You Are Not Alone
It's just a workout.
We hear that all the time from critics of CrossFit: "It's just a workout, not some battle or religious experience. You people make too big a deal of it."
Maybe they're right.
But, if it is just a workout, why is CrossFit so successful? Why are people so devoted, so passionate that sometimes we get the "cult" label?
Because we are together—we connected the dots, we made a path to follow, we brought people together in the gym. And we created a new, common language that everyone could speak. We made what was an isolated experience into a shared good time.
It could be said that the entire history of all art throughout all time—painting, music, literature, sculpture, whatever—boils down to this line in the old Maria McKee song: "God help me, am I the only one who ever felt this way?"
Really, that's what artists ask, and, when their audience responds, they know that they've struck upon a universal truth: what is true for them, turns out to be true for others. This is the essence of art.
And this is the essence of CrossFit.
From the gym to this blog right here—this very moment in your life right now—the message we are all seeking (and maybe giving) is probably the same: You're not the only one to ever feel this way. You are not alone.
Or, it's just a workout.
Your choice.
"I hope that they remember being so happy. And so sad. That they were, indeed, together. And I hope they realize how lucky they were to care about anything this much." – John Walters, The Same River Twice