A Downward Look
Posted: December 27, 2013 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bliss, blogging, body, compassion, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, James Merrill, kindness, life, love, marathon, meditation, mind, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, running, Soul, Spirituality, yoga, Zen 5 Comments…
Seen from above, the sky
Is deep. Clouds float down there,
Foam on a long luxurious bath.
Their shadows over limbs submerged in “air”,
Over protuberances, faults,
A delta thicket, glide. On high, the love
That drew the bath and scattered it with salts
Still radiates new projects old as day,
And hardly registers the tug
When, far beneath, a wrinkled, baby hand
Happens upon the plug.
Behind the Scene(s)
Posted: November 8, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Activism, Bliss, Buddhism, compassion, exercise, family, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, peace, perspective, pilates, Poetry, running, simplicity, trail running, whole foods, writing, yoga, Zen 10 CommentsThe only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance-
In writing this blog-o-thing, I am doing what many other passionate and authentic people do: Taking the flow of my daily struggles and sharing it openly with you. The conversation we often have, like life; Is chaotic, awkward, tedious and associative.
I don’t know how to convey my feelings at times, words stumble from my fingertips and fall deftly onto the screen. Like life itself, this flow, this blog … YOU … Are intrinsically nourishing.
I can’t look YOU in the eye this morning, to find the courage to say “I am fully there” … This awkward awareness serves as my antidote to urgency and anger.
With your caring, continued support. I know without any shred of doubt, that my contribution here will be forever useful to the extent I can shift from being motivated by the desire to see results in my life: Likes, Follows, How long I can hold a pose, Being the best dad, A better lover, A better friend …
Dependence on results cannot but compromise my True Strength.
Daily Meditation:
Sometimes what’s most painful for me is the conviction I have of just how simple it would be … To love and share enough to satisfy everyone’s basic needs; to create a flow of kindness.
Still (Time)
Posted: August 9, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Bliss, blogging, compassion, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, harmony, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, trail running, walking, whole foods, yoga 22 CommentsFreeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another-
Where self-criticism leaves us powerless and distraught, self-compassion and following our true passion in life is at the root of empowerment, learning, and inner strength.
It’s safe to say that common knowledge favors passion, right?!? “Follow your passion” random bloggers urge. “Give all your heart” reads another witty blog post title. Can we all agree that passion is pretty cool and a useful endeavor? Sprinkled kindly and with care, passion on top of passion, and everything else in life that follows will be pure bliss. So why not marinate yourself with passion and savor this “sauce of life?“
Ladies? Dudes? Come a little closer so know one will hear what you are about to admit … How many movies starring Hugh Grant have you watched with plots that center on this very question: Will J-LO (some woman) run away and madly fall in love with Hugh, choosing the frenzied, passionate hunk for a life filled with unpredictability and passion, or will she choose the man whose love is firm and deep, a man who is predictable and well … steady, loving?
Notes:
Passion can be tricky, really tricky and nasty at times. Passion is pure joy, when carried away by romance, or in the flow of yoga class, out on the trail, passion makes us feel vibrantly alive. Like the essence of a perfumed wind, delicious, delightful, not to be missed…and fleeting like an ephemeral flower in spring.
Be well and take care this weekend!
Free (it) Out
Posted: June 26, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Bliss, blogging, Buddhism, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, meditation, motivation, musings, running, walking, whole foods, yoga 7 CommentsFor every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness-
Let’s talk about happiness, love, yoga, cycling and maybe Buddhism if we have a few minutes to spare.
We often assume that if we are “healthy” and “fit” we don’t suffer from any aliments during daily life, all is perfect in our precious little world. Out here in the hinterlands of the “real world“? Normal well-being is just dreadful. We are still prone to experiencing frustration driving to work, anger at the cyclist(s) who fail to announce they are passing, irritation with your friends on Facetube, disappointment with your progress training for an upcoming marathon and being self-absorbed while practicing yoga (extremely sore subject with me …).
Buddhism, yup Buddhism, introduces us to a radically different idea: All of us are “unhealthy” and certainly not “fit“. The profound idea of eudaimonia was lost on us during the enlightenment, and with this loss, we lost the idea of exceptional states of well-being. Buddhism certainly has not forgotten this and argues that we humans have been empowered with reason and we can use the gift of reason to condition and nurture ourselves. Eliminating all conflicting, harmful states of mind. Allowing us to cultivate a positive state of mind instead, which is pretty cool.
Notes:
For many folks, healthy and fit will be normal. There are no exceptional states of mind nor any experiencing states of mind, just normal. For the rest of us, being normal can lead to exceptional, starting the whole saṃsāra cycle all over again.
Next Lifetime
Posted: June 5, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Bliss, blogging, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga, Zen 7 CommentsAdopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience-
Surrounding us is an odd “thing“, one that we rarely take time to notice and more often than not, have come to take for granted: This little thing called “Life.” Many of us search the entire span of our existence for peace, zen, bliss, the perfect pose, best 5k time, serenity and yet? These same things can be found in places that we overlook each and everyday. Even in a quiet summer field, life continues to flourish and live, eat and exist in a natural way, adapting and overcoming the world we merely “exist” in …
… A small doe emerges from the cracks of a wheat field and wanders up to the man-made nature trail, alongside the many busy feet and tires that tread next to her, encroaching on her survival. Interesting, this stunning animal, living, overcoming and flourishing despite our encroachment upon her natural environment; oblivious to our presence, just as we are to our own presence.
What if we paused for a second to take notice of this natural beauty? Is this an annoyance to you, throwing your pace off, adding seconds to your precious run time? One can only wonder…
Notes:
Have we lost focus on the true purpose, the true use of our senses? How can we become self-aware when all we do is tune out our own beating heart and the beautiful world we live in?
CultFit 