The Telephone
Posted: April 23, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga | Tags: Earth, Earth Day, Louis Jenkins, love, nature, Omaha, passion, The Telephone Leave a comment…
In the old days telephones were made of
rhinoceros tusk and were big and heavy enough
to be used to fight off an intruder. The telephone
had a special place in the front hallway, a shrine
built into the wall, a niche previously occupied
by the blessed virgin, and when the phone
rang it was serious business. “Hello.” “One if
by land and two if by sea.” “What?” “Unto you
a child is born.” “What?” “What did he say?”
“Something about the Chalmers’ barn.” The
voice was carried by a single strand of bare wire
running from coast to coast, wrapped around a
Coke bottle stuck on a tree branch, dipping low
over the swamp, it was the party line, all your
neighbors in a row, out one ear and in another.
“We have a bad connection, I’m having trouble
understanding you.”
Nowadays telephones are made of recycled
plastic bags and have multiplied to the point
where they have become a major nuisance.
The point might ring at you from anywhere, the
car, the bathroom, under the couch cushions…
Everyone hates the telephone. No one uses the
telephone anymore so telephones, out of habit
or boredom or loneliness perhaps, call one
another. “Please leave a message at the tone.”
“I’m sorry, this is a courtesy call. We’ll call back at
a more convenient time. There is no message.”
Día de la Tierra
Posted: April 17, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga | Tags: Bliss, blogging, Body Image, community, compassion, cycling, Earth Day, family, kindness, love, Mindfulness, nature, Omaha, passion, Seva, weekend, Zen 4 CommentsGod wanted to make heaven and the earth is that heaven. Nowhere in the universe there is so much love, life, beauty and peace. Enjoy your stay with the fellow beings-
Its Earth Day/Week\Weekend once again, which can only mean that it is time for a torrent of pecksniffian-esque blog posts and woefully self-serving “talk” beating us upside the head with the benefits of green living. Plant a tree, maybe two? Recycle this and that, munch on some kale and drive a Prius. Lament about our filthy ways, buy an Earth-friendly yoga mat and a 100% recycled content bicycle saddle. Peruse green-themed cycling and yoga magazines, grow your own “herbs“, and swap the old light-bulbs, (that work perfectly fine) for the energy-saving ones because the government said we had to.
With the infinite amount of environmental issues confronting our beautiful planet: Global warming, the increasingly trash filled oceans, deforestation of the Amazon Forest, Monsanto and our insistent overuse of pesticides and herbicides? There are far-reaching global issues for us all to feel terrible about.
…
I spend a lot, and I mean a lot of time riding dusty gravel roads in and alongside the farmlands here in Nebraska. Nothing troubles me more than seeing the signage of a freshly sprayed field with pesticide and herbicide. Pausing for a moment, beer cans and trash bother me more, but this is a rant for another day. From my humble perspective, these “global” issues seem far too vast even to wrap my simple mind around, much less address and take action on. Its only when we, you and I, pause for a fleeting moment during Earth Day/Week\Weekend long enough to acknowledge the scale of these problems and how long it might take, to take meaningful action. I get discouraged, if not pissed off lamenting these global “problems,” and nothing pisses me off more than seeing Natural Ice beer cans strewn along a 100 mile stretch of gravel road(s).
Allow me if you may, to turn my frustration over to the beautiful and inspiring poet William Blake. Blake once remarked: Don’t think big, think small in his Auguries of Innocence. William Blake goes on to eloquently write that the ability “To see the world in a grain of sand, And Heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.”
It only takes a moment, a deep breath, a gentle heartbeat during one of these rides for me to shift my attention to a simple grain of gravel on the road or a single Black Eyed Susan sprouting in a nearby field. If I look at a kernel of corn in the palm of my hand, snap another bite of a freshly picked wild apple. If I really pay attention to the parts of the world that are right in front of me, right now? I eventually witness everything I was meant to see.
Daily Meditation:
Do something small with me this Earth Day/Week\Weekend. Over time? These small actions grow into something amazing! If you are curious about my “small” project? Please feel free to contact me/leave a comment and I will be more than happy to share. Take care and have a wonderful weekend!
