I especially liked your description of leaning into mystery:
"Beyond the flashy tricks, there are still forces at work on a skater when she leans into the curve of a spiral or picks up speed with a series of backwards crossovers. I like to feel that deep pull of gravity while I’m on the ice, knowing in my bones exactly how fast I need to be going and how far I can lean before I will fall. It’s weighty and playful, thick and elusive. Like mystery. Like Spirit."
Your essay reminded me that I took a skating class 55 years ago that was offered to the Harvard University community in Cambridge Massachusetts. I was nanny to researchers in the medical school, and their privileges extended to me. I took their five year old daughter and we went on Saturday mornings to practice on the hockey rink. Our instructor was the coach for the hockey team, who had also been a figure skater. I had a wonderful time there and skating the outdoor rinks during the winter. And then it was over! I returned to the PNW, and there wasn't a rink nearby. The weather is not cold enough in the winter to flood the parks and create outdoor rinks as they did in Cambridge. (I wonder if they still do that.) But I still see my skates on the shelf in the garage and remember what fun I had, even though I fell down a lot! Which kind of goes for my spiritual life as well. I have left some practices on the shelf, I still fall down a lot, but my spiritual muscle memory keeps me going! Your posting helps a great deal. Thanks, Coach!
Katy, I love this memory so much! Thank you for sharing! And I love your point about "spiritual muscle memory," too! All those memorized prayers really do come in handy sometimes. :) Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment -- it means a lot to me!
"Like athletic skill, faith is a mysterious combination of gift and grit. Both often involve showing up at odd hours in odd places with few others around." Catherine, thank you for sharing the gift of your writing with us, thus inviting each of us into a deeper place of peace with God. As to the skating, I will fly by watching you and be happy for it.
I especially liked your description of leaning into mystery:
"Beyond the flashy tricks, there are still forces at work on a skater when she leans into the curve of a spiral or picks up speed with a series of backwards crossovers. I like to feel that deep pull of gravity while I’m on the ice, knowing in my bones exactly how fast I need to be going and how far I can lean before I will fall. It’s weighty and playful, thick and elusive. Like mystery. Like Spirit."
Thank you so much, Sarah! That paragraph was really fun to write. I'm glad it resonated with you!
Your essay reminded me that I took a skating class 55 years ago that was offered to the Harvard University community in Cambridge Massachusetts. I was nanny to researchers in the medical school, and their privileges extended to me. I took their five year old daughter and we went on Saturday mornings to practice on the hockey rink. Our instructor was the coach for the hockey team, who had also been a figure skater. I had a wonderful time there and skating the outdoor rinks during the winter. And then it was over! I returned to the PNW, and there wasn't a rink nearby. The weather is not cold enough in the winter to flood the parks and create outdoor rinks as they did in Cambridge. (I wonder if they still do that.) But I still see my skates on the shelf in the garage and remember what fun I had, even though I fell down a lot! Which kind of goes for my spiritual life as well. I have left some practices on the shelf, I still fall down a lot, but my spiritual muscle memory keeps me going! Your posting helps a great deal. Thanks, Coach!
Katy, I love this memory so much! Thank you for sharing! And I love your point about "spiritual muscle memory," too! All those memorized prayers really do come in handy sometimes. :) Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment -- it means a lot to me!
"Like athletic skill, faith is a mysterious combination of gift and grit. Both often involve showing up at odd hours in odd places with few others around." Catherine, thank you for sharing the gift of your writing with us, thus inviting each of us into a deeper place of peace with God. As to the skating, I will fly by watching you and be happy for it.
We will get you on the ice one of these days!! :)
Full points for both style and substance!
Love this and all of the amazing memories it invokes. Being a witness to your skating and your spirituality has been a wonderful blessing to me.
Thank you for so dutifully watching and cheering me on in the cold all those years! <3