athleticism, or versions thereof.
brandon and i were discussing last night how there are times in your life where you do something athletic (usually involving some form of interaction with nature) and you do it very well.
scarily well, in fact, considering that you may not have done it ever before, and no one has taught you how to do it, but you just instinctively know how to do it.
it’s an almost spiritual experience, doing something that your body already knows how to do without your mind ever conceiving that it could.
for me, horseback riding, cycling and swimming all feel right. i didn’t need much training, i enjoy all of them and even one or two bad experiences is not enough to turn me off from them.
on the other hand, basketball, volleyball and jogging are challenging for me. although i know the rules and how to play, and i’m even pretty fair at jogging, i mentally and physically struggle through it. it’s like my body is saying, “stop this silliness! go jump in a pool, you freak!”
i wonder if everyone has this same separation where athleticism, or versions thereof, are concerned.
horseback riding looks difficult. but i think cycling and swimming are things where you can really get into it once you learn the basics. basketball is all about fanaticism. you have to really love to play ball to get into it, get good at it, feel comfortable on the court. you can know all the rules about 3 pt line, out-of-bounds, free throws, three second violations, but… you gotta live and breathe basketball for an extended period of time to get past the struggling through it part. we all run in different circles, like different sports. :)
That’s kind of the way I feel about soccer and snowboarding - no matter how hard I try, I’ll never be proficient. Although I usually don’t enjoy sports that I’m atrocious at (see: volleyball), so maybe I’m just waiting for the right time, and I’ll wow everyone with a half cab out of nowhere.
I usually seem to excel at totally random sports that aren’t that popular (javelin, archery, sailing, to name a few) - basketbll is the one exception. I’m a natural on the court, hand me a ball at any point on the court, and I can figure out a way to get in in the hoop.Source: jaclynday
