Letting Go

As some of you may know, earlier this year I qualified for the USA Triathlon Long Course National Championships. The race takes place at Lake Mead, Nevada, and the surrounding area, on October 18th.



I decided to make this race the focus of the second half of my season. As such, I've been training very hard. Over the last four months I've swum 91,900 yards (919 football fields or 52 miles), cycled around 1,500 miles, and run over 250 miles. A big investment.



Early last week I got news at work that our contract with the Communication Workers of America (the union of our construction and hourly employees) had not been ratified. This was to be resolved in August and they had come to a tentative agreement, but the Union workers voted down the contract. So, they are back to negotiations and there is threat of a strike. If that happens, I'll be required to work 12-hour days, seven days a week until it is resolved. This could happen in the next week or so. If it does, I'll miss the race.



It's a hard thing to come to grips with. A few days ago, I was on an early morning run and listening to a podcast. In the podcast, Alan Watts, noted 20th century philosopher expert on eastern religions, was giving an introductory lecture on Buddhism. He was talking about the Four Nobel Truths, the second of which states that: The Origin of Suffering is Attachment. Watts likened letting-go to breathing. Breath is life, but if you hold your breath in, you're done. You have to let it go and it will come back to you. Given my current predicament, this caught my attention.



I'm trying very hard to let go of this race and not fret over it. What good does it do? None. Holding on only causes angst, anger, and sorrow. Hopefully, all this strike business will be resolved and I'll go have the race I'm prepared to have.