Through the chastening effects of bodily discipline,
our minds may be radiant in Your presence
with the strength of our yearning for You.

“Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.”
— St Catherine of Siena

On a recent train ride — just two stops —
the friends I was with wanted to sit.
When I chose to stand,
they were surprised.

“Why endure?”

In a place where getting to college or work means
four hours of commuting each day, back and forth,
where poverty is real and tiring,
I understand the question.

Why endure?

I have moved up my swim routine —
3km a day.
Endurance training, I suppose.

But is there a different kind of endurance?

The kind that purifies
rather than merely exhausts?

What does that look like?

Teach me the difference.