Welcome to “Athlos” a weekly blog which examines pillars of personal excellence and regularly brings together the worlds of Christian spirituality and sport.
Attention
“To be human is to be embodied, so any spirituality that fails to take the body seriously necessarily diminishes our humanity”-David Benner, psychology professor.
Attitude
This is Week 3 of our mini-series on life-changing listening. This past week, two incidents occurred which spoke loudly in the lives of two meaningful relationships in my life. Last Saturday morning, my wife Michelle endured the pain of an aggravated right knee injury when we were compelled to take evasive action while walking together. To see her tears of pain was tough but her disciplined action on the road to healing has been inspiring.
Professionally, I have been privileged to be acquainted with ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop over the years. Recently, Shaka had quite a scare which many global football fans witnessed on television. By Divine grace, Shaka is improving and is also on the pathway to recovery.
His subsequent public comments were noteworthy for two reasons. Shaka spoke about listening to his body, pondering whether his health challenge was a “moment to pause”. Equally, he committed himself to listening to his doctors, the ones with the requisite expertise. The other salient element of Shaka’s response was the overflow of gratitude: for life, for family, for friends.
Two wonderful traits converged after Shaka’s mishap: humility and gratitude. Humility teaches us to listen. Gratitude motivates us to say” Thank You”. Together they lay the groundwork for success, growth, influence and impact.
Michelle and Shaka, we are grateful that you both chose to listen to your bodies. We are willing to follow your example.
Action
Listening to our bodies demands vigilant attention, the right attitude and decisive action.
If you were inspired by this blog, please consider sharing it with one other person today. To learn more about these and other related themes that promote the cultivation of an integrated inner self, read UNBEATABLE! which is available on Amazon in print and as an e-book.
This Post Has 4 Comments
Thank you Tyrone. These days I have to. I felt I have not experienced pain like that in a long time but God is good and provided the short term support to get me going and for that I am grateful. I am still a long way off to full recovery and have been guided by Romans 12 about the renewing of my mind. When I was much younger, I did what I please, eat what I want and now, I have to listen to what my body is saying. On it’s own, my body is rejecting things and some things that appeared appealing, surely not are anymore.
Thanks, Michelle. Our bodies are reminding us of their fragility as we grow older. Here, too, is an opportunity to mature with wisdom and grace.
Listening to our bodies. An important thing for those young and not so young. Our bodies speak to us all. Taking time to reflect on the foods we eat and the symptoms revealed definitely can help understand what to eat and the food our changing bodies now require. Good read Tyrone.
Thank you for this helpful contribution, Allison. What we put into our bodies is such a critical element of listening to our bodies. I admit that it is an area that I need to be more intentional about, especially as I grow older. Thanks again.