The Gym of Life

How many times does life feel like a trial? Struggling to make ends meet, feeling overwhelmed, heartbroken or overlooked?

What if we looked at life like a gym, instead?

Before we came into this life, we decided there were things we wanted to work on.

• “Gosh, my ability to manifest is limited.”
• “My compassion muscles are flabby.”
• “My capacity to trust is atrophied.”
• “I wish my ability to speak my truth was stronger.”

So we work out a plan to work on these muscles in this lifetime. We choose an exercise regimen, lifting weights to grow our compassion or ability to manifest or whatever it may be.

We look for volunteers – fitness trainers – to help us.

• “Hey, I can show up as your best friend in high school to help encourage you to build things.”
• “I’ll show up in college to help you see how compassion works.”
• “I’ll meet you in church when you move across country to help you learn trust.”
• “I’ll be your drill sergeant who will only accept and appreciate direct honest answers.”

We then come into the world and live our lives, facing the different exercises set for us.

Whenever we start a new exercise regimen in a gym or increase the weight or reps on an existing regimen, what usually happens? We struggle to reach the end of the regimen. We sweat. We tremble. Sometimes we stop short, to try it again next time.

And, if we’ve done it right, if we really have worked those muscles? We ache. We struggle to use them for a while. We stiffen up.

And our muscles grow.

Take a look at life. We face a new experience that gives us pause. Can we ask them out on a date? Can we be honest when it’s challenging? Can we show a prospect that we believe in our services? And we feel fear. Can we lift these weights of life? Can we finish that many reps of perseverance? Are we going to blow out our spiritual knee attempting to do these compassion squats?

Looking at life as a gym makes things much easier to manage. Rather than the pain of a failed attempt meaning that life is over, it means that we need to build up to that weight level first. When we feel overwhelmed, it means that our solar plexus is full of psychic lactic acid and needs a break. And if we can’t get a break, then we’re on those trembly reps where the real muscle building happens.

And when we feel dread at the thought of doing something, it means that those are the exercises for us to work on. Not necessarily immediately, but we’re being called to learn how to do them. Learning how to make sure we don’t overextend, understanding the warm-ups that will protect the spiritual ligaments. Frequently once we set ourselves on the path to that regimen, the necessary prep work will appear for us. The intermediate exercises will present themselves, leading up to those final exercises.

It also means that all pain is part of the exercises, not a forever thing. If we’ve overextended, our psychic body will cause us to feel pain, just as our physical body does, so that we don’t stress it while we are healing. If we feel like we’ve failed on something in life, it means that life wants us to rest a bit before trying again. It’s not forever, just like not completing an exercise routine isn’t forever.

If we’ve used a facility we haven’t used before, we’ll tire it out. That’s okay. I had the experience of suddenly feeling energized and driven to complete a bunch of tasks on my plate. The next day I woke up feeling despair and overwhelm. I’d spent the previous day using my solar plexus, the power chakra, to a level I hadn’t in a while. So it made sense that I’d feel the opposite – powerless – as the solar plexus ached from overuse. That knowledge helped me be alright with feeling overwhelmed, so I could continue through the day while feeling that. And as I got a few things done here and there, the overwhelm disappeared, as I warmed up that muscle again.

So are you feeling afraid of a task? That’s okay. It’s part of your exercises. Are you aching after doing something new? That’s okay, too. The soul is recovering from the lactic acid buildup.

Treat your soul right, and enjoy the workout! You’re strengthening capacities you never realized you had.