The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done

It's 1:15 AM here on the East Coast. I'm so excited I can't
go to sleep.

I just got back from the Discover Mills 18 Cinema, which is
an hour and a half from home. Why would I drive that far
and that late to watch a movie, you might be asking.

Because I wasn't watching a movie. I was watching the Live
broadcast of the Drum Corps International Quarter-finals
from Madison, WI.

I marched in Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps two
summers when I was in high school. So now, every summer
when I cut the grass, I have flashbacks of hot nights in
the stadium and even hotter days marching on the parking
lot. Cold showers. Sleeping on the gym floor. Sleeping on
the bus. Loving every minute of it.

I got my drum corps fix at the regional championship a few
weeks ago in the Georgia Dome (can you believe we had a rain
delay?) and again on the big-screen in surround sound
tonight. It was extra sweet this year, because it looks
like Spirit is going to be in the Top 12 again.

After the last corps performed, they showed some short video
clips and sound bites of interviews with some of the corps
members:

"We keep practicing the same thing, over and over until it's
perfect."

(Excellence doesn't just fall in your lap.)

"This is the hardest thing I've ever done. If I can do
this, I can do anything."

(I have a panoramic picture of our horn arc on my screen
saver to remind me of just that.)

"Everyone breathing together. Everyone moving together.
It's awesome."

That one got me. That's what makes drum corps, band or any
other group performance so special. Why there's always a
Band table at the class reunion, and why you can still
consider someone a dear friend even after 25 years of no
contact.

Because everyone is breathing and moving and working
together. Creating something that has never existed before.
The vibration, resonance and harmony connect you profoundly.

It is awesome.

That's why they call it a 'corps'. A body. 128 people
moving as One.

Your body has a lot more than 128 parts. But they're all
united by your own unique vibration, your own Life Force.
Expressing itself through breath and motion.

Breathing and moving are the keys to staying young, active
and healthy. To staying connected. Enthused.

So, get up and go for a walk. Move your body. Breathe
deeply.

It's awesome.

Dr. Vince


P.S. The DCI championships will be re-broadcast on
September 5 on ESPN 2. Check it out. You'll be amazed.

P.S.S. Moving and breathing are lots easier if you feed
your body right. Lean protein. Vegetables. Fruit. You
know the drill. And the nutrients in the Core Four are
combined to help give you a stronger heart, stronger lungs
and rebuild your muscles more "youthfully". You may not be
able to keep up with the kids on the field, but it will make
your life a whole lot better. Amaze yourself. Check out
the "Corps" Four here.