I Don’t Run the Show 2/10/22

 Help. Thanks. Wow.  Ann LaMott

I watched Nathan Chen own Figure Skating last night. Beauty and grace, strength and control - he made it look easy. 

When I first laced up my rental skates and tried to find my balance, I couldn’t even stand, let alone glide, gracefully or otherwise. I immediately concluded that I would never ice skate. Never ever.

A few years later, I had a friend who had taken lessons and had been a figure skater. She encouraged me to try again, and she taught me how to center myself and hold my ankles steady. I stayed upright! I skated! All it took was a little instruction from her and willingness from myself. I didn’t become a figure - or any other type of skater, but I learned that I can learn.

My friend had learned to glide and jump and twirl on the ice through lessons and hours of practice. Nathan Chen didn’t win gold by simply thinking his way to elegance and perfection. It took years of work, taking direction from others, and picking himself up after each fall to try again, again, and again.

I have my Coach, my Teacher, the One who encourages me to try again. I say “I can’t do this”, but my Coach says “Try again. I’ve got you”. I fall, I blame my coach, I’m sure I can’t ever learn, I wallow in defeat, but I learn, ultimately, to get up, to try again. I realize that my Coach, my Guide, has given me the will to get up and try once more, over and over again. 

I’m not going to win a prize, but those figure eights are also the signs of infinity, and I am skating them.

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