My philosophy of rowing

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Rowing is a peculiar passion, what are the reasons we become addicted?

“For some, rowing is a hobby picked up along the way, while for others it’s a cathedral of truth and beauty. The attractions often relate to the drama that each outing promises, the competitive challenge in pitting one’s skills against the water, your opponent, the weather conditions, the intricate complexity that comes with any repetitive stroke cycle, the rewarding intellectual conversation that takes place between the crew after and before and during an outing, how focused concentration can take a person into a domain of pure thought rpoved from the hassles of everyday life, the way rowing enables people to know their mind better, the pleasures of learning and participating in the conceptual history of modern rowing, the camaraderie to be found at rowing clubs, the thrill of accomplishing something creative on the water, and the way in which truth and beauty – and perhaps a measure of wisdom – can be found in rowing.”

That quote – is my edit of an article about the passion for chess… and it seps to have direct parallels in the sport of rowing.

Kandinsky improvisation rowing Photo credit: blogs.lse.ac.uk

The original quote is this “Desjarlais, though, doesn’t stop there. He examines this peculiar passion, the reasons we become addicted. “For some, chess is a hobby picked up along the way,” he writes, “while for others it’s a cathedral of truth and beauty. The attractions often relate to the drama that each game promises, the competitive challenge in pitting one’s skills against another’s, the intricate complexity that comes with any chess position, the rewarding intellectual conversation that takes place between two minds during a game, how focused concentration can take a person into a domain of pure thought rpoved from the hassles of everyday life, the way chess enables people to know their mind better, the pleasures of learning and participating in the conceptual history of modern chess, the camaraderie to be found at chess clubs, the thrill of accomplishing something creative at the board, and the way in which truth and beauty – and perhaps a measure of wisdom – can be found in chess.”

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This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Graham Spittle

    Hi Rebecca
    Yep – that painting is my sculling!
    Underlying dark purposeful lines of intent but colourful chaos abounds!!
    But – it’s getting better!!
    There is also Faster Masters to consider now!
    Chess never did it for me!!

    1. Rebecca Caroe

      GRAHAM – totally agree about chess…. but that perfect sculling stroke is elusive.

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