Wide Eyes

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences-

Wanting to get out there, on the road and sharing the adventure with other people is something that I believe each one of us has in common …

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This past Saturday night, with the sun softly setting over Omaha, NE . A group of passionate riders took to the moon lit gravel roads, sharing a sense of adventure …

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The GONG Ride is a self supported, nighttime, gravel road ride that occurs each July “somewhere” around Omaha, NE. Instead of writing some painfully long and bloviated post on why you should delve deeper into seeking out and exploring local events? I’ll let the pictures that follow do the work for me.

I would to take a moment once again to thank the organizers and sponsors that made this truly brilliant event possible, Thank you!

To show your support, learn a bit more about the ride and to see more pictures, feel free to head on over to the GONG Ride Facebook Page.


Decay

I would prefer not to-

Many, many issues in life arise when the self-centered aspect of our being, our ego, goes unchecked and uncontrolled. Manipulation … Let’s take a moment to say this aloud: Manipulation.

Manipulation is the preferred means of the ego in order for it to get what it wants, no matter the cost or damage incurred. Manipulation in a physical form can be seen all around this lovely Monday morning. Peek in on a yoga class and you’ll see well-intentioned folks pushing, gushing negative energy, simply not “being”. Manipulation in a physical form can be seen at the local trail head as well, ace bandages covering throbbing, painful injuries. Knee braces supporting a weakened limb, headphones and devices tuning out the present moment.

If we seek diligently enough, maybe in a misty bathroom mirror …  Manipulation can be seen to work on the emotional level as well. Bending us, forcing us to meet the manipulator(s) desires.

Notes:

Manipulation on both an emotional and physical level blocks us from being free, ourselves and destroys our free will.

CultFit Manipulation


Don’t Forget

Thank you Earth Rider!

Thank you Molly!

Thank you What’s for dinner ma!

I am blessed to have so many beautiful and inspiring readers, I am sincerely humbled. Thank you, to all of you, for your continued support of CultFit! Be sure to have a great weekend, be well!


Being Me*

Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything-

Over the past couple years of writing this blog-o-thing, I have alluded a few times to having chosen vulnerability as a path of spiritual practice for myself. Most recently when I wrote about the freedom of committing to a path, I wasn’t expecting to be pushed back to the very beginning. This is precisely what happened to me last weekend.

Last Saturday I was exposed to a unique set of circumstances that took some effort on my part to digest. Years of gentle practice has enabled me to go beyond my old, persistent way of being too hard on myself, pushing too far and letting my ego roam free. For the most part, I felt enormous tenderness towards the situation I put myself in. Every time I think of the pain I have caused myself and others, I feel an inner cringe. I’m not much fun to be around when I am so preoccupied with my fleeting thoughts; I feel less free, less open, less capable of loving. Where can I go to get relief?

In this moment, writing at ease, calm about the pain I subjected myself to. I am not in the least bit surprised at the events that occurred. One of the areas of challenging ourselves and changing behavior(s) for me personally is that I can revert back, in a split second, when I am under a lot of stress, when I am trying to ask my body to do something it physically cannot do … To a very dangerous place. Looking back now, all it means is that in certain challenging moments, I thought I was more present than I actually was.

I strive to share kindness towards myself and towards others. Why is this so hard?

Notes:

Now, as I am wrapping up this post, the confusion I so often have when I write about my personal struggles surfaces again. Why would anyone be interested in the intricacies of some random old dude’s life? How could this blog be of any meaning to anyone exploring a spiritual path?

Today Dear Reader, I see that new path arises off in the distance: How can I help you (and myself) embrace the possibility that some people may respond with love and appreciation? Please take a moment to read my heartfelt question again: How can I embrace the possibility of love and appreciation? How can I allow myself to take it in, to enjoy it, to rest in it?

* Tired, broken and completely laid bare … I place the future of CultFit in your hands.

CultFit Blue


Of These, (Hope)

Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise-

Giving is extremely simple. The post today is dedicated to you, how’s this for a simple gift? Giving is also extremely easy to get wrong: Handing your beautiful wife a vacuum cleaner for her 10th anniversary or a New England Patriots – Tom Brady Snuggie for her birthday? Bad idea (we learn from our mistakes). When we give to others, its critically important to be kind and sensitive to whom we are giving to. During the process of giving a gift we need to consider what will genuinely make the other person happy, what will make them smile and bring joy into this special moment in our lives.

There is one gift, a gift we give whether the other person likes it or not: It’s the gift of our time and company. While giving my time and company I have found it useful and maybe you will as well … To be sensitive and delicate with how much time we allocate to listening, and how much time we spend jabbering away about some god awful yoga class or the folks at the store this morning. Giving is easy, but doing so with sensitivity, care and a dash of tact takes a lot of practice.

Notes:

The way in which we give reflects in the way in which we receive. Whether it be instructing an early morning class or sharing the company of a friend riding the dusty back roads of Nebraska … Learning to give with purpose and meaning is the same as learning how to receive. The very essence of both is one in the same, giving and receiving are reflected in the other, appreciating the “moment” for everything that it is, receiving warmly – with kindness, we learn that giving a vacuum cleaner is not a good idea.

CultFit Key