The Amazon

The truth and the ugly.

I remember reading an anecdote from an all-star NBA trainer. He was working with an athlete who would smoke weed before every game.
As his team was heading into the playoffs, the player thought it was a good idea to clean up his act.

He stopped smoking and started eating healthy. But his on-the-court performance crashed. He ultimately put off making any changes for the rest of the season.

Jordan, in his prime, would take flights for overnight poker sessions gambling all through the night and
then play basketball the following day. One may ask, where would these legends be if they were more dedicated?

Often when I present myself with a question, I find the answer in nature.

Havasupai was one of my favorite adventures. Three days of incredible natural beauty. But within this beauty lay the ugly, the overflowing bathroom, the difficult sand, intermittent water supply, scorpions and snakes.
It’s akin to walking in a forest. The beautiful trees on top, but the decaying soil and mud on the bottom. The same rotting decay that feeds the roots of those trees.

What is the truth? You will be exactly who you are. Your greatness and weakness will be symbiotic.
From afar, the beautiful plasma screen looks smooth. Up close, you can see the chaos in its pixels.

Man is made to live exactly as he is.

In truth, with his ugly.