I had lunch with a friend yesterday, and we surprisingly found ourselves also talking about more than just work and the triathlon.  He said there was a time that nothing could bother an inner calm he had.  People would be panicking around him, and rather than the knee-jerk reaction of confrontation, he could take this calmly and in stride.  And he said, “Amazingly, that was when I was at my poorest.”

There really is something about having less and making the choice to live a little simpler.  A spiritual father once told me that “Every day it’s good to have just a little less — a little less sleep, a little less time, a little less good food.”

There’s something about denying some things for yourself that can show you the really important things about your life.  When you have a little less that tends to take away things that are really unnecessary like image, being perceived as successful, or if you have the latest whatever.  It’s like striping away the external layers and getting at the core of who you are and what you’re about — something that externals can’t shake.  And rather than complaining about what’s not there, suddenly what is there is all gift.

This reminded me to live a simpler life — not just materially but also socially & spiritually. This also reminded me why I love doing triathlons and running. There’s an element of sacrifice in the of ritual daily workouts and an element of stripping and humbling that comes with long distances. And of course there’s that element of opening you up to the more in the everyday.  You can travel 10k in a really expensive car and complain about the traffic & worry about how lesser cars are out to scratch you; and you can run the same distance and feel ecstatic that you got to the finish.