Epic Endeavor and Hungry Ghosts

Send in the clowns.

When Shanda Hill blew the doors off Ultra Tri South Africa’s deca-Ironman equivalent in the Summer of 2025, claiming first place and setting a record—THEN placed first in the similar Brasil Ultra Tri event less than two months later—the social trolls instantly emerged from their hiding places; and I immediately recognized the pattern of detraction, distraction, and outright mocking that ensued.

“No one could POSSIBLY have done that,” they said. “It would break the human body.“

I recall one person in particular who asserted he was an exercise physiologist—then insisted flatly that it was either impossible or would cause permanent physical and psychological damage, though, paradoxically, he couldn’t decide which.

It was as if he and others like him could not imagine, and therefore refused to believe, that such things were possible. They simply DENIED that the world in which dreams were chased and records were broken even existed at all.

The insatiable hunger of the damned

Buddhist writings often make the case that suffering comes from attachment–to belongings, impossible outcomes, unhealthy relationships, and so on. One must be ready to let go, to be open to what the world has to teach you.

I’ve come to believe that attachment to a worldview can not only cause suffering but bring out the worst in people. Imagine if the “troll” had said instead:

“Wow, I didn’t know that was possible — how did she do that?”, “Could I do that?”, or “How I could do that?” What might he learn, and how might he grow? But you cannot grow unless you are open to growing.

We don’t like to think of ourselves as stubborn in this way; yet it’s not just some “angry goblin” clutching his pearls in existential horror at the idea of someone else’s success–it can happen to ANY of us.

We can’t possibly have lost our job after taking on new car payments. Our girlfriend can’t possibly have simply wanted more “me” time. Our best friend can’t possibly have just died.

So instead, we rebel, deny, and cling to what was, not realizing that in doing so, we slowly slip farther and farther downhill towards oblivion; creating a personal hell from which we cannot escape.

It reminds me of the scene in the movie What Dreams May Come where Robin Williams’ character is literally searching hell for the soul of his beloved wife. He walks across an endless sea of tortured souls, each one attempting to drag him into the Pit of Despair.

The truth is that we cannot climb out of misery on the backs of others. We must either do it ourselves or not at all.

“Hungry Ghosts”

There is this notion in Eastern philosophy known as hungry ghosts. These are souls who have repeatedly fallen lower and lower on the wheel of karma until they are near non-existence. These wraithlike beings are depicted as Gollum-like, barely human, with tiny mouths and bloated bellies, unable to draw sustenance from fear, anger, hatred, and resentment. These souls are starving, and it is taught that they are to be approached with kindness, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, dignity…and maybe even thankfulness for setting an example to avoid. In doing so, it is easier to be compassionate.

But there is always a chance of getting sucked in to the maelstrom they create; and we must resist its pull.

“Go placidly amidst the noise and haste”

There’s a line from a 1927 poem, Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann, that says to “go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.”

I did not need to defend Shanda. Her athleticism and records speak for themselves. The best approach would have been to be quiet, to let her detractors writhe in jealousy, however painful it was to watch.

To get up and walk away, eyes forward, rather than looking down at the sea of hopeless faces we cannot save, is a very hard thing to do. But there comes a time when we must do exactly that.

And in the end, perhaps, we will all be stronger.