Besides all we could have learned from lockdown, it seems as though life for many folks still happens hurried. Let me explain:
It’s not necessarily how busy you find your outer world, but how hurried you are on the inside. It’s like there’s a lack of peace on the inside for many folks I meet. And let me just say too that I’m not exempt… there are some occasions where we all have to take stock of where we’re at. I thought lockdown would have brought that about for all of us, but alas, it seems we’re still on the hamster wheel.
It’s easy to yearn after palm tress, hammocks and beaches with no people around for absolute miles. We want solitude and comfort from the manic storm of life. We wake up and it’s basically 200km/h from the outset. How is one supposed to smell the roses along the way?
I’ve thought about this for years now, and considerably through the stormy Covid season, and I’ve come to understand this:
What we really need is peace, not comfort.
It is possible to be at peace while everything around you is very chaotic and busy.
The earliest and most vivid picture I have of this was at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, when South African swimmer Penny Heyns (pictured) became the first South African to win in the Olympics post-apartheid and broke the Olympic record for the 200-metre breaststroke.
The stadium was going crazy as she neared the finish line, realising that the clock was ticking down and the previous record was in trouble. The commentator was delirious. South Africans were yelling at their TV screens.
As she touched and turned around, with fans screaming and “New Olympic Record” flashing across the big screen, it was her facial expression that left an impression…
She was dead calm.
No air punch, no psyched up celebrations like those you see on the track events or elsewhere. Just a steady, steely gaze up at the clock. Calm.
Swimming is a good metaphor for life. It’s not a sport that you have to psych yourself up for. In fact, the opposite. You need steady, relaxed breathing to achieve the best results.
Big wave surfers go for professional training on remaining calm when they are plunged into the depths, just so that they can stay alive. It doesn’t help to panic, to react nervously… you have to stay calm to be preserve your heart rate and oxygen. You need a kind of inner peace.
Likewise, in the craziness of life, it’s possible to have peace that surpasses all human understanding. Some people have it. And it’s those kind of people you want to spend time with.
