The Weekly Word: July 17th, 2022

Fitness Tip of the Week
George Bernard Shaw once said, "We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing". 

I was listening to an interview with Erwan Le Corre, owner of MovNat, an organization that focuses on building real world physical competency, If you are like me, you may be asking, "what is real world physical competency?" This is our ability to navigate our way through anything that life has to offer in the physical domain. This is allowing us to be someone who can be useful if there is an emergency and not be a hindrance. It means we are able to walk or run long distances when your cell phone no longer works to get help. It means that we should be able to balance on a beam or walk across a downed tree, pick up and move something heavy, carry objects for distance, jump from one thing to another, hang or pull yourself over a bar, swim a certain distance, or any other thing we may encounter in life. 

The natural environment provides us with plenty of opportunities to train these areas. I am sure if you look out your window you can find something heavy to move, something to balance on, a tree to hang from, and something to jump from. If your yard doesn't provide this, we can bring this obstacle course mentality to the gym. Drag a sled, carry a weight, walk across a beam, throw an object, climb something, roll on the ground, crawl, and whatever else you can come up with. Training doesn't always have to be conventional. Start playing around with some of these ideas and see if it brings any joy to your training.

What I've Been Watching...
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (Netflix documentary)

This documentary is about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints aka the FLDS. This religious sect is a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon religion. They split from the church due to their adherent belief in polygamy, and a few other things, and set up their community in multiple towns across Arizona, Utah and Texas.  I remember first hearing about this group in the early 2000’s when their leader Warren Jeffs was accused, arrested and found guilty of some pretty heinous things. Jeff's is a gross man who somehow rose to a position where he had thousands of followers believing he was their prophet and listened to every word he said. 

I discussed this documentary and other cult-ish behavior in my latest podcast episode which can be viewed here: When Does a Religion Become a Cult?  or listened to on any major podcast streaming service. 
What I've Been Reading...
Confessions by Leo Tolstoy

No matter what it seems from the outside, you never know what someone is going through on the inside. 

Every time I hear a story about a seemingly happy person taking their life or when an ER doctor told me their rooms are full of suicidal teens, I think back to this book written by the great Leo Tolstoy. For me, the pivotal moment occurs when he writes, "and it was at this time that I, a fortunate man, removed a rope from my room where I undressed every night alone, lest I hang myself from the beam between the cupboards; and I gave up taking a rifle with me on hunting trips so as not to be tempted to end my life in such an all too easy fashion... All this was happening to me at a time when I was surrounded on all sides by what is considered complete happiness" 

This was the most successful writer of his time and he couldn't trust himself to go into the woods with a rifle or walk into his room with a rope out of fear he may take his life. This was a man who seemingly had it all, but yet he lacked something. He was never satisfied and always looking for more. He wanted to understand his purpose and what was the meaning life. Eventually he found what he needed and was able to live to the age of 82. This is a very quick read and the perspective gained from it is invaluable!

On a Lighter Note...
Last week we were at the Saucon Valley Farmers Market and once again and it was a great experience. We were able to meet a lot of people and have some interesting conversations. In addition to that, we were lucky, once again, to be placed right next to the music tent. Last month, Arianne Rox was incredibly nice and had a wonderful voice and the same could be said for this month with Christine & Company. 

While there, a catchy little tune came on that I couldn't quite place. My dad was singing it but he had no clue who it was. I got my phone out and started plugging in the lyrics and what came up was Fire by the Pointer Sisters. As it turns out, this song was written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. My father is a big Springsteen fan so that explains how he knew it. Anyway, I don't know much about the Pointer Sisters but this song was stuck in my head all week! Check the link out above to get a little Fire going in your life. Just be prepared to have this in your head all day...

Well, Romeo and Juliet
Samson and Delilah

Quote of the Week
"We lost because we told ourselves we lost" -- Leo Tolstoy
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I hope you all have an awesome week!
Chris Fluck