Tangible

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog.  Today I want to talk about something I struggle with both personally and professionally, the nature of a tangible finished product.

I think all of us feel a sense of pride and purpose from a completed project.  There is something about our own creation, something new where before there was something old, or even nothing, that fills a hole inside all of us.

Even the simplest of tasks can produce a spectrum of emotion inside and generate the momentum necessary for a positive day.  But it is easy to overlook so many of our tasks because the world we live in has moved away from the tangible.

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As a pilot I struggle with this concept.  On a given three or four day trip I will fly hundreds if not a few thousand people. Each of them have a story, a reason for traveling, and connecting them from point A to point B is an important and fulfilling endeavor. 

But, at the end of a long day of flying sometimes it is hard to remember where I even went.  There is nothing to show for my day’s work, just another hotel room and another day’s worth of missions ahead.  The service I provide is very real and valuable, but it lacks a tangible nature that serves as a validation and a reminder of worth.

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Fitness has a lot of the same characteristics.  Miles run or biked, kettlebells swung, pull-ups rep’d, they are all valuable and worthy endeavors.  Oftentimes though we are left only with a puddle of sweat and delayed onset muscle soreness as our only reminder of the work that was done.

I think that is why I feel a special sense of fulfillment when I complete a project around the house.  To build, to create, to progress through a planned project, producing something new, scratches an itch that is left unattended by my other endeavors.

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My wife requested a new bench for our kitchen table.  The project was a relatively simple one, and we were able to involve the whole family in one way or another.  The result is nothing special, but it is functional, matches the existing table, and is more resilient than it’s predecessor.

Beyond that it is a tangible creation, a useful household item shaped by family hands, and a reminder of the fruits of our labor. The bench project has been a nice change of pace from a expiration based service job and a a fitness journey that is mostly solo (especially during covid).

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I hope that we are all able to find serenity in both the tangible and the intangible as they ebb and flow through our lives.

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