: Astro : Travellin
Posted: January 26, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: art, beauty, Being, Body Image, Current Events, cycling, hedonic treadmill, Identity, life, love, Omaha, passion, self, writing, yoga 18 CommentsI really think I write about everyday life. I don’t think I’m quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that’s what makes it so boring-
Why do we become bored with cycling – running, our yoga practice – anything? Typically we immerse ourselves in rewarding and stimulating environment(s) – We have plenty of training apps and social media to keep us motivated, although, tracking performance or sharing memorable accounts of a recent race with friends, succeeds only in dividing our attention further from the inspiring moment at hand, perpetuating our boredom even more. Let’s honestly ask ourselves and reflect on how often we simply stare at our gadgets, with no purpose at all?
Why is our boredom hardly ever recognized, let alone less addressed and talked about openly?
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What boredom does for me personally, is to pull open the blinds on some rather uncomfortable thoughts and feelings – Thoughts and feelings, I normally try to escape and block out with a flurry of activity. Case in point: Long bike rides, lets say 75+ miles, I often find myself bored, which means I spend more time looking up Stats and KOM’s with Strava. Rather than savoring the beautiful countryside flowing beside me. If you are ever unfortunate enough to attend one of my yoga classes? When some new-age hippie Wanderlust music starts playing fifteen minutes into class and you have been in down dog for 5 minutes? I have become bored and uninspired as a teacher. Time to hop on the old Hedonic Treadmill …
I find being bored so unpleasant, that I expend considerable time and energy trying to reduce it. The technological gizmos lying at our twitchy fingertips have put an infinite amount of “information” and “stimulation” at our disposal. However, oddly enough, this only serves to make “things” worse! How? Instead of just being we become stale to the world, seeking more stimulation and information … The treadmill rolls on.
Daily Meditation:
When we ease into the comfort of our boredom, we develop a deeper relationship with our true selves rather than our technology/phones/gadgets. There is a simple, brilliant wealth of creativity waiting for us …
Winter and the Nuthatch
Posted: November 27, 2014 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Being, Happy Thanksgiving, Mary Oliver, Mindfulness, Poetry, winter, Winter and the Nuthatch 6 Comments…
Once or twice and maybe again, who knows,
the timid nuthatch will come to me
if I stand still, with something good to eat in my hand.
The first time he did it
he landed smack on his belly, as though
the legs wouldn’t cooperate. The next time
he was bolder. Then he became absolutely
wild about those walnuts.
But there was a morning I came late and, guess what,
the nuthatch was flying into a stranger’s hand.
To speak plainly, I felt betrayed.
I wanted to say: Mister,
that nuthatch and I have a relationship.
It took hours of standing in the snow
before he would drop from the tree and trust my fingers.
But I didn’t say anything.
Nobody owns the sky or the trees.
Nobody owns the hearts of birds.
Still, being human and partial therefore to my own successes—
though not resentful of others fashioning theirs—
I’ll come tomorrow, I believe, quite early.
Glass Palace
Posted: June 6, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Alone, Artsy Wheels, Being, Doing, love, Mindfulness, Omaha, passion, weather 10 CommentsI don’t want to be alone, I want to be left alone-
Why do we feel pressured into always feeling like we are “doing” something, rather than simply “being“?!?
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“Being” involves accepting this beautiful moment for what it truly is. Why? This moment, and the next one … Will be here no matter how much we try to control them. When we begin to chill – relax, and let go of the struggle to form our reality (and others) into our preconceived ideas of what it should be. We gently begin to let go of regrets about past events and fear of what may happen in the future. We learn to extend love, compassion, and kindness to ourselves, and everything around us. Rather than categorizing reality into Facebook Status Updates – “likes” and “follows.”
This moment, right now, sore back and cold coffee in hand – Is just a moment a time, we don’t have to be stuck here forever now do we?
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Daily Meditation:
Speaking of Being and Doing: Artsy Wheels <- amazing story!!!
”Being” lies at the very heart of my mindfulness practice. Oddly enough, “being” has required more practice and training in order to overcome my natural habits and biases … Be well this weekend, and please take care!
CultFit 