What we call
Posted: May 30, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Anaïs Nin, blogging, family, free range, friends, gluten free, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, Literature, love, lululemon, meditation, motivation, musings, nature, Poetry, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 3 Comments… Our destiny is truly our character and that character can be altered. The knowledge that we are responsible for our actions and attitudes does not need to be discouraging, because it also means that we are free to change this destiny. One is not in bondage to the past, which has shaped our feelings, to race, inheritance, background. All this can be altered if we have the courage to examine how it formed us. We can alter the chemistry provided we have the courage to dissect the elements.
– Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin Vol. 1
Notes:
Be well today and please keep in touch. Especially those of you who were scratched the wrong way yesterday.
Rat Race (Pro)
Posted: May 29, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, crossfit, exercise, family, fitness, free range, Freinds, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, paleo, passion, running, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 16 CommentsThe truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits-
Feel free to file this post under the “Stopped over, liked and promptly forgot what I read ten minutes later” category.
You, me, the dude shaving in the car next to you during the morning commute, we are our own worst enemies. Especially so when we start talking about cultivating and living a “authentic” life, full of true and unbridled happiness. We make excuses, hourly, as to why we can’t overcome something or we are too busy surfing the webz, checking our work email during a Saturday morning group ride. To stop and realize just how destructive our growth-inhibiting patterns of behavior really are.
What follows is a series of blunt and prickly questions. I suppose we could call them the “Stinging Nettles” series of questions?!? I want these to irritate you, making you look inward to find a solution rather than applying aloe-vera gel to cover up the stinging pain …
Do you constantly put “things” off? We make excuses at every turn as to why we put off doing “things” that will markedly change our lives for the better. How many times will we hear or read this today: “I know meditation and yoga can help me BUT … I’m experiencing (Insert anything here) right now and I haven’t been doing them lately.” Seriously folks, If you know a life-enhancing practice like meditation and yoga will help you make a problem disappear? Why then put it off?
Are you a pecksniffian varietal of toad stool? Our minds tend to veer towards the negative side of life, completely normal. We look at all the “things” we don’t have and feel worse as a result. Dear Reader: There is always going to be something you will not have and embracing life in this way will leave you forever unsatisfied, a Toad Stool of high moral arrogance. Looking up and seeing the sun rise, taking a deep relaxing breath of morning air or even the very experience of rolling out of bed – Alive? Something not Nothing.
Do you fell like playing the “Blame Game”? “I could had run a personal best BUT … This amateur yoga mom b!tch was in my way!” Gosh does it feel good putting blame on someone other than ourselves?!? Blaming others is like having good sex: Awesome. How about we entertain the thought of taking responsibility for having some degree of responsibility for what happened and look to how we can turn the situation around, rather than blaming all the yoga mom runners of the world?!?
Saving the best for last …
Are you hopelessly a perfectionist? Perfectionists will be displeased no matter what, anything that isn’t perfect or doesn’t meet their extremely high standards? Weak sauce! Breaking News: Achieving a state of perfection within any walk of life is an impossible goal. Perfectionism turns us into pawns of success, by narrowing our focus on failure which then kindly results in a lifetime of self-doubt, pity and dare I mention? Depression. We might as well say then that perfectionism allows us to be more efficient at finding the best deals online, keeping an organized and tidy inbox or prepared for anything that may come walking through the door. However, having high standards and goals will help us achieve “things” in life, these standards can get in the way of the pure happiness of doing something we enjoy and yes, perfectionism can and will impair our enjoyment of this thing called life.
Notes:
Today marks a day of change here, a day of change in tone and added clarity. A day of asking questions instead of “Liking” and walking away.
Strange Apparition
Posted: May 24, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, family, fitness, free range, friday, friends, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, meditation, Memorial Day, passion, running, Stories, walking, weekend, whole foods, yoga 10 CommentsI’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine-
It’s tough to integrate into our personal story a time in our life that turned us upside down, challenging all that we’ve known and trusted.
Story time …
I’m always looking for metaphors that might resonate with the kind readers of CultFit, as they seek to catch a second wind in their workout and lives. Some of these metaphors work, some flat-out fail and some baste themselves in the hot summer sun.
