A Hundred Years from Now
Posted: January 29, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: A Hundred Years from Now, beauty, David Shumate, gratitude, kindness, life, love, meditation, Omaha, passion, Poetry, Prose, writing, yoga 5 Comments…
I’m sorry I won’t be around a hundred years from now. I’d like to
see how it all turns out. What language most of you are speaking.
What country is swaggering across the globe. I’m curious to know
if your medicines cure what ails us now. And how intelligent your
children are as they parachute down through the womb. Have
you invented new vegetables? Have you trained spiders to do your
bidding? Have baseball and opera merged into one melodic sport?
A hundred years….My grandfather lived almost that long. The
doctor who came to the farmhouse to deliver him arrived in a
horse-drawn carriage. Do you still have horses?
Positive : Balance :
Posted: January 28, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: beauty, Body Image, cycling, Enviroment, gratitude, Identity, kindness, life, love, lust, meditation, Mindfulness, passion, running, Spirituality, teaching, writing, yoga, Zen 17 CommentsExpose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free-
The way in which our environment conditions us is more prevalent, and dare I say – perverse, than we appreciate. This topic is wide-ranging and fairly dense with meaning and purpose. In order to present it to you openly, and with an honest heart? We need to look into the dark areas of our souls.
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Seldom do we realize that the appearance of unnatural looking/tasting and pretty benign “things,” like the latest carbon fiber/electronic shifting bikes, chestnut praline latte’s, yoga mats and attire, tasteless candy, processed food, and trendy running attire owe their tantalizing properties to the way in which we are conditioned. The way in which the environment we live in shapes our behavior – no drool or droll needed, well maybe just a little?!? I caught myself recently lusting over a new Stevens Super Prestige Disc CX bike for no apparent reason other than it looks like good sex. Why is this so? I have some nice bikes already … The same holds true for other savory objects, such a new the colorful yoga mat for the aspiring yogi, an empty Starbucks cup for the coffee connoisseur , and new shoes for the runners lurking out there.
What scares my personally and as a society, is that, as sophisticated as this conditioning may seem, much of it is mediated unconsciously to us, beneath the nadir of our conscious and awareness.
Daily Meditation:
Why do I desire a new pair of Brooks running shoes, when I can’t even run? This is really scary!
It Is Enough
Posted: January 22, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Adventure, Anne Alexander Bingham, beauty, cycling, family, gratitude, Identity, kindness, life, love, Mindfulness, Omaha, passion, Poetry, Prose, writing, yoga 9 Comments…
To know that the atoms
of my body
will remain
to think of them rising
through the roots of a great oak
to live in
leaves, branches, twigs
perhaps to feed the
crimson peony
the blue iris
the broccoli
or rest on water
freeze and thaw
with the seasons
some atoms might become a
bit of fluff on the wing
of a chickadee
to feel the breeze
know the support of air
and some might drift
up and up into space
star dust returning from
whence it came
it is enough to know that
as long as there is a universe
I am a part of it.
– Anne Alexander Bingham
Spoken : Softly :
Posted: January 20, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Body Image, compassion, Embarrassed, Embarrassment, gratitude, joy, Kidness, love, Omaha, social media, yoga 5 CommentsYou know on TV when there’s one of those awkward, shocking moments and all you hear are the crickets in the background? Well chirp f*cking chirp…this is one of those moments-
Being embarrassed in social situation(s) feels rather unpleasant. When someone remarks suddenly before class: “Your underwear is showing,” or while standing in line for a coffee … “Your barn door is open,” even better yet “Is that balsamic vinegar salad dressing in your hair?!?” Here let me smell. Few of us are likely to feel particularly joyful, to say the very least.
I’m recalling this morning with you, times during my life when I have felt the most embarrassed and to my surprise – Being embarrassed truly can be joyful!
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There are a few moments of feeling embarrassed that instantly come to mind. One, was the night my son was born about nine years ago I suppose. You see, I exude a fairly calm, cool and collected demeanor, most times that is. I was pretty chill during the birth and what stands out to me was when it was only my beautiful new-born son, myself and a caring nurse handing him to me for the first time – “Here is your son sir” placing him gently into me shaking hands, tears streaming down my face, having no clue in the world what to do. I was embarrassed in this truly joyful moment.
At the same time though, there are horrible feelings that also produce embarrassment, feelings of being humiliated …
I still remember like it was yesterday, the dreadful scene when some of my classmates in 6th grade took great pleasure in teasing me to tears, because I was “fat” and started to go through the throes of puberty – acne and all. Calling me “fatty” by the boys and girls, the incessant teasing, only served to make the humiliation more degrading. I was deeply embarrassed during these joyless childhood moments.
Daily Meditation:
What life, compassion, kindness and gratitude provide us is, if we reflect and allow the blushed cheeked, crying and shameful negative feelings of humiliation fade away. Is that, maybe, just maybe embarrassment really is an expression of – Joy.
Out : Sick :
Posted: January 13, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: compassion, Flu, gratitude, healing, kindness, Loss, love, Omaha, yoga 21 CommentsThe reason many people in our society are miserable, sick, and highly stressed is because of an unhealthy attachment to things they have no control over-
Gripped by the harsh reality of being diagnosed with the flu this past Friday I, along with many of you reading at home, are going through the tedious stages of not being able to do what we love to do.
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I am in denial … Surely these pesky symptoms will subside rather quickly, just like they have in the past. I am angry at myself this morning: This is a definitely a setback and an attack on my personal well-being. Thinking out-loud to myself as I rolled out of bed sore and stiff: If I could attend yoga class before work and get it out-of-the-way while I still have some energy? I would truly be one step closer to becoming healthier. Finally Dear Readers, I was depressed at the thought of not being able to do what I love to do.
Daily Mediation:
The flu, injuries, and the everyday occurrences of “life” do not reveal our best sides. Although, maybe the absence of compassion and kindness is adding insult to injury?
CultFit 