April Chores

When I take the chilly tools
from the shed’s darkness, I come
out to a world made new
by heat and light.

The snake basks and dozes
on a large flat stone.
It reared and scolded me
for raking too close to its hole.

Like a mad red brain
the involute rhubarb leaf
thinks its way up
through loam.

Jane Kenyon

CultFit April


Threshold Between (Worlds)

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them-

Will spending less time reading this post make you happy? You bet it will, and here is a tasty morsel to help support it …

Want to feel like sh!t this morning? Didn’t take my hint to heart at the beginning of the post? Then I suppose you asked for it  One of the quickest and easiest ways to feel unhappy, is to compare yourself unfavorably with someone else online. Don’t believe me? Just click this LINK

Before we move on, we need acknowledge any unhappiness that we may have experienced while browsing the aforementioned link. I want to share with you, that You – yes – YOU ! Have the power to make these feelings vanish into thin air.

I want to believe, I want to live, I want to be, I want to fly, to be free But how?”

Daily Meditation:

Even when we consciously know that “Social Media” – “Online” lives are often nothing more than social billboards, it’s all to easy to fall into the trap of comparing our real lives with someone else’s perfect advertisement(s) of themselves. Instead of “Liking” this post? Like, Love and Honor yourself. How will you choose to live Your Life to the absolute fullest today?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA


A Gentle Dissolve

Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength-

Slow down, you move too fast Life, I love you, All is groovy.

Can you recall the last time you were in love, with life? Noticing the subtle – yet profound flowers blossoming from the dormant grass below ?

During lunch with a close friend this past Friday, I struggled to put into words this exact thought: When was the last time you fell in love with life. All of us have become multitasking savants, hastily doing no fewer than three things at once. Making breakfast while texting about the NCAA tournament and updating a post we have been working on for a few weeks. Our minds are literally filled to capacity, overflowing with “things“. When does the Sun rise tomorrow? The Sun does rise – right? Why does Windows take so long to boot? What’s the forecast for this weekend? Am I out of shape? I look bloated! What if I perform poorly in yoga class, my next 5k? This latte is too much, are they stealing my debit card information? Will it snow tomorrow? I need to book an appointment to have my nails did – done – whatever? What time is it, do I have time to workout/run/swim?

Time is flat, circular and restrictive. We continually arrive back at the same point, with a gadget of some sort close by.

Can you recall the last time you went for a leisurely walk after dinner? The “garden of life” variety of walk that didn’t involve a pedometer, taking a selfie or tweeting to the masses the calories you burned, and all the “other” information we vitally need to live.

Daily Meditation:

If you can name the song and artist that set the gentle tone for the post today,without using your Google Machine – You win a prize or something! All, truly is groovy!!!

Slow Down


Moose in the Morning

Oh wild and gentle beast,
Immense antlered shape,
This morning in the meadow!
Like something ancient, lost
And found now, promise kept,
Emerging from the shadow,
Emerging while I slept—
Wilderness and escape!
You set me free to shirk
The day’s demanding work
And cast my guilt away.
You make a truant of me
This moose-enchanted day
When all I can is see,
When all I am is this
Astonishment and bliss.

May Sarton

CultFit Tilt


Urban Buddhism

Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you-

Get your bike off of my road asshole!!!

Last summer I built up an old Jamis road bike in order to make it more efficient and useful for commuting back and forth from work. For me – This is the perfect way to get a bit more exercise, heal and rehab some old injuries, save a couple precious dollars on gas, and in all honesty – I enjoy the ride, alone, the peace and quiet of spinning along in the early light. (I’ll save my rant about saving the environment for later this summer)

On my afternoon ride two Thursdays ago I was waiting at an intersection near home for the light to change, when an Audi Q7  (affectionately adorned with five look at how many kids I have created stickers in the rear window) squeezed past me to get to the front of the line. The “kids” driving turned sharply in front of my front wheel and the driver kindly shared her advice mentioned at the beginning of the post.

My first reaction was one of slight amusement, as an avid cyclist, events like these happen all too often. I was simply waiting to cross the last intersection after a long day of work, when out of nowhere I was called some rather amateurish names. Instead of reacting, I simply crossed the street when the light changed, and then gently rode home.

When I arrived home and started to remove my helmet, I thought for a moment what was shared with me 15 minutes earlier  The recalcitrant behavior of our society is nauseating.

Daily Meditation:

Why do so many people feel the need to make these kinds of remarks in the first place? I’ll share with you my theory as to why: There are critical thinking flaws present in the way we live our lives, especially pertaining to unwarranted inferences from others.

CultFit Ride