Take Time to Refuel

A 53-year-old former champion won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to become the oldest winner of Alaska’s grueling test of endurance.  Mitch Seavey and 10 dogs crossed the Nome finish line to cheering crowds.

Seavey’s victory came after a dueling sprint against Aliy Zirkle, last year’s runner-up, along the frozen, wind-whipped Bering Sea coast.  At a news conference after the race, Zirkle gave credit to her rival’s strategy.  “Mitch has this ability to sit on the sidelines and refuel because he knows he needs to refuel, while everyone else is zooming by,” she said.

Your life, your workplace, your household may often seem like a punishing 1,000 mile race in temperatures just above zero.  I am often tempted to press on, to keep doing, to ignore “rest.”  Mitch teaches us a great lesson.  “Winning” comprises the ability and willingness to sit on the sidelines at times and take time to refuel.  In fact, this wisdom goes all the way back to the beginning of creation – time set aside for rest and refueling.  Time to breathe freely and reject the delusion that we must earn our living and realize that we must celebrate it.