The Saturday Post on Gymnastics of the Spirit
My Mary Kathryn, 9, is getting involved in competitive gymnastics this year in a gym in Lexington. I spend one evening each week watching her at work. Equipment of all aeronautical sorts covers the expansive gym floor. The gymnasts systematically work from one station to the next doing their exercises.
These young men and women, with the instruction of the masters (i.e. their coaches), push the human body to infinity and beyond. Through a thousand falls and missteps and almost routine crash and burn efforts they discipline their bodies in the movements of grace. As I scan the gym floor, almost everyone is pulling an epic fail somewhere.
At the same time, the place almost constantly flashes with bursts of perfection. I’m not talking about the perfection of flawless performance. Flawless performance may or may not be present. I’m talking about the brand of perfect that happens when someone goes head long, […]