We all have weaknesses.
Some are more flagrant than others. As of late, I find myself questioning my strengths; What I perceived to be formidable tenets of my constitution are becoming eroded by the rising tides of law and physical training.
The Greeks who spoke so long ago of (strong mind , strong body) knew all too well the inherent strengths of the human condition. They knew the propensities and the fears, the objective and the subjective, and the axioms that govern human behavior. I would only wish to have a fraction of this understanding.
When I find myself in contexts such as the present, I begin to withdraw. I distance myself from social distractions, and work in pattern that is arguably unhealthy. My greatest weakness is the inability to cease something I have started. I work harder when I prohibit superfluous distraction.
Bayley had a profound point when he accurately asserted “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” The deprivation of pleasure is the medium towards one’s paramount condition.
The danger in endurance sport is precisely this; continually denying one of the pleasures the laymen take as necessity. The endurance athlete simply closes their eyes. They deny themselves the comforts of the familiar, for the excitement and danger that comes with even the most peaceful progress.
Einstein has been said to be a cruel father. Neglecting, dismissive, and crass. I find it hard to conceive that these fallacies ever existed in the man outside his work. As a young man who values his family above all else, I can assure anyone that I would swiftly cease and desist all personal ambition should my family demand it.
I abhor the idea of self-aggrandizement. I find it fundamentally unethical. The armor of dignity often clads the weakest constitutions. It is for this reason that I find myself often concealed in a veil of secrecy. I work hard and I disclose it only to those whom I must demonstrably certify it before.
I find great comfort in this. Similarly, I find an inherent truth in distance running. I abstain from the sports which require a six-man support system. Jefferson once said that “Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.” Being alone in the dark road in the cold rain is when every evolutionary instinct within oneself advises against the heart’s intent. It is only here where I learn the most and yearn the least.
Men weren’t made to disobey their biology. They weren’t given the rights they have from the state, but from the hand of God. Every living thing has an estimate of their capacity. But it is only that.
I’ve met with people who have conquered obstacles and impediments greater than I have ever dreamed. And they have won.
Working tirelessly and grinding ones’ nerves to a degree of discomfort is a horrific proposition. But at the end of that road often lies the apex of man’s achievements.
When man works himself to the level of imminent collapse; When he intoxicates himself with his own blood, sweat and tears – And then, after all this, only when the mind can seek no pleasure by the present course - This is when the walls
