“Everybody has a plan until they get hit for the first time.”
The quote has been shortened, twisted, and transformed over the years, but the original quote from Mike Tyson in August of 1987 before his fight with Tyrell Biggs is still true, and succinct.
There are many aphorisms about the value (or not) of planning. I don’t think most of them bear repeating, the one I often refer to is attributed to Werner Erhard, an infamous guru-type, who supposedly said:
“It’s easier to ride the horse in the direction it’s going.”
I’ve alluded to my struggle to stay present throughout this journey, and these two pieces of wisdom play on constant loop in my brain, for better or worse. I do not profess to have the answer to staying present and enlightened, but goddamnit I’m trying.
One thing besides cancer that is part of my mental practice is rock climbing. We were introduced to bouldering, a sub-discipline of rock climbing, over the summer and immediately fell in love with it. Beyond the tremendous physicality of the sport, it also requires an intense amount of mental focus, and finding a key balance between planning your moves ahead of time, but also dealing with the physical reality of the climb. Once you’re on the wall, seemingly arms-length moves become gaping chasms of certain death. The present moment often requires you to completely scrap your previous plans and figure out another route to the finish.
Somewhere in there is a metaphor for life itself. B.C., my career was getting back into a normal, forward, and exciting rhythm. I was getting shit done. Probably cruising towards a serious promotion. Erin was getting into her serious health kick, and the boys were make huge strides in climbing.
Then I found myself lying in a hospital bed like a boxer after a knock-out punch.