Reflection Title: I’m a Swinger?
Book – The Boys in the Boat: 9 Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Book Description:
For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant. It was an unlikely quest from the start. With a team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler. The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest.
Reflection:
WOW…What a Story!
I was riveted from start to finish and didn’t want it to end, even though I already knew the outcome at the beginning (it says it in the title). That’s the thing, the outcome isn’t what made this story special. What made The Boys in the Boat so special was the transformational journey of individuals from all different backgrounds coming together as one to form a magical synergy that ultimately created bonds that would last a lifetime and inspire generations of humans to come in the process. No gold medal can even come close to something as powerful as that.
I honestly knew less than nothing about rowing before taking this journey. I’ve always thought of it as a rich kids sport that Ivy League schools do. However, after learning so much about the art of rowing from guys like George Pocock, the famed boat maker and mentor of the boys, and Al Ulbrickson, the famed UW coach, I think I can safely say that I am now a fan. Pocock, in particular, is someone special and I don’t know if any of this story is even possible without his involvement. Pocock is the boys’ Soul Teacher. He is a philosopher and sage of rowing. He reminds me of the Gordon Bombay’s mentor, Hans, from the movie Mighty Ducks (hopefully you get the reference). Pocock just understands life and was instrumental in helping the boys to find their swing.
What is swing?
Per the author - “There is a thing that sometimes happens in rowing that is hard to achieve and hard to define… It’s called ‘swing.’ It only happens when all eight oarsmen are rowing in such perfect unison that no single action by any one is out of synch with those of all the others.”
We’ve all probably heard of the term “flow state” at one point or another in our lives. Flow state is when you are individually immersed in one particular meaningful activity and that simultaneously both challenging and seemingly effortless. I live for flow state, there is no better feeling in this world than being immersed in the flow state while engaged in an activity that provides immense value to your soul.
What is different about “swing” is a group of people all simultaneously existing in a shared flow state. One is about the power of the individual vs. the other is about the shared power of a collective.
Finding a simultaneously shared flow state with more than one other human being is akin to magic in my opinion. This shear complexity of these individual parts even being able to come together to move as one body at the exact same time something that I think that only human beings are capable of in this world.
Before I met Emilia, I’ve known that I’ve experienced a flow state countless times in my life, but I have never experienced anything close to swing.
I didn’t realize it until sitting down to write this reflection today, but on this Year of Magical Learning journey with Emilia, I think I’ve just discovered that my daughter and I might be Swingers…lol.
When we sit down to write each morning together, it is like our thoughts magically come together are one.
It never fails, almost every morning, I walk up to the keyboard in my office and think to myself, “What the hell am I going to write about today? Where is my inspiration going to magically come from? How will I find the words?” My mind is filled with doubt, but I force myself to begin. I start typing and somewhere along the way, I zone out, my fingers move, the words appear on the screen, and I look up to see that we are done for the day. I smile and think to myself how proud I am of what we just accomplished while simultaneously wondering how the hell did that just happened?
Well, I know how it happens now because now I understand the power that 2 or more people coming together to work on a shared meaningful activity.
That is the power of swing.
Question: Are you a swinger?
Links:
What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction
YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon
YOML Bookstore - The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
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