Peace (noun): "Describes a society or a relationship that is operating harmoniously and without violent conflict. Peace is commonly understood as the absence of hostility..."

Bodybuilding is a sport of paradox. Of opposites. We break down muscle in order for it to grow. We bulk up so that we can afford to lean down. Its the magic of risking everything for something no one can see. We risk relationships, by not being there. Even when we are. We are absent. Our thoughts preoccupied by the battle at hand. Our diet, our program, our supps. Are we growing enough, are we tight enough... You know what i mean, if you don't, then get the **** off my page, you don't belong here.

Probably the biggest paradox I have come across in the sport is peace. Go back and read the definition again.... absence of hostility. I find an eerie peace amongst the hostility of iron. I find solace in the mundane clang of steel. I find release in the rage before my set. Yeah you read it right, rage. The kind of blood boiling rage that only the true warrior knows. The type of rage that will make you run through a brick ****ing wall if it brought you just an ounce closer to the truth. Yes brothers, I find peace in that rage.

Not just fleeting peace either... Real peace... The peace you can only find moments after waking from a vivid dream. The peace that is found in nostalgia. That is the peace I find there. There is no pretense here. No keeping up with the Jones. It is the unfathomable truth. Black and white. No bull****. No girl trouble, no money problems. No bull****. Pure.... The purest thing on this earth. Incorruptible... Either you can lift it or you can't. PERIOD.

The weight always stays the same. Always loyal. The steel doesn't care what you look like. How your hair is done. It only cares that you use it to unleash the animal. When the gym door opens... so does my cage. Amongst all of that, I find peace.

This is were I exhale. This is were I grow. This is my house.... and nobody ****s with me in my house.

Vires et Honestas