Spinning

I spend two nights each week in a class on one of these bad boys.

During tonight's class, my mind was wandering from one mental tangent to another.  I was thinking about the events of the day, the people I had met, the articles and blogs I had read.  I was focused and working hard physically, but my mind was free to roam at will.  As I looked around at the other people in the class, I saw determination, fear, awkward ambition, insecurity, pride, energy, desperation, focus, and many other emotions.  Most nights I tend to compare myself to the two class members on either side of me.  I watch their RPMs sneakily out of the corner of my eye, and try to always stay a few higher.  I peek at the miles they have traveled and try to beat them.  Hopefully you're not one of my spin bike stalk-ees. :)

    

Toward the end of the workout, our instructor has us do intervals.  We start with a 3 minute interval giving it all we've got with a 1 minute recover.  Then the times decrease until our final 15 second sprint and cool down.  We are invited to do whatever we feel inclined to do to get our RMPs and heart rate as high as possible, and to get the best workout we can.

As my mind was bouncing from one topic to another, I was thinking about how life is kind of like interval training.  Sometimes I would catch myself trying to compare my workout with the people closest to me...but I realized how silly that was.  Just because I was pedaling faster than someone shouldn't give me any sense of accomplishment, because there was no way for me to determine the resistance they were working against.  Likewise, when I seem to be moving more slowly than someone else, it might be because my resistance is high, or I might just be drained from the day.  Laziness could be another factor.

I had been reading friends' blogs earlier in the day.  One had just lost her third pregnancy in a row.  One was declaring publicly her reasons for recently deciding to leave her faith.  One wrote about the ways her mother has made a tremendous impact on her life.  Another wrote about a difficult, but memorable overnight race she had run.  Some people might read my blog and realize how crazy I feel as a mom sometimes.

We really don't know what is going on in other people's lives.  Even the people we know well.  We will never be able to fully understand every inner struggle that the people around us go through.  While I try my best to understand and support my husband, I will never know exactly what it is like to be him, to see what he sees, or to feel what he feels.  I can try to get close, especially when I am right next to him pedaling with all my might,  but I will never know all the way what his unique experience is.

We are all in a stationary spin class.  We are all likely putting forth the greatest exertion that we can.  And for what?  To become fit for life.  To develop spiritual, emotional, social endurance and strength.  To have the energy we need to face the rest of the daily challenges we are presented with.  We are training for the day when God gives us real bikes and lets us take a little tour around the kingdom he is preparing for each of us.

I don't know why some people seem to have it harder than others, or why some people seem so perfect.  Chances are, their struggles are just different, and the perfect people have just figured out how to smile, or to pretend.  Their resistance is just set differently that yours.  Or maybe, they learned a new pedaling technique that helps.  Perhaps, they are skilled at wiping their brow discretely with their cool gym towel.  

Whatever the case may be, it doesn't really matter.  Just keep pedaling.