Posted: December 5, 2014 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Advent, blogging, Body Image, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, holidays, hope, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, running, trail running, Truth, weekend, writing, yoga |
The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter-
Yup, Gotcha! Seriously I already know patience is totally valuable for dealing with the long lines this time of the year, soccer moms searching for the one true parking spot at the mall, or interacting with “disagreeable” folks ordering a coffee. Seriously! I’m keenly aware that true inner change takes time, and why am I becoming frustrated talking about impatience?!? Oh – Maybe it has something to do with not seeing the instant results we desire in life?
…
My lack of patience stems from a false sense of belief about myself. I think I should be able to handle everything in the world, myself. I think there is only one way to achieve my goals and when “things” don’t quite work out? … I become increasing impatient.
*Breathe*
I try so hard not to get discouraged when my progress is slow.
*Pause*
True change takes times.
*Reflect*
I am gently walking my path to recovery from bad habits that have defined me for a better part of my life. I’ve come so far, there’s no way I can quit right now!
Daily Meditation:
If we foster and nurture patience, if we can wait for ourselves to arrive in this inspiring moment, anything can happen.
Posted: December 3, 2014 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bad Religion, Bliss, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, family, fitness, free range, gluten free, gratitude, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, passion, pilates, running, time, trail running, winter, writing, yoga, Zen |
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana-
Often, in our self-absorbed naiveté, we believe time to be infinite in nature. Oddly enough, time as we are experiencing it, right now in this wonderful moment … Is the one “thing” in our lives of which we can be absolutely certain of (I am deeply grateful for you being here with me right now). Why then, do we insist on spending our precious time consumed with how many followers we have on WordPress, or perusing the latest “Likes” on FaceTube, rather than being engaged in our lives?
…
The past few weeks I have been paying more attention to the virtual world, instead of the real world. Rather than being fully engaged in the fleeting moments before me, moments that, for their own nuanced reasons, are even more precious than most. A none too subtle slap upside my head brought me back in time, and this abrupt moment prompted me to begin thinking about just how much distraction we volunteer for on a daily basis, and how much it impacts what we have come to consider “meaningful” in our lives.
The end result of my introspection is a simple question I often fail to ask when I’m distracted – “What’s important in this beautiful moment?!?”
The scrambled priority of our lives keeps us from savoring each sip of our morning coffee, or enjoying conversation with a dear friend, or going for an early ride/walk/hike and enjoying the sun rising gently on the horizon.
Daily Meditation:
… The view that we no longer notice.
Posted: December 1, 2014 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, gratitude, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, Namaste, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, running, trail running, writing, yoga |
At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets-
Is it safe to say, given the byzantine nature of modern life, that most of us would admit that we could put gratitude into practice more in our own lives?
…
I still find myself handing out kindness and gratitude without acknowledging the what and why behind my actions. I fail to ignite a feeling of gratefulness within my heart that will ultimately burn into my memory … That this is no ordinary place or period in time – but rather a valuable one. Enriching our acts of “Thanks” – “Gracias” – “Namaste” with feelings of gratitude only serves to deepen our connections moving forward. I have been stuck in “Automatic Politeness” mode for the better part of the year, and I feel its time to put more meaning behind my actions, and deepen my presence in the world.
Daily Meditation:
*BREAKING NEWS* – The Holidays are about to speed our lives up by adding “things” to our already overflowing to-do lists, this is precisely the time to slow down and savor the important moments in life, instead of expanding my holiday shopping list while saying “Namaste” at the end of yoga class.
Posted: November 26, 2014 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, Disappointment, family, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, holidays, kindness, life, love, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, pride, running, Thanksgiving, yoga, Zen |
With no expectations anything can become-
Life, struggle, disappointment. Hardship, pain and constant misfortune – What would our lives stories be without sharing the unpolished side of life?
…
Why do I want to discuss these less then “glamorous” topics a day before Thanksgiving? There are a multitude of reasons as to why, just a few off the top of my head: Remember that New Years resolution that went haywire by the 5th of January? Maybe it was a string of poor race performances over the summer? Thanksgiving is but one day of the year when we awkwardly engage family and friends, acting as though all is fine and dandy in the world … When clearly things are not?!?
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We are all human (I think), and humans are by definition are imperfect beings. Every one of us (myself included), disappoint(s) someone at some time or another during the day, the calendar year and throughout our inspiring lives. This Thanksgiving and Holiday season, lets talk openly about our struggles. Lets deepen our capacity to love and connect with our fellow “creatures“.
Daily Meditation:
Be kind to yourself – Soothe your worries with grace and compassion, authentic conversation is food for the soul.
Posted: November 18, 2014 | Author: CultFit | Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Bliss, blogging, Body Image, coffee, compassion, Conversation, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, healing, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mornings, motivation, musings, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, paleo, passion, pilates, running, whole foods, yoga |
The battle you are going through is not fueled by the words or actions of others; it is fueled by the mind that gives it importance-
I was speaking with a close friend this past weekend and he asked me – quite bluntly like most dudes do, what change(s) since I ended the “reign of terror” on my body had the greatest impact on my being able to “compete” again? <– whatever this means. He waited patiently for me to share my “bad-ass” – “hardcore” training plan with him as we sipped our coffee during a frigid mid ride stop … The answer he eagerly awaited never arrived. As many of my longtime readers may know, the change(s) I made in my life were due in part to neglecting and abusing my body for many years. Moving on, after a long awkward pause I finally answered his question: I get up at 4 a.m. – Every single day. His response, in typical dude fashion was: “Why?!?” – Why wake at four in the morning?
…
I simply, love waking up early. I get to be myself before the little one wakes up for the day. It’s peaceful early in the morning, and the world awakening around me feels calm and serene. The subtle gift of time speaks to my soul. You have to meet yourself there, early one morning to experience it – Dude.
Daily Meditation:
We fail to realize the rejuvenate energy given to us in the morning as we rush straight through it – Rushing to the gym to count reps mindlessly, updating our social status to let the world know we attended a 5:30 am yoga class. Such is the ebb and flow of life …
CultFit 