For What Binds Us
Posted: April 14, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga | Tags: Earth Day, Jane Hirshfield, life, love, nature, Omaha, passion, Poetry, yoga 4 Comments…
There are names for what binds us:
strong forces, weak forces.
Look around, you can see them:
the skin that forms in a half-empty cup,
nails rusting into the places they join,
joints dovetailed on their own weight.
The way things stay so solidly
wherever they’ve been set down—
and gravity, scientists say, is weak.
And see how the flesh grows back
across a wound, with a great vehemence,
more strong
than the simple, untested surface before.
There’s a name for it on horses,
when it comes back darker and raised: proud flesh,
as all flesh
is proud of its wounds, wears them
as honors given out after battle,
small triumphs pinned to the chest—
And when two people have loved each other
see how it is like a
scar between their bodies,
stronger, darker, and proud;
how the black cord makes of them a single fabric
that nothing can tear or mend.
Nurture your Intention
Posted: April 23, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Earth Day, Freshly, life, love, nature, Nurture, Omaha, passion, Pressed, yoga 10 CommentsBy cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity–
Earth Day was yesterday. Today there are no disappearing species, the air we breathe has been rid of its poisons, our water and soil is safe once again, and our inventive ways of despoiling our sacred Earth can wait until next year.
I’m exaggerating just a bit, and the greater point I would like to discuss is, that like setting an intention before yoga class; We need to nurture these intentions away from the mat. Nurture our Earth, our home, the rest of the year.
…
Much of modern life saps away at the ethics of care, rather than building upon it. Each day we have less contact with nature and our true selves. Pop quiz! How many corporate logos can you identify? Now lets compare your answer to the native plants and animals you know off the top of your head, without looking them up online (I failed my own quiz).
Daily Meditation:
Caring for nature, and others, is at the very essence of who we are. If we need a gentle slap upside the head to remind us once a year – so be it! I suppose we could say the same about setting an intention before class?!?
Azules Día de la Tierra
Posted: April 22, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Cheap Wine, compassion, cycling, Earth Day, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, life, love, lululemon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, perspective, pilates, Power Yoga, running, trail running, Tuesday, whole foods, Winnie the Pooh, writing 4 CommentsIt’s Earth day I wonder if we can plant more trees than people for a change?–
Big friggin’ deal! Its Earth Day! Awesome! It’s also the day after Monday! Who cares about Earth Day anyways …
Today is Earth Day, which means it’s time for our annual Earth Day social media blitz, lamenting about the benefits of “green living“. Whatever that may be. Drive a Prius, plant a tree, hug a butterfly, recycle coconut water bottles, think about how fitly you are, buy an Earth-friendly yoga mat, read green-themed blogs, chew on some kale, grow your own while you are at it, and lets not forget to change the old energy sapping – ozone layer killing light-bulbs, for “energy – efficient” ones, that will pay off their $$$ price twenty years down the road.
Don’t worry! Tomorrow is Wednesday, not Earth Day, and it’s back to business as usual.
Earth Day was once dedicated to organizing mass action to radically change public policy, largely inspired by the movement that brought an end to the American War in Vietnam. Today, “Earth Day” hype is almost entirely based on individual responsibility, and the “look at me I’m kissing a malnourished toad and planting heirloom tomatoes” crowd.
My question for Earth Day advocate(s) is this: Why should I – some poor dude – bear the brunt of environmental responsibility for Earth Day? Is it because it’s easier for companies, friends, media and governments to brow beat and shame me into action?
Daily Meditation:
Is it too much to ask, to put in a little extra green work the rest of the year? To create a culture of sustainability, to live in a world devoted everyday to the well-being of the Earth? Even if it means taking a little time away from the inter-webz? Most of us don’t mind turning off the lights for an hour— lighting a candle to read, playing a board game, and some other low-wattage activities. Like I don’t know – Hopping off the treadmill, playing tag, yoga and Cycling outdoors?!?
Don’t get me wrong – Earth Day is pretty damn cool! Thank goodness we can still drink organic wine on Earth Day or is that frowned upon as well? Who cares – Cheers!
CultFit 