12/04/2024
One Song at a Time (or, How I Get Through Life…and Spin Class)
I’ve been going through some stuff lately and maybe I’ve been spinning more than usual because it helps me for some reason. I was thinking about how hard it is. (Spin class, not life; though both at times!) Try it if you don’t believe me.
I was reflecting on the way I’ve learned to approach it. If I lay in bed and think to myself, “This 45 minutes is gonna be hard.” Or, “Do I have the energy?” Or, “Can I even do this?” I won’t even go.
Maybe spin class is not a metaphor for life but for the hard things in life, that are worthwhile but suck at times.
Here’s how I’ve learned to approach my spin experience:
I show up.
I don’t think about it ahead of time. I just show up.
Often there comes a time in the middle when I think, “Wow this is kind of hard.” And then I tell myself, “Just get through this one song.” The instructor tells me what to do and I do it to the best of my ability. Or I don’t. I go with it. Or I don’t.
But, and this is the important part: I don’t leave.
Sometimes I take a little break: sit down, spin slower, drink some water.
But I keep going.
This is what I’ve learned about life. Most things that are worth something involve vulnerability and a degree of risk. Many of them lead to loss and pain. That’s just how it works. Sometimes, when I am sad or hurt, I think I cannot make it through. I think, “Wow, this is hard. Maybe I should stop doing scary things like this.” But everything changes when I’m just here in this one moment; this one song. Everything is better when I decide to take it one song at a time.
