To Live Lightly

I’m a lifelong avid fan of the Olympics, thanks to my parents. In 1976, we watched Dorothy Hamill win gold (and America’s heart) in figure skating and saw Nadia Comaneci score the first perfect 10.0 in Olympic gymnastics history. Every Olympics since has found me taking in hours of competition in sports I adore, as well as some I’d otherwise care nothing about (canoe slalom!). There’s something so poignant about watching the culmination of so many dreams, when people who have dedicated their lives to a focused pursuit step onto the world stage and give it their all.

There were plenty of thrilling and touching moments in Milan and Cortina-- like speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida unexpectedly winning Italy’s first gold medal of the Games on her 35^th birthday, with her husband and young son looking on-- but for me, Alysa Liu’s singles free skate was the pinnacle of this year’s Olympics. Ms. Liu glided into the arena wearing a sassy ponytail, a twinkle in her eye, and an ever-present smile positively beaming with joy. Draped in gold proclaiming her value, she leapt, spun, and swirled across the ice to Donna Summer’s high-energy disco version of “MacArthur Park” with abandon, inviting us all into the moment and embodying her intention to have fun and to share her art. The score hardly mattered, and her medal victory was mere icing on a rained-upon cake. Ms. Liu had won it all before her routine even began.

Alysa Liu’s performance gave us all a masterclass in living. She had stepped away from skating when the sport’s pressure and demands leached its joy. Then rested, refreshed, and grounded, Ms. Liu had returned to skate on her own terms, in service of a higher purpose than winning awards.

How easy it is for me to lapse into grim effort, like one of those figure skaters visibly straining against gravity. After a recent bout of discouragement and exhaustion, this passage landed in front of me:

“It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.

I was so preposterously serious in those days… Lightly, lightly – it’s the best advice ever given me…

So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly. Lightly my darling…”

-Aldous Huxley, Island

Thank you for this reminder, Universe. Just two months into the year and I’ve already wandered off my aim of resisting overwork and tension. I’m a quick forgetter.

I have everything I need right now. I don’t have to figure out the rest of my life this year. In fact, as things stand now, I don’t have to figure out anything big this year. Why not drop that baggage and take this year to live lightly? I can spend a little less and work a little less. Clear some things off my schedule to make room for the magic that happens when I’m open and connected to the Life Force.

And how can I maintain this heading? My first mistake was to focus on avoiding something negative instead of steering towards something positive. I learned early in horseback riding to look where I wanted my horse to go rather than at the spot I wanted to avoid. Later I was taught to do this when driving a car because we unconsciously head right for whatever we’re staring at. My second mistake was not building in daily practices to remind me of my intentions. A plane that wanders mere degrees off course ends up in a vastly different place after several hours in the air.

So this year, I will embrace joy, curiosity, play, creativity, and kindness. These will be the values by which I set my compass in prayer each morning. I’ve made visual reminders, and these values will be the standard by which I assess my choices and to which I will hold myself accountable. And when I forget, the consequences will nudge me back on track. In the meantime, Great Spirit, help me to live like Alysa Liu skates. Lightly, my darling.

What supports do you put in place to help align your daily living with your values?