A Vote For the Gentle Light
Posted: November 7, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: art, blogging, Charles Bukowski, compassion, Depression, family, freshly pressed, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, Light, love, lululemon, meditation, mental health, Mood, motivation, musings, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, Photography, Poem, Poetry, Prose, relationships, strength, whole foods, writing, yoga 8 Comments…
a vote for the gentle light
burned senseless by other people’s constant
depression,
I pull the curtains apart,
aching for the gentle light.
it’s there, it’s there
somewhere,
I’m sure.
oh, the faces of depression, expressions
pulled down into the gluey dark.
the bitter small sour mouths,
the self-pity, the self-justification is
too much, all too much.
the faces in shadow,
deep creases of gloom.
there’s no courage there, just the desire to
possess something––admiration, fame, lovers,
money, any damn thing
so long as it comes easy.
so long as they don’t have to do
what’s necessary.
and when they don’t succeed they
become embittered,
ugly,
they imagine that they have
been slighted, cheated,
demeaned.
then they concentrate upon their
unhappiness, their last
refuge.
and they’re good at that,
they are very good at that.
they have so much unhappiness
they insist upon your sharing it
too.
they bathe and splash in their
unhappiness,
they splash it upon you.
it’s all they have.
it’s all they want.
it’s all they can be.
you must refuse to join them.
you must remain yourself.
you must open the curtains
or the blinds
or the windows
to the gentle light.
to joy.
it’s there in life
and even in death
it can be
there.
así (que) sin
Posted: November 6, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Alternative, blogging, compassion, Curiosity, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 7 CommentsI set out to discover the why of it, and to transform my pleasure into knowledge-
I ask myself this morning, running in from the rain:
What does it take to receive myself with an open heart?
Every encounter we have during the day, life changes us. Every fleeting experience rewires a part of our consciousness. We are constantly changing. To truly befriend ourselves, to be open to who and what we are, we can practice the willingness to discover ourselves anew.
What do we actually know about our intimate selves? We have “experts” who flippantly tell us what is “right” and “wrong.” We have “standards” that we are “supposed” to meet, against which other people will measure us. We have competitions we can enter that will allow us to “win” and to “lose.”
To discover ourselves requires us to look at who we are without bias and certainly without judgment(s). It requires us not to measure, not to compete. It requires us to receive ourselves with the willingness to discover ourselves, just as we are, right now, with a pure heart.
Daily Meditation:
Practice befriending yourself, open your hearts in receptive curiosity.
Better (Off)
Posted: November 5, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, perspective, pilates, Rumi, running, trail running, Vinyāsa, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga 14 CommentsYour task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it–
In the pedantic game of tennis “love” is a score of zero. Implying that when we’re in love the score is even, our hearts are content and all is well in life. However, how often do we keep a competitive score in our relationships with those who love us, the person next to us in yoga class, running a race … Who can find the best parking spot this holiday season?
Instead of comparing myself constantly and competing against others I challenged myself to compare “me” in this moment, to the person I was one year ago. Am I kinder, happier, more confident and peaceful? If not, I take a deep breath to explore what has caused me to lose focus, and how I might learn moving forward.
I’ve found that by trying to keep the score zero in my life, trying being a key word … By giving generous doses of gratitude, making caring gestures to other(s) daily, witnessing the passion and abundance growing around each one of us? Is an inspiring “thing“.
Daily Love Meditation:
Keep a loving score today. Count how many times you utter something loving and positive …
ahiṃsā
Posted: November 4, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: ahiṃsā, Ahimsa, blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, Dalai Lama, exercise, Facebook, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, Kent Keith, kindness, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Nonviolence, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Religion and Spirituality, running, trail running, writing, yoga 17 CommentsPeople really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway-
I have perseverated on this blog post for weeks. There are at least 15 drafts of it. I can’t put my finger on why it’s been so hard for me to finish and click *publish*. In essence this is really a simple post:
I value kindness. …
Being kind functions as a mindfulness action for me personally, kindness after all is my daily meditation whilst enjoy an apple during a cool afternoon walk. If I can take but a tiny step away from the emotion(s) of the moment and see myself separate from the world spinning around me, only then in this tender moment, do I embrace the chance to act in my best interest, and not just reacting.
To be kind. To forgo the thrill of the harsh joke, making fun, judging and taking advantage of others, reveling in the ensuing laugh in favor of kindness.
Or maybe the reason I was reluctant to open my heart to you was because those of you who follow my blog or know me in real life, know how far short of kindness, I repeatedly trip and fall, daily. Kindness is as subtle as a leaf underfoot, so easily forgotten and trampled …
And I lack subtlety.
Daily Kindness Meditation:
To bring into your heart …
“If you can, help and serve others, but if you can’t at least don’t harm them; then in the end you will feel no regret.”
–Dalai Lama
Just(Keep)You
Posted: November 1, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Bikram Yoga, Blah, blogging, compassion, cycling, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hipster, hope, Intimate relationship, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, relationships, Religion and Spirituality, Romance, running, trail running, Vinyāsa, walking, writing, yoga, Yoga-nidra 16 CommentsThere is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable-
Blah – Blah – Blah: We need to love ourselves before we can love anyone or anything else. Where have you read these words before …
As much as we want to control our own destiny, the humbling truth is that sometimes the only way to learn self-love is by being loved-precisely in the places where we feel most tender. When this happens, we feel freedom, we are granted permission to love in a deeper sense.
There is no amount of positive self-talk that can replicate this experience. Too many times I witness caring people using will power as an excuse to fight through a yoga class. Intimacy and love will not be found here …
If our vulnerability is met with struggle or disinterest, feeling pressured into attending practice. Something brilliantly tender shrivels up and retracts within us, we often lament about ever sharing this part of ourselves again. When our authentic self fails to “work” on a yoga mat (or whatever), we create a false self which lets us feel safe and accepted, although at a significant cost.
Every time we face the choice to share our deeper self, we stand at a precipice. Often, it’s just too scary to take the first step forward …
Notes:
How do we free ourselves from the thrall of shame thrown on us, the ever pressing need to succumb to societal norms? The fear of being our true selves?
I wish I could tell you, I sincerely do. I do know that for whatever reason, you are here reading this drab post, and this means everything to me. Be well this weekend and please take care!
CultFit 