At long last, I'm back rowing on the water! After spending the past three months in the gym on a rowing machine, I had my first row in a quad this morning.
What a joy it was to, once again, enjoy the beauty of the sunrise and the sights, sounds and smells of Long Island Sound. I felt like a butterfly emerging out of its chrysalis or a bear coming out of hibernation. Rowing outdoors again was like a rebirth. The photo above is of two of my rowing buddies on the Sound.
However, it was because of the hours spent erging during the winter months that I was able to enjoy rowing. Without this winter conditioning, I would have been huffing and puffing for our 50 minute row, and end up exhausted afterwards.
I've found that for every week you don't exercise, it takes the same amount of time to get back to the same level of fitness. I believe this same concept applies to our spiritual fitness. When we are doing those things that nourish our souls in a disciplined, regular way, we put ourselves in a position to experience deep joy and gratitude when it comes.
Like a muscle, the soul becomes stronger and more resilient with exercise. The question we each need to answer for ourselves is: what "exercises" my soul?
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