Over this long weekend, I happened to thumb through the NY Times Obit section, as my father would say, to make sure my name wasn't listed.  In doing so, I came across a story that really hit home.  Barbara Warren, a 65 year old world-class triathlete had crashed in a weekend Triathlon while descending down a rather obscure hill.  In doing so, she found herself with a broken neck and paralyzed throughout her entire body. 

Lying in a hospital bed, conscious but unable to breath on her own, Barbara faced the biggest question of her life.  Should she go on with full knowledge that life as she knew it, the ability to be an athlete, was over?  Only able to blink her eyes, she communicated to her sister that she wanted to leave.

Think of the countless times you've gone down a hill just like the one Barbara fell on.  Think of the number of times you've averted that rock in the road, a car backing out of a driveway or any number of instances that could change a normal ride/run etc into a life changing event. 

There is a certain mundane ritual like experience to athletics and life for that matter, that can consume us over time.  What may have started as an unquenchable pursuit, often turns stale with the day to day rigors and monotony that surround.  Yet, at times we're reminded of the fragility that exists in all aspects of what we take for granted. 

So as you look for new ways to find your primordial spark, in whatever aspects you're lacking, consider the simplicity in merely 'being able' as your single greatest inspiration.