“We can’t control anything but our reactions to what happens around us. The older I get, the more I recognize the wisdom of doing things that make me uncomfortable, and change is a big part of that”
Photo: Stella Bugbee One morning this September in Prospect Park, I saw a couple running, connected at the waist by a short nylon leash. From 50 yards away it looked strange, but as they approached, I realized the man was blind. Suddenly their coordinated stride took on a poignancy I hadn’t expected. I’m well aware of the foolishness of assuming things about strangers, yet I couldn’t help but feel moved by their determination to do something together that seemed so difficult to pull off.
This summer I began holding a yoga block over my head for nine minutes every day. I tried this tiny, seemingly pointless, activity after hearing about it at a dinner party. Two of the guests were talking about having done it in a yoga class. I sat there listening, thinking, “That seems painful.” Still, I wanted to try it, just to see if I could. Turns out, it was as bad as it sounds! My arms burned and shook. I wanted badly to throw the block and stop, but I kept at it.
This voluntary endurance test has had the miraculous effect of making other small discomforts easier to endure. During a recent seven-hour flight, in which I was stuck in the middle seat at the back of the plane with no internet or television, I closed my eyes and imagined the flight as an extended “block over my head.” It helped in the moment, but it also helped me complain about it less after the fact and enjoy the release of being off the plane more.
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