Aburrimiento
Posted: December 16, 2013 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Boredom, compassion, Emotion, exercise, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, Iowa, kindness, life, love, meditation, mental health, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, perspective, running, Templeton Rye, trail running, twitter, writing, yoga 4 CommentsIs life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves-
With our attention spans dwindling every second this Holiday season, our impatience increases twofold.
Feeling stuck in the moment … Painfully listening to a co-worker’s weekend escapades in Templeton, Iowa, waiting in line for a cold latte that arrives ten minutes too late … The more agitated we feel and the more agitated we become. Stuck with no cell access in a morning meeting, no Twitter on our gadgets, our anxiety increases with the slow passage of time. What can we do during these painful moments?
My cure for “boredom” is to make life interesting, stimulating and fun. Maintaining an emotional balance also requires finding the time for “boring” meditation practice, resting my mind and body …
Daily Meditation:
Recognize your boredom this morning. This is all I ask of you before the Holidays set in, settling in to agitate and overwhelm us. When we start practicing now, before we sense ennui enveloping our bodies and spirit? Awareness is a beautiful antidote to boredom.
*It’s also a great method to not getting injured during the winter months*
Subtle Shift
Posted: October 25, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, Devaluation, Emotion, fitness, gluten free, hipster, hope, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, recovery, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 6 CommentsMay what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children-
The slow march away from what we”perceive” as the most important “thing(s)” in our lives begins with a subtle shift of emotional meaning from the self to the world around us.
Can we be honest, vulnerable, with one another for a fleeting moment? We’ve all done what we are about to talk about. We’ve devalued ourselves and our dreams as “damaged, worthless” as an excuse to justify acting out at someone else in our lives. Have you ever run such a horrid race and spent the next week being an unbearable oaf to be around? Ever fall on your chin for the millionth time trying to find balance in vrschikasana, only to write a scathing blog post condemning hyper flexible individuals later in the evening, whilst rubbing your chin?
Damn it feels good lashing out at others, urinating over another persons kindness, rubbing their noses in our misery. However, this adrenalin rush we bathe ourselves in … Comes at enormous cost: It traps us in a permanent devalued state of being that greatly impairs our ability to create value in life. Let’s read this last sentence one more time together …
How can we possibly do well in our chosen endeavor(s), when we devalue the people close to us, due to our own failings? Doing so ignites a smoldering brush fire within all involved.
Notes:
If you feel that you’re traveling down a long and sad road, let’s name this road; “Pity Party Ave“, spewing your devalued self, your resentful conflict towards those standing around watching you pass by, ask yourself: Who is more likely to respect your feelings, the people you value and cherish or the loving people rubbing sh!t off their noses because of our actions?!?
What a lovely way to start the weekend, take care and please be well!
The (I)ntro
Posted: September 27, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, crossfit, cycling, Darth Vader, Emotion, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, intensity, Jedi, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, Luke Skywalker, lululemon, marathon, medicine, meditation, motivation, Motrin, musings, natural, nature, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Omaha, pain, Pain management, paleo, passion, running, star wars, WOD, writing, yoga 28 CommentsPain will come with time, but time will heal the pain-
Let the above quote settle in your heart for a moment …
Life can be full of emotional “roles” we take on. I am tired of trying to act out what others have created – written for me, and I want to define myself for who I really am, not what’s expected.
Of the 500+ blog posts I have written, this one has been by far the most challenging. Why? Because it is more Uncle Ben Kenobi then Luke Skywalker and while I like to think I can save the day, every day, for everyone, like an intergalactic heroine; I realize I must now save myself. I am not a fictional character but a simple dude figuring things out and sharing observations along the way. A simple dude who is learning that being healthy and pain-free is not a luxury to take lightly, it is part of my journey.
I’ve arrived to the conclusion that I need more than awareness, I need acceptance in my life. I am fully aware that I live with unwavering pain everyday, simply waking up in the morning (hell, I never fall sleep) is enough of a reminder.
I fully realize now (in this uncomfortable writing position) that awareness is the crisp sheet of Star Wars wrapping paper my lovely wife and I firmly wrap around our son’s birthday presents, with the gift(s) neatly stowed inside, and acceptance is the shredded aftermath of his fury: ribbons, bows, poorly taped boxes, and batteries I forgot to pick up the night before (because focusing on suppressing pain is all-consuming) … it is effort, function, and truth beyond projected images. They are both beautiful and play important roles in our life.
Awareness: I have always wanted to get better after each injury, heal faster, be healthier, listen to everyone’s problems, and take away everyone’s pain away without ever taking time to acknowledge my own. I’m terrified of pain … I want to be the poetic ideal that everyone believes I am. A friend, a father and husband with time and heart for all who come in need of a hug or a willing ear, to process a conversation or opinion without judgement. I want to meditate peacefully, perform yoga pain-free, be a better lover, and be honest and open to all I meet. Is that too much to be all of the time?
The answer of course is a resounding YES! Because after years of simply being aware of the pain, I am now laid barre writing to you, fully accepting where I am at in life.
Acceptance: I have always thought that simply not being in the grasp of the worst of my pain was in fact happiness. Everything these past few years has been a matter of comparison for me, I am a walking barometer of pain. I want to know what happiness truly feels like. Happiness is not skipping mega doses of pain medication(s) one morning in order to know I am alive today in comparison to yesterday when I was under the influence of too much Motrin. My days are filled sharing with others in hopes that they will come to know happiness. That they can work towards being better, that you are allowed to eat red velvet birthday cake, drink too much wine and be merry. You don’t have to suppress the joys of life to achieve some self-serving, vanity filled fitness goal! What others expect you to be …
Notes:
What follows is a note to myself:
I must take care of myself, not just so I can fulfill my obligations in life but to take care of those who love me.
Never Come Down
Posted: March 15, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, crossfit, Emotion, emotions, fitness, free range, gluten free, Green Beer, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kettlebell, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, natural, nature, paleo, passion, personality, running, St. Patricks Day, Stars, whole foods, WOD, yoga 16 CommentsWe are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars-
Please take your shoes off before we embark on an early morning Walk and feel free to leave your clichés concerning “pints of green beer that are half-full and half-empty” at the door as well.
Optimism, is a proactive state of mind we often find ourselves in. Optimism is a belief that many of the outcomes we seek in life are indeed within our control. We cannot control all of the outcomes in our daily life although we do enjoy adapting our actions and emotions to reality as they unfold around us.
Pay little attention to the clichés about “positive thinking” as you meander through the rest of your day. Instead, begin to pay keen attention to your: Positive Doing.
For it is in our Positive Doing that we can begin to change the very core of our intention, creativity and reinvention. Oddly enough, positive doing is also a way of capitalizing on ‘Luck‘.
Notes:
Next week I will be writing (trying to at least) about Yama, Niyama, Pratyahara, Dharana and some other random stuff as well. So your patience as a reader will be on full display, thank you in advance!
While I have your attention, allow me a moment to say to each of you: “Thank you for your continued support of CultFit“.” The early days of blogging here were rather crass and down trodden, not something to look forward to everyday. What many of you have witnessed the prior two years is the gradual acceptance of ‘some dude‘ learning to be at ease and in harmony with himself. Nothing more and nothing less.
We often search for the solutions in our lives through inappropriate means (performing yoga to become flexible or enlightened is but one example). The thought(s) in the post above will resonate deeply next week, so please keep them in mind. Be well this weekend and take care.
CultFit 