Do what you cannot do
By Sally Brown Bassett
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do what you cannot do.” If you commit to this statement throughout your life, you will continue to step out of your comfort zone and experience real personal growth. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. Start pursuing new adventures on your “bucket list.” Don’t have one? Think of everything you would like to try in your life, write it down, and start checking one item off at a time.
When I was approaching my 40th birthday, I wanted a challenging new adventure. It took a year to prepare, but I ended up trekking the entire Machu Picchu Trail in Peru, all four mountain passes. It is an incredible feeling when you achieve a goal you have set for yourself. A week after I returned from the trek, it was time to set the next goal. Watching a runner go by, I wondered if I could pursue this activity and add the Indianapolis 500 mini-marathon to my bucket list. A year later, I ran my first of seven mini-marathons followed by two full marathons.
This is shared only to inspire. A very special friend of mine, Jean Deeds, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail – all 2,180 miles through 14 states. She believes once you verbalize your intentions and tell the world, you have taken your first step. Her words echoed in my ears when I decided to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. Around midnight on the fourth evening of the journey, we put on hats with lights and headed up to the summit of 19,341 feet. At 17,500 fee,t I got full-fledge altitude sickness and only turned back after two other people started down the mountain for the same reason. Being such a goal-oriented person, I didn’t even think quitting was an option. Sometimes things are just out of our control. However, there were no regrets. It was an incredible life-changing experience.
Now, every day on the mat, there is always a posture that I would like to conquer. With patience and persistence, it is fun to see what your body and mind can do. There are also times, like Mt. Kilimanjaro, that I let go of something that just doesn’t work for me or my body. As a yoga teacher, I have to admit I can’t do a backbend (the wheel or chakrasana in yoga terms), but I’ve got the “crow” down pat after building up my core strength. Remember doing tip-ups when you were a kid where you balanced on your hands with your knees resting on the back of your elbows? Think you can’t do it? Try it now. Do what you think you can’t do and surprise yourself. Until next time….
Namaste!