An Accidental Athlete

A few weeks ago a good friend of mine told me that she had a book to loan to me and put it into my hands.

What. A. Gift!

John Bingham's book, An Accidental Athlete, was written for me. Forget about the hundreds of thousands of people (millions?) who may read it. It was written for ME. I cringed, and I cracked up, and more than anything I nodded my head in agreement.

As to my own personal journey, here are a few more serious thoughts of his that resonated well with me:

This book is an invitation for you to discover the accidental athlete in yourself.

Yes sir... keep talking. This year has proven to me that I've needed more than just an occasional activity. Yes my physical body needed to get moving, but my psyche has needed purpose, fun, goals, and camaraderie.

The only thing worse than having never been an athlete is having been one and given it up.

Too... too true. A few years ago when my father relocated, he dropped off a few boxes of my old medals, trophies, ribbons, framed photographs, etc. After looking through everything and feeling like a pathetic has been, I put it all in the dumpster. There was nothing good for me in that stuff, and I was actually pretty embarrassed by it. I wonder if I had continued competing - through college and beyond as I assumed I would - whether or not I would have chucked those things. My guess is that they wouldn't have bothered me. That I diverted from that life at all - that is what has bothered me.

I was discovering the joy and magic of an active lifestyle. I was discovering that even though I had been living a life of sedentary confinement, I had the power to release myself.

I have had so many emotionally rewarding experiences in this past year. My first triathlon was so much fun, I was very grateful for my 9/11 5K, and my dreaded birthday was fantastic. Little by little, I've been reawakening.

I know that every step is a step in the right direction, taking me closer to who I want to be.

Dude. Every step IS a good step.

I told you he wrote this book for me.

Maybe he wrote it for you too. ... Maybe.