Gravel (U)pdate
Posted: August 25, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: biking, blogging, compassion, cycling, freshly pressed, friends, Gravel Riding, Gravel Worlds, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, Lincoln, love, lululemon, musings, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, passion, recovery, trail running, walking, WOD, writting 21 CommentsI felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy”-
Mountains?!? Who said anything about mountains? Especially here in good ole’ flat Nebraska.
Is having to explain what you love to others tearing away the fabric of your happiness – your being, like enjoying a leisurely 150+ gravel bike ride around Lincoln, Nebraska? Or a quaint 100k Trail Run through Breckenridge, Colorado? Or even meditating and walking?
Often we are asked to explain the reasoning for our choices, let’s be fully open with one another this morning shall we: It’s easier to blog and talk about our decisions at a logical and snarky level, “Why do you like cycling on Gravel Roads?” I enjoy being outdoors in a non competitive environment, enjoying the company of other folks that are there for very similar reasons…
There’s a catch to throwing out the “easy – polished” answer. Doing so, over and over every time we meet like-minded folks erodes our ability to formulate a decision based on “emotion” or a “gut feeling.” These emotions are rather hard to put into words and to explain to someone looking at you in the eye, wondering why you look like a damn mess, covered head to toe with dirt, sweat, snot dripping out your nose and a ridiculously shaped tan line (cyclists know what these look like).
“I like ultra distance gravel rides because they connect and ground me to the earth, they make me feel whole. They allow me to tune into myself, listening attentively, no distractions, just myself – on my single speed bike, chugging along.”
Enjoy the pics folks as this ride was one of only a few where I carry a phone, let alone a camera thing!
Notes:
One of the main undercurrents that keeps this CultFit machine moving along is that we often ruin our enjoyment of the simple pleasures in our lives due to the fact we try to rationalize, at every turn, why we like doing what we do or we want to prove to ourselves why our decisions are correct and superior to others.
The only “thing” that matter folks? Is that we like “whatever” because we like it, period.
Bless Air’s
Posted: August 22, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Bees, blogging, compassion, family, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, meditation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, Poem, Poetry, Prose, simplicity, writing, yoga Leave a comment… gift of sweetness, Honey
from the bees, inspired by clover,
marigold, eucalyptus, thyme,
the hundred perfumes of the wind.
Bless the beekeeper
who chooses for her hives
a site near water, violet beds, no yew,
no echo. Let the light lilt, leak, green
or gold, pigment for queens,
and joy be inexplicable but there
in harmony of willowherb and stream,
of summer heat and breeze,
each bee’s body
at its brilliant flower, lover-stunned,
strumming on fragrance, smitten.
For this,
let gardens grow, where beelines end,
sighing in roses, saffron blooms, buddleia;
where bees pray on their knees, sing, praise
in pear trees, plum trees; bees
are the batteries of orchards, gardens, guard them.
e(Tude)
Posted: August 16, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, running, walking, WOD, yoga 9 CommentsWrite it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, Sauté it, whatever. MAKE-
Best of luck to those of you participating in these awesome events this weekend!
Omaha Corporate Cycling Challenge
Are there times during the day when you wish you could tap into your creative side? What does creativity mean anyway(s)? Is creativity “something” through which you express yourself during yoga class or while enjoying an evening ride, or is creativity “something” that keeps you feeling connected to the earth and those around you?
During a few periods downtime today and throughout the weekend, brushing and flossing your pearly whites or taking a walk in the local market, explore the opportunity to tap into many of the great ideas we have that often get overlooked during the rush of the day. Consider brushing your teeth with your opposite hand … There is “something” happening in these special moments too, which are equally significant in our lives, if we pause and listen.
Notes:
The creativity many of us search endlessly for, is already there … Maybe we need to learn how to sit back, feet up, relaxed – chill and allow “things” to happen?
Have a brilliant weekend and please be well!
The Amaranth
Posted: August 15, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, compassion, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, kindness, life, love, lululemon, Matthew Rohrer, meditation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, Poetry, Prose, writing, yoga Leave a comment…
The Circle
Posted: August 14, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, perspective, running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 9 CommentsI like this place and could willingly waste my time in it-
How often has a monarch butterfly alighted on your arm while riding your favorite path? Not this morning … Yet I do notice that when a certain quiet descends within, the blue jays and wild grouse venture close, still somewhat hesitant in their flight and chatter, although closer with less apprehension.
As I write this morning, my mind is populated by what is happening out on the surrounding roads. My daily routine has taken on its normal seasonal rhythm, the ebb and flow of gliding past bending branches, alongside randomly arranged rows of this seasons harvest.
Suddenly, there is a change.
My pulse quickens and I become alert when sparrows begin their anxious chorus then fall deadly silent. Without looking, I know they perch themselves, arched and frozen. Seeking to blend in with their surroundings, to avoid the searching gaze of a brown snake who lurks below. I know it is the silent one who mutes the sparrow, chatter does not break when I drift along the road like early morning fog.
Sadly, (for many of us) nature is clipped neatly into slices that fit into a weekend’s back country hiking trip and a fenced in playground, riddled with signs warning us of one hazard or another.
Notes:
What does my little rant have to do with practical matters in your neck of the woods? Nothing really, although I do have a feeling that cycling, being immersed in nature is precisely the solution to so many of the issues that have taken a hold of us.
CultFit 