“It’s not in my power how long I will live, but rather how long I will truly exist.” – Seneca
This past weekend was the 20th edition of GORUCK Selection. It’s a 48-hour endurance challenge patterned after Special Forces Selection. The instructors, called “Cadre”, are trying to make the participants quit. The event begins with 30-50 extremely tough people and at the 25 hour mark of Selection 020, there was only one man still standing with 23 hours to go. The average pass rate for this event is less than 2% but after 48 hours, participant 011 was still standing. What did he win? A patch and a beer.
On October 3rd of this year, it’ll be 9 years since my brother died. He lived for 30 years. I should say he LIVED for 30 years. He surfed, he bungee-jumped, he skydived, he lived in Spain for 6 months and Costa Rica for 6 more, he built people’s homes and he voluntarily helped others. His daughter was born shortly after he died and she regularly asks me to tell her stories about him. I’m thankful because there are so many to share (although some will have to wait until she’s a bit older).
When I tell people about our Hero WOD Saturdays or the Murph of the Month club, they often think we’re crazy but I think it gets to the essence of a life worth living. Some people live to be 90 years old but did they live or merely exist?
“Memento Mori” is a Latin phrase which translates to “remember death.” As cryptic as it sounds, the fact that you will die is a reality. You have no choice in this but you can decide how you live. You have a choice if you want to spend a Sunday watching football on TV or running 20 miles in the rain and mud. You have a choice when you decide to hit the snooze button one more time instead of going to the gym to throw some weights around. You have a choice when you surf around social media on your phone rather than engage with your family or friends.
I don’t know participant 011, but I know he is choosing to truly LIVE his life. As much as tomorrow is not guaranteed, what will you do today? I encourage you to make plans for the trip you’ve always wanted to go on; take your kids to the park rather than handing them an iPad; pursue that challenge that might scare you.
Memento Mori.
-Coach Jason
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