Longing for Belonging

Everything has its own place and function. That applies to people, although many don't seem to realize it, stuck as they are in the wrong job, the wrong marriage, or the wrong house. When you know and respect your Inner Nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong.

Benjamin Hoff from The Tao of Pooh

I was trying to explain to a friend how CrossFit, more specifically CrossFit MASS, has changed my life.  (Another blog post about Bikram to come, because without that I wouldn't be here.)  I tried to explain that it provides a space for me to be completely present in my life.  I feel connected to others and like I can contribute something significant. Working/being at the gym taps into everything that I am.

She rephrased what I said to "You're social, athletic.  It appeals to who you are."

Maybe that is the correct summary but it feels like so much more.  As such, I have assigned myself the task of trying to put into words what coaching, working out, and being a part of this team means to me.

First it is important to know that the first place that I felt like I actually belonged was on the softball field.  I was an outcast and the only thing that was for certain was that I was going to be picked first of all the girls in PE class.    

This isn't about just being athletic though.  There are quotes about overcoming adversity and pushing oneself to the limit.  How do people who didn't grow up playing sports relate to quotes like that?  Do they relate to quotes like that?  I have to assume so because life is full of adversity.  Being everywhere but where you are is a human condition.  Striving for happiness, a place to belong, and contributing a piece of oneself in a meaningful way are universal desires.

This place.  Not only do I feel like I belong, but I also get to bear witness to others overcoming their own limitations.  I get to play a role in helping them attain their goals.  I get to help create a space for others to belong, to grow strong, to expand, to connect their inner and outer beings.  I am able to do this in a way that is so core to who I am as a person - an athlete, someone with rheumatoid arthritis, a person in a same-sex relationship, a human struggling to find meaning and purpose in this crazy-ass world.  There are no judgements.  There is no right or wrong.  There is me pushing you and you pushing me to live a healthy, strong, flexible, fulfilling life.

"This all can be accomplished in a gym?" you ask.  Not just any gym.  This is a community, a family, rehabilitation - a support network.  People come in to work hard and put their fears/limitations on the line.  So for me, yes - it is so much more.  It is where I belong.

 
Thank you Joe, Christy, Mike and all of my CFM family.