THE FOUR MINUTE MILE, ZOMBIES, AND VOLTAGE

“Greatness is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.”

It is said by some in the Neuroscience field that we humans only use 10% of our brains….I don’t know if that is true…but I do know that none of us use our brains to full capacity, nor our hearts, nor our full capacity for compassion, empathy, creativity…..

Think of how physically fit that each and every one of us could be if we were focused on that goal. Think, that all of us could run a marathon, climb Mt. Everest, swim the English Channel…IF we made it a priority, if we put the full use of our powers to bare on this goal, discarded our presently held standards and limits on our endurance and stamina. There is little doubt that there are “giants” within all of us….amazing untapped potentials. What if Tiger Woods had never been introduced to the game of golf? What if Kelly Slater grew up in Missouri, and never made it to the ocean, the stage of his glory? What if Mozart had never been introduced to a piano. There is a candy store in all of us….gun powder and a match, but we very rarely bring them both together.

To put it another way….we aren’t seeing the whole picture, not even close…..there is a symphony in all of us….that never gets composed, many symphonies.

In 1954 Roger Bannister, an Oxford medical student and track runner did something that was before thought impossible. On a cold blustery day in May, Roger Bannister ran the first sub 4 minute mile on a dirt track in London. Within a year, a handful of runners had also done the seemingly impossible, and run sub 4 minute miles, most notably was the record shattering time by John Landy, who ran a 3:57 mile within 6 weeks of Bannister’s groundbreaking run. He crushed it!

So, what can we gleen from this? Well, we know that potential, boundaries, limits, etc., are mostly a human construct…..as humans we tend to live according to prescribed, historical cultural, standards. There are a scant few of us humans who totally disregard societal norms, behavioral norms, “standards”…..There are a scant few who don’t pay attention to “lines”, or “ceilings”. All Roger had to do was prove that the “impossible” was, indeed, possible and then it gave others the chance to believe in a new possibility…it removed the shackles. The physical skill always existed, it was the psychological boundaries that had been drawn that restricted potential.

Aren’t all of us borderline sloths, at least most of the time?….our minds are mostly droning on about inane matters, hot babes, material wants, trendy haircuts, gossip,….sports scores, what we are going to eat for lunch….am I wrong? I was down at the Pt. Dume Plaza today and there were tons of people sitting around…eating, walking dogs, checking their cell phones, posturing. How much thoughtful thought is going on? I wonder….I was no different...I was sitting and eating....no crime, but where’s the glory?

How could this picture look much different, in a different galaxy maybe, far, far, away….Imagine a feeling of greater urgency and priority to connect and commune with others, not just friends, but strangers…imagine, perhaps, a person who gets out of his car in the parking lot and has hundreds of red roses…he goes up to everyone in the plaza and greets them briefly and wishes them a good day and gives each and every one of them a red rose. That would be odd to most…even a tad unsettling to a few…but, what would he leave behind at the end of his stay? I feel certain that many would be moved, inspired….some might have felt comforted, less lonely---most, if not all, would have smiled…..

You know the saying of how when “so and so” walks in a room he or she “lights it up”. Why are there so few lights? We all have it in us to be such “lights”, brilliant, in our own ways….we can all contribute more greatly, more thoughtfully, to humanity, by thinking bigger…illuminating when we can...

Each day (moment) is an opportunity at greatness….an opportunity to make someone feel better, uplifted, hopeful, cared about….

Why do I go into Sunlife most every day?….not for the brazilian bowls…ok, partly for the brazilian bowls, but mostly for the human connection, the energy that is transmitted….the people who work there give me a metaphorical “red rose” whenever they see me, to a man..….

The place is a commune disguised as a smoothie store….

This isn’t about Sunlife….far from it…but it is about the spirit of opportunity, and the spirit to raise the consciousness of others around you……in spite of my efforts I too often walk around town like a Zombie…..living in my own world…and not having a thoughtful impact on others…..

I don’t think Kayla Mueller felt that way very often…as a young girl she vowed to help children in war torn areas of the world…far away from her safe, secure, home in Prescott Arizona…as we now know, 26 year old Kayla was killed by ISIS after being captured while trying to help those victimized by terrorism.

I doubt if Malala walks around much like a Zombie. I think she has a huge impact on everyone who gets within a few yards of her….certainly the present Pope, Pope Francis, has tremendous impact that transcends geography, and space and time…he is never a “zombie”. His every waking moment has purpose and impact, and voltage….I don’t think he sleeps in until 10 on the weekend, and then goes down for a leisurely cup of ritualistic coffee, and then a walk on the beach, and then some television before thoughts of lunch creep in……

“life is defined by the opportunities, even the ones we miss” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

how many are YOU missing?

I love that quote..and I use it as often as I can….I wonder if we were born into a world with a different standard…where Kayla Mueller was the standard, or Malala, or Pope Francis, were the standards, if it might bring a ton more thoughtfulness and greatness out of each and every one of us……to me, greatness isn’t necessarily going to the Moon, or designing a new App…far from it….it can be simply the impact you have on others….if you leave everyone you meet feeling more emboldened, more joyous, more empowered, and healed….then, you are truly Great!!!

Being a “light” is a choice…it is not something that we have to be blessed or anointed with… we all have that light within in us…that torch that we can pass on…though most of us rarely, if ever, pick up our torch…..and that is why the world is so desperate for more light…

When 70’s pop star Helen Reddy was asked how she would like to be remembered when she dies, she said, “I don’t care if I am remembered at all, just as long as any good (light) I have done lives on….”

In empty space, the wave of light does not dissipate (grow smaller) no matter how far it travels, because the wave is not interacting with anything else. This is why light from distant stars can travel through space for billions of light-years and still reach us on earth.

Where is your sub four minute mile?