Can You Feel It?

This request was made yesterday:

"I would like to request a blog written about "the Zone". Pele' described it as a strange calmness,... feeling of invinciblity.Thank you Zen Master."

I must first warn you that I am slightly busy with work these days so I shall write this strictly from my opinion and do no extra research. Am I allowed to do that? You betcha.

Anyone who has had a great day doing what you love to do, has probably experienced the "zone". In a way it is Zen because you are thinking of nothing but the task at hand. I will give you a short list of people that I am sure have experienced the big Z as I will refer to it. If my spelling is off you must forgive me, as I said I am doing no research. Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nickalus, Larry Bird, Ned Overend (That one is for you Joe), Nolan Ryan, Gandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mozart Bode Miller (I don't know if he has experienced the zone without medical help). Those are a few people off the top of my head.

So as you can see I included people who aren't athlete's as well. I believe when Mr. King was giving his speeches he was probably experiencing the jubilation of the big Z. Mozart most certainly understood what the big Z was.

So now what is it? In my opinion it is when you can think of nothing else but the task at hand. You apply yourself so whole heartedly that the sound of someone screaming "nunan nuuunan" couldn't break your concentration. Nolan probably experienced it throwing a no-hitter. Ned has experienced it while maintaining 190 heartbeats a minute.

Have I experienced it? Yes sometimes in High School while playing golf I experienced the zone. The place I noticed it more than any other was on the green. It is as though the hole becomes a gigantic blackhole and your ball can't miss it. I have experienced it in minor doses on my bike. When you get that feeling that you are floating around through the woods instead of actually pedaling. Sometimes when I crash I am in the zone. You look around and try to figure out how in the world you could be laying amongst rocks, trees and bicycles but yet not have a bruise. Many people have tried to explain how this happens down to a physiological level. I am not so concerned with that in this rant but if you are read "Deep Survival, who lives who dies and why." This book explains it very well.

Something happens in those moments when you are in the big Z. The world gets quiet and sometimes it may seem as though the world has slowed down just for you. You saw things with an innate clearness that you wouldn't normally see. What is this? It is adrenaline working within the body to help you through what the body sees as potential danger.

I believe we all have the potential to become a part of the big Z in our lives. It is just a matter of knowing what it is that takes you there. So today I ask you to think about the times that you have experienced the zone. It could be anything anytime anywhere, so leave a comment and tell me when your favorite big Z moment.

Peace.