“Now this is the Law of the Jungle, as old and as true as the sky.
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the Law runneth forward and back.
For the Strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the Strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”
– Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book
As our monthly theme in June is FUN, I was thinking about what makes all this so much fun in the first place. As I mentioned before, it’s not the promise of 45 thrusters in Fran that keeps people coming back day after day, and it sure as hell isn’t the air conditioning. It’s the people… it’s being a Wolf in the Pack.
Being a part of a Pack, or a Tribe or Team, whatever you want to label it, is a lot of fun, and it also does provide us all individually with a lot of Strength. Strength to try things — like climbing ropes — that you might not have otherwise, which of course leads to actual increases in physical strength. Maybe out of this strong, positively charged attitude, you even find the Strength to take on other challenges in your life, have difficult conversations with people, or move past a difficult rut you’ve been stuck in. I feel like this Strength is a real, tangible thing that we all gain from being part of the Pack.
Being part of the Pack also means that you have to be Strong FOR THE PACK. You have a Responsibility to the Pack, to uphold your end of the bargain. Be strong for others when they need you. Give your teammates some tough love when they are doing foolish things that will hurt them, and thus the Pack. Give your absolute best in every training session, in order to motivate the Pack to keep up with you.
Something that has naturally happened without any specific direction from myself or our coaches that I love about this CrossFit Kent Island Pack is our practice of cleaning up after a workout. Every time we have a barbell workout, I see people stripping their weights off of their bar, and then immediately helping others that are still cleaning up their gear. That is an amazing display of Responsibility to the Pack, borne of the respect that we all have for one another. I have seen many others also taking the next step in cleaning up their corner of the gym that they turned into a sweat-and-chalk explosion worthy of a forensic expert, which is a huge sign of respect for the next class coming in right behind them.
So my man Rudyard had it right more than 100 years ago (The Jungle Book was written in 1894!), and why wouldn’t he? These themes go back to when animals first grouped together. They made Herds, Schools, Ganders, Flights, and Packs. They came together because they knew that they were stronger as a group – the Strength of the Wolf is the Pack. You can rely on your teammates for support. But then they learned, as we learn, that indeed the Strength of the Pack is the Wolf. Don’t let your teammates down. Be Strong for the Pack.
Ryan
Previous Post:
Next Post: