Come on, be stronger, lift heavier weight, be faster,
be healthier, eat better food,
get more involved, be a leader, be more confident,
be better….
I don’t know about you, but in just about every stage of my life, whether it was the beginning of my high school years at 15, the start of my ambiguous career path after college at 25, or as a growing adult getting into my 30s, our society, culture, friends, and even family have hammered these ever completely unattainable goals into my life. I say completely, because it worked out that no matter how hard I strived for them, the level of achievement was never enough.
The main problem with this is that we tend to push ourselves and others to do these increasingly difficult tasks without the proper preparation, training, or strategy; so that we do them well and without taking irresponsible risks that could injure you in some way. This in turn, leaves you depressed and unmotivated as you take two steps back for every one forward, or achieve a new physical goal only to get hurt, and now can’t do the activity you were straining so hard in to become stronger.
See, we just tend to go RRRAAAWWWRRRR, I will get this 400 lbs. squat because my legs are strong as an ox and everyone else around me is doing it…sharp twinge…oops there goes your back.
Little did you first emphasize properly strengthening your core, proper lifting technique, or build your way up to it.
Or,
That’s it, I will never eat at another fast food restaurant or processed food again. I WILL eat healthier!!!!!!!!!!!
Wait, if I can’t get McDonald's, what will I eat then? Do I even know how to make salad? What is proper nutrition anyway? Oops.
And of course,
As an imperfect human being I will rely only on myself and will myself to be a better person internally, never self defeating, and always confident. I will give back to my community and help others, and do a great job at it, even though I am a mess myself…wait….
If I am already imperfect, and will fail, how can I rely on myself to help me through difficult times? Is there something or someone else who is perfect I can lean on in every situation? If I am not OK, how can I really effectively help others?
This is what Veritas Life Adventures strives to realign and inform. This is what our 2015-16 youth Seekers have begun after their first challenge weekend. Starting with the basics, they are training in how to get their core physical, emotional/spiritual, and nutritional skills tuned so thatthey can grow, become stronger, and, only then take what they gained out to share with their community and the world around them.
So, on their first challenge weekend they:
Notice the very little dry spots on Martyn's shirt. Needless to say, it was harder and hotter than they anticipated. Hehe.
Went through a rigorous HOT yoga training session, where they learned first hand how hard and beneficial it is to stretch yourself, hold yourself, and strengthen your core in uncommon ways in order to hit that ball further, run faster, hit harder, and be in tune with what is going on in their body to help avoid future injury.
Ultimate walnut lentil 'meat' tacos from Oh, She Glows recipes. Also, homemade pomegranate kombucha made by our Seekers Ian and Martyn, yum.
Went on a nutritional scavenger hunt in a grocery store, where they had to find and acknowledge all the chemicals and additives there are in the processed foods that they eat so often. Then, we all made a meal together, learning how to put whole, raw, and unprocessed ingredients together to make an amazingly tasty meal.
Our Houston Seekers after their nutritional scavenger hunt enjoying their meal and I am sure a lively discussion with Gary and his lovely wife.
And most importantly they came together to discuss and realize that they are struggling through the same issues, learned to encourage one another, and engage in discussion on God; who He truly is, if He even exists, and if so, how to have a growing relationship with Him.
Bottom line, we came together and learned: that only when we are stretched do we become strong enough to achieve our goals.
We encourage you to find others to come along side you and find out together;
how have you been stretched lately?
