Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five
Issue 45 - Steps
Welcome to Issue 45 of Deep Life Reflections and a special welcome to new readers.
Thank you for all the messages and comments following last week’s issue where I shared my experiences of going through open-heart surgery. It strengthens my view that by writing about something, you can take more control over it. My recovery continues to go well, and today I began my Cardiac Rehab—a supervised program of physical activity that’s a vital step in the recovery process. It was good to get the t-shirt, shorts, and trainers back on.
In this week’s Friday Five, I return to our normal format, where I share five things I’ve been enjoying and thinking about. I reflect on each from the perspective of my recovery. Join me as we explore this week’s Friday Five.
1. What I’m Reading
North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail. By Scott Jurek with Jenny Jurek.
North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail, by Scott and Jenny Jurek, is a vivid account of a gruelling journey along the 2,197-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. Proposed in 1921 and completed in 1937, the trail, which cuts through 14 states with over 400,000 feet of elevation change, is hiked by more than three million people each year. In July 2015, world-class ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek attempted to break the speed record for running the Appalachian Trail. Over 47 days, Jurek ran, hiked, climbed, and stumbled nearly fifty miles northward each day, battling not just the terrain but his own physical and mental limits.
This is a book of adventure, humility, inspiration, and resilience. Early in his attempt, Jurek faced a major physical setback—a blown-out right knee and a torn left quad muscle. Over several chapters, we are right there with Jurek, sharing in his pain, despair, and the looming spectre of failure. The attempt seems over after barely a week. But Jurek has an extraordinarily tough mindset; not only does he continue, he recovers.
Jurek emerges as a highly likeable and approachable athlete, happy to chat and take photos with fellow hikers and runners who join him so they can be part of history. Equally central to the story is Jenny Jurek, Scott’s wife. North is as much her story as Scott’s. She is the backbone of the operation—managing logistics, preparing meals, offering emotional support, and driving their van/temporary home, ‘Castle Black’, to the next remote location to meet her exhausted husband. Jenny Jurek’s role goes beyond just support; her journey is connected with Scott’s, marked by her own resilience and emotional strength, especially poignant considering her recovery from a miscarriage. We recognise their different personalities, but also how they are united by this physical and spiritual journey.
The Appalachian Trail itself is a character in this story, with its rugged beauty and brutal challenges. It presents a constantly changing backdrop, from golden vistas at sunset to sheets of freezing wind and rain. The classic four seasons in one day.
North is more than an adventure; it’s about the strength found in both the individual and in partnership to overcome adversity and find meaning. One step at a time.
2. What I’m Watching
Killers of the Flower Moon. By Martin Scorsese.
Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese and based on David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction book, tells a largely forgotten dark chapter of American history—the systematic murder of the oil-rich Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma. Scorsese said that when he read the book, he knew he had to make it into a movie. Scorsese spent several hours with Chief Standing Bear to convince the Osage Nation to help with the movie. The result is an absorbing film, even if it’s often shocking as we watch the escalating tragedy. It’s every bit a Scorsese crime picture, one of greed, power, and corruption.
Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio are both excellent as evil operating in plain sight. That’s one of the most disturbing aspects of the film. Nothing stays in the shadows. These men treat murder as a matter of course, a matter of profit. DeNiro in particular is highly effective as William King Hale, a manipulative figure who plays political games, becoming an ally to both the Osage and the white settlers while orchestrating heinous crimes for personal gain. There’s no remorse.
Just as powerful in her role is Lily Gladstone, as the wealthy Osage, Mollie Burkhart. She is married to DiCaprio’s Ernest, and watches members of her family murdered one by one, including her two sisters, while discovering she is suffering from diabetes herself, leaving her in terrible pain and confined to bed. Although she tries to bring together her community, as well as hire the newly created FBI to bring the killers to justice, she ultimately just wants to survive and be afforded basic human rights. Her portrayal keeps the character grounded in a harrowing reality. It’s a brilliant performance.
Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, Killers of the Flower Moon has a runtime of nearly three and a half hours. As I was engrossed in the movie at home, I didn't find the long running time to be a problem.* As the great film critic Roger Ebert said, “No good film is too long, and no bad film is too short.” This is an excellent film, with Scorsese questioning the misdeeds of America in the last century in a way that links them to the polarised issues of today.
(*For those watching in the cinema, I can understand the frustrations with no intermission—which Scorsese apparently refused to consider. I’m all for bringing back the intermission. Several years ago, I watched the original 70mm version of 2001: A Space Odyssey in London, complete with the overture and intermission. Loved it.)
3. What I’m Contemplating
During my recovery journey, I've reflected on themes present in both North by Scott Jurek and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
One theme is the relationship between strength and vulnerability. In North, Jurek’s experiences of vulnerability amidst his injuries, contrasted against his physical and mental strength, mirror moments in my recovery. There’s a lot of strength in acknowledging our vulnerabilities. Similarly, Killers of the Flower Moon reveals the vulnerability of an entire community subjected to a terrible injustice, yet their story is one of enduring strength. (Today, the federally recognised Osage Nation has approximately 20,000 enrolled members).
Killers of the Flower Moon also asks us to look back at the darker chapters of history, not just to acknowledge them but to learn from them. This reflection is important, much like reflecting on our personal histories can offer valuable insights for our healing and growth. As I mentioned last week, joining a heart surgery support group on Facebook and sharing my story, as well as hearing others, has been an important part of the healing process. In writing North, Jurek reflected on his darkest moments and tried to learn from them. Ironically, I believe it was those moments—when staring into the abyss—that kept him moving forward.
There is also the shared theme of unity and togetherness. Both stories highlight the importance of community support in overcoming life’s greatest challenges. As I progress through my rehabilitation, they remind me that my journey is not just about physical recovery, but also about emotional and spiritual resilience. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to ask for help from others. Today it was Nicholas, my cardiac physiotherapist, who said his job was to get me “feeling normal again.”
4. A Quote to note
“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.”
- Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven
5. A Question for you
In what ways have your own experiences of vulnerability revealed hidden strengths within you?
Thanks for reading and being part of the Deep Life Journey community. Have a great weekend.
James
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