A little over a year ago, local two-wheeled maverick Andre Riopel rode his bike through a snowstorm to chat. He said lots of great stuff, but here's the part I keep repeating: If you care about your body, you have to care about your immediate environment. And if you care about your neighbourhood, you have to care about the world.
If we had to add one Commandment to a ***New! Improved!*** New Testament, I'd push for this: "Thou shalt leave no footprint." Leave it better than you found it. Carry in, carry out.
Have humans made our planet into this big, grungy mess? Probably. However, we stand alone as the species with the means to clean it up again. If Fight on Friday proved anything, it's that our Catalyst community responds enthusiastically to a challenge; but add a benefit for someone other than ourselves, and that response is absolutely overwhelming (70 people!?!? Unbelievable.)
If there was ever a time for useful Resolutions, it's Easter, not New Year's Eve. We're not pegged down by the elements now. Time to plant a garden; time to build a playground; time to grow some trees.
The path to progress will not be cut by the uncallused hand. Like CrossFit, if it were easy, everyone would do it. Also like CrossFit: you can't really have faith in anyone until you first build faith in yourself. It's got to start somewhere; what better place than here? What better time than now?*
Happy Easter. We're closed today. Take a day away from improving yourself, and expand your influence instead to improve your neighbourhood.
*quoted from a source that's perhaps never been quoted in a 'Happy Easter!' message.