history. Obviously there are still problems, and many of has have struggles, but most of us (especially if you are reading this with on your smart phone with a roof over your head and a full belly) have only first world problems.

With a society suffering from mostly first world problems, where does a prospective sailor go to find rough seas on which to test himself?

I’ve always found a unique sense of fulfillment in pushing my personal limits athletically. From long term goals that require training and preparation, to just grinding out that last interval or roll, pushing our own personal limits is a great way to manufacture rough metaphorical waters. Most athletic endeavors tend to be a controlled environment, with only small sections of chaotic variables, and the result is stormy seas on which to test ourselves without the metaphorical drowning risk.

There is no denying that people coming back from war, refugees forced to flee a homeland, patients who have to fight a terminal illness, are all forced to navigate rougher water in life than most of us, and will probably come out better people for it. But for the rest of us, (the vast majority) manufacturing our own struggle in a productive manner is a safer, and essential step in the right direction towards Serenity.

Thanks for joining me, and stay sweaty my friends.

Tag: Proverbs

Trust

Smooth Seas