Corridors of Curiosity

Happy March and Happy Sunday my friend!

Since we’ve last talked, I have found myself in a couple of goofy situations.

Luckily for us, I was able to learn a lot about a lot of things this week. My curiosity for the human condition was peaked during this week of life. Let’s crack open the doors to this weeks Corridors of Curiosity!

It’s Friday — 4am. My alarm rings off as my dog looks up at me, wondering why her human is up an hour earlier than normal. I let out a big sigh and carry myself through my basic morning routine. After everything is set, I leave the home for one of biggest challenges yet:

The Waffle House Challenge.

Why? Because I ended up in last place of my fantasy football league. This year was our first year of having a punishment for last place, and of course your boy Paril figured out how to secure that glorious spot.

The Waffle House Challenge works like this:

• Participant must spend 24 hours in Waffle House — the only way to decrease the time is to eat your way out.

• Each Waffle eaten decreases time by one hour.

• No leaving the premises of the Waffle House until time was passed or waffles have been eaten!

Yeah. Not the ideal way to spend my Friday. Why did I carry through with it? Because, integrity is a big deal for me. SMH.

So, I got there at 5:24am. Spent the first hour chilling while waiting for my friends to join me. I smashed my first 2 waffles by 7am. The next couple of waffles were not bad. My friends came along all morning to inspire me and buy me some waffles. After waffle number 5, I was definitely feeling the effects of the carb loading.

I begrudgingly ate waffle 6 just to shave an hour off my time. Great. Now, it was 1:24pm and I still had 10 hours of time left to pass or eat. I couldn’t feel my brain or my body nor my soul.

The hours from 2pm-6pm were a blur. I don’t even remember what I did. I think I just sat on a chair while soaking up the sounds of clanging dishes and goofy employee drama.

Around 6:24pm, I made the decision to make one last sprint. I was tired of being there and wanted to get out by at least 8:24pm. So I ordered a Waffle. This one was probably the best one of the day. I decided to devour 2 more, knocking my time down my 3 hours.

By 7:24pm, I decided that I would wait out the last hour. This last hour seemed to drag by slow, but once the clock hit 8:24pm — I was a free man.

I felt happy driving back home and taking a shower. My head was pounding and my body was feeling very weak. After taking my dog on a little walk, the only thing left to do was sleep.

I woke up feeling sluggish and dehydrated. It felt like I had gone into some sort of battle.

After struggling through my morning, I felt better once I sweat out some of the Waffle Juice that was bogging me down.

After clearing my mind and moving my body, the void in my soul began to close and I was well on my way to feeling more like Paril and less like a Waffle House Heathen.

This challenge was a unique experience and I definitely learned a lot about human beings and our ability to power through the obstacles in our path.

I also was keen on keeping up with how I felt throughout the day. It was weird to see myself turn into a monster and turn back into my normal self towards the end. I definitely felt like I was on display.

At times, I felt vulnerable in the weirdest way. I felt like an animal without free will.

Now, I know what you’re thinking — bro, it was just some waffles and 15 hours.

Yet — it feels so much deeper than that. I got a small taste of imprisonment. I got a taste of what life could resemble if freedom was not a thing. Made me appreciative of the freedom of choice and life but also the freedom of action.

Exploration Under Fatigue

I went to explore a trail by my apartment earlier today. I had only been once before and that time I opted to short cut the full trail to save time on my way back to my vehicle. It felt kind of like I quit on myself, even though I had proper excuse of getting home to take care of my dog.

Today, I decided to take on the trail yet again. This time, no excuses at all. I strapped on my 30-lb Rucksack and traveled down the steep trail. The first mile went by like a breeze, the second was a bit tougher due to the trail taking a steep incline. The next mile was the toughest as the effects of my extra weight was taking it’s toll on me. I powered through and took a quick 3 minute break at the top of the trail head. 90 minutes in, 3 miles down. This trail was tougher than I expected and the choice to add 30 additional pounds was not helping my cause.

Yet, I reminded myself that this was in fact my choice. I chose to walk on this trail with this weight — there are no excuses and no one else to blame. Figuring it out and adapting to my new challenge was all that was on my mind.

I stopped every once in a while on the way back due to the crazy steep incline on the trail. I haven’t been this close to passing out from exercise in a long time. I should have brought my water and fueled intentionally before my expedition. But again, there were no excuses and no one coming to save my dumbass — so I continued stepping up the trail.

As I admired the beautiful view, I took out my phone to snap a picture. Before I could hit the button, my phone passed out! The battery died! Damn! I needed to see the route back, but now I had to use my mind to guide me back. I ended up taking a wrong turn along the way, thank goodness I ran into a dead end that forced me to reverse course.

I found a map of the trail and found what route I need to take in order to find my vehicle and get this 30lb off of my back! I struggled as I manipulated my ankles and hips and core in order to help out my knees and lower back. I slipped and almost fell multiple times, all of these near accidents were because of my lack of focus in the present moment. I was daydreaming and boom! A nice tree branch almost took me out for the count.

I made it back to my car and immediately chugged all my water. I sat on my seat full of happiness and dripping in sweat — I just did something very hard. I wanted to quit multiple times, but I didn’t. I felt very proud of myself, even though my mind and body were fried from my adventure. My spirit was able to lift me into my car and safely back home. The proud feeling of accomplishment is surging through my veins right now, what a great end to the week!

Through both of these challenges, I learned that being able to CHOOSE what challenges you take on is a big part of how I approach the situation. For me, eating waffles was not a challenge I was excited for. It was a struggle to even care about eating the waffles because I don’t like waffles and that challenge was forced upon me.

My expedition on the trail was my full choice. In the moments of doubt and struggle, I was able to motivate myself and trigger enough power into each step to propel me further towards my goal. It was interesting how much more energy and “want-to” I had when attacking the trail vs. attacking the waffles.

As the week comes to an end, I encourage you to seek out a challenge that may scare you. Something that is on the edge of your comfort zone. The edge of your zone of known. Dance along the unknown and discomfort, you may find some important lessons in those trenches.

Also, do not get last place in your fantasy football league. Not fun at all.

No Top Five this week — my brain is barely working and my body is shutting down on me.

Enjoy your week — thanks for joining me this week!

Until next time,

Embrace the Chase