This past week, I was afforded the opportunity to talk with a friend who shares my love of being active, exploring meditation, yoga and reading. We discussed in-depth a rather interesting metaphor that resonated for both of us: The Trilogy. Some stories in literature are so complicated and involved that they require more than one book. HOLY CRAP! I was thinking Fifty Shades of Grey! While my more ed-u-ma-cated friend brought up, The Foundation by Isaac Asimov. In each book of a trilogy, characters are more fully developed and explored, secrets formerly held are brought to the reader’s attention, and plot lines unfold before our eyes.
What if you thought of your journey to being healthy as a trilogy of stories? What would each book be called?
For me, the first book in my trilogy would be called, F**k It! I can do whatever I want: In which a punk ass kid flippantly ignores the love of others in order to make himself feel like a complete bad ass. My second book would be called: Ignore the pain to succeed in life: In which an arrogant blonde haired dude ignores the pain his body provides him in order to pursue vain, self-serving goals; Ignoring family and friends at every turn. And I hope someday to call the last book in my tantalizing trilogy: Marinating in the Sauce of Life: In which an old, humble man is content to accept whatever gifts the world tosses his way.
Notes:
The most uplifting, useful stories are the ones told by resilient, authentic people; Just like you. We can learn a great deal from one another here at CultFit, from the stories we passionately share … Take care this holiday weekend and please be well.
The guest is inside you
Posted: May 23, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: exercise, family, fitness, free range, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, Jain, Kabir, life, love, lululemon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, paleo, passion, Poetry, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga, Zen 4 Comments… and also inside me;
you know the sprout is hidden inside the seed.
We are all struggling; none of us has gone far.
Let your arrogance go, and look around inside.
The blue sky opens out farther and farther,
the daily sense of failure goes away,
the damage I have done to myself fades,
a million suns come forward with light,
when I sit firmly in that world.
I hear bells ringing that no one has shaken,
inside “love” there is more joy than we know of,
rain pours down, although the sky is clear of clouds,
there are whole rivers of light.
The universe is shot through in all parts by a single sort of love.
How hard it is to feel that joy in all our four bodies!
Those who hope to be reasonable about it fail.
The arrogance of reason has separated us from that love.
With the word “reason” you already feel miles away.
– Kabir – The Kabir book: Forty-four of the ecstatic poems of Kabir
Notes:
Important post tomorrow, I hope you stop over, until then? Take care and be well!
Ayuda!
Posted: May 22, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, paleo, passion, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 3 CommentsCompassion is a verb-
How does one go about distancing themselves from the prior two days posts? I suppose we could choose to ignore them or we can all come together for a big group hug and show some compassion towards ourselves and others?!? Just a thought …
Self compassion is at the very root of empowerment, learning, and our inner geek strength. When we choose to embrace self compassion, we value ourselves not because we’ve judged ourselves positively and others negatively but because we are equally deserving of care and concern just like everyone else. Self compassion means treating ourselves as we would a close friend or better yet, our spouse and kids! Rather than berating, judging, or adding to the dreadful despair, we listen intensively with empathy and understanding, encourage them to remember that mistakes are a normal part of everyday life, and validate their emotions without adding more fuel to the proverbial fire.
Self critical over achievers are not the only ones that lack self-compassion. Some of the kindest folks around do as well. Luckily, self compassion is a process that can be picked up pretty easily. It is a daily practice that can help us all become less self-critical of the world around us, by preventing stress accumulating throughout the day, allowing us to be happier, smiling more and pleasant to be around.
“Self compassion never finished a marathon in personal best time or powered through an intense three-hour long power yoga class! What! Got something to say now do you!”
Self compassion does not mean we stop rolling up our sleeves and working hard for our goals. Instead, self compassion is a change in our attitude(s) and is linked with greater personal well-being. Nor does self-compassion imply self-indulgence. For example, a runner who cares about their body and well-being will push harder the days leading up to a rest cycle, no matter how tempted they are not to rest, they do. Similarly, pushing yourself, exploring limits during yoga class may be appropriate in some situations, but in times of over-indulgence? Self compassion involves toughening up and taking responsibility for going too far.
Notes:
Please be sure to check out Omaha Gives this morning, totally worth your time if you call Omaha, Home.
CultFit 