Kintsugi

Strava Day 209/75 Hard Off Phase Day 27. Three liters, reading and outdoor exercise done. Will make sure to stick to my Sunday yoga routine later as tomorrow I will be back for strength training at the gym.
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This morning, after completing the check in photos as required by my Nutrition and Strength coach, I googled Edith Murray-Traina. She is the oldest competitive powerlifter as per this year's Guinness World Record. It is the second time I looked up her name and where she is from. I find her inspiring because she is 100 years old and definitely does not look like a century. Her vibe is joyful and her strength at that age is rare. Was sharing her story to my aunt who lives alone in Nebraska yesterday over the phone. My aunt, a retired internist was expressing concern that I might hurt my joints with lifting weights. Told her that regular strength training or any other form of regular movement actually helps improve bone density and prevents muscle atrophy. My aunt is more than 80 years old and she sounded a little impressed when I told her Edith the record holder began training when she was around 90.
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Might finally be experiencing that longed for emotional intelligence after years and years of desiring to achieve it. Am developing better impulse control and am also better at receiving criticism and emotional blows. It is quite wonderful to be aware of your faults and flaws and gradually work on improving/correcting them. These days I keep in mind (1) What other people think of me is none of my business (2) What other people say or do has nothing to do with me but is rather a reflection of them/their upbringing/situation (3) There is always time to hit pause as any form of resentment will just backfire and cause my own ruin (4) There is always room for improvement, space for forgiveness and compassion towards self and others (5) Will definitely fail/fall several more times but the decision to get up and be resilient is always mine (6) No one else can hurt me without my permission (7) Love/loving requires a lot of listening and giving. As that priest said during a wedding shoot, one can give without loving but one can never love without giving.
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Remembering again the Japanese art and philosophy of Kintsugi. The idea of having broken pieces of pottery repaired and made better is definitely worth reflecting upon. As per Google, Kintsugi embraces authenticity and imperfections, highlights rather than hides scars and celebrates these imperfections as part of the object's story.
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Featured photo is a self-timed shot converted to black and white in Snapseed. It was not the back shot I submitted to my Coach earlier but as it was raining rather hard around 5:15, decided to have the 5:55 photo series entry to be a recreation of my "progress pic"/Sunday check in.
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Hope you are having a fine day/evening.