Just...Play

Today I went to Blue Mountain with my dog. I don't bring a phone or watch. I prefer it to be timeless. I ran, climbed, did pullups, pushups, squats... An instinctively random workout. I just simply took the time to go outside and play.

One of the biggest things lacking in American culture is play; doing something unscripted, unregulated, solely because it's entertaining.

I see a lot of people going to the gyms trying to attain a certain "look" (be in surfer, model, bodybuilder, MMA fighter, etc).

It's about the appearance. The illusion. Bodybuilders spend all their time pumping and building large, pretty muscles to create the façade of strength and masculinity with actual physical capability being only a secondary consideration at best.

I say, rather than trying to attain the appearance of one of these things, become them. Stop trying to gain the upper back development of a climber and go climbing. Forget about your workout routine that is supposed to give you the lean, ripped physique of a surfer and go surfing.

MMA fighters are possibly the greatest example of all-around athleticism. Thousands of people go to gyms and perform "MMA workouts" in hopes of developing the physical appearance of a fighter. Stop it. Go join an MMA gym and train in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Live a life with some substance. With some actual experiences.

These are real worlds. Real rocks, real water, real physical struggle.

Here, you will actually fall. You will feel the the cold sting of snow on your skin when you slip sprinting up a hill, the bark of trees may cut your hands, you will feel what it is like for another person to submit you, to have control of your body to such an extent that without your tapping a signal of submission, he or she could break your arm or choke you to death.

This is what life feels like!

So get lost.

Lose yourself. As critical as I have long touted the process of meeting your challenges head on and embracing the many stresses of life, I will again emphasize the dire need for that lofty, abstract concept I so often personally struggle with—balance. “All or nothing” has long been the name of my game, but to be honest, no matter how high the stakes and no matter how intense the tension, I have always found that I need to be outdoors or do something unusual and out of the ordinary (i.e. parkour) to restore this balance.

“Down there we know, the streets we know, but up here? Nobody’s been here.”
-David Belle