e(Tude)

Write 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!

SingleSpeed USA

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, relaxedchill  and allow “things” to happen?

Have a brilliant weekend and please be well!

CultFit Field


The Circle

I 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 Night


La Ola

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive-

Developing and using our new-found self-compassion does not mean we have to stop working hard and aiming for success, daily.  Rather, self-compassion is a change in attitude and can be directly linked with greater well-being as well as outperforming even your wildest dreams. Nor does self-compassion imply self-indulgence. Quick example, an “athlete” who cares about their health and performance will insist on eating properly and putting in the required amount of training, no matter how unpleasant these experiences are for them. Similarly, taking it easy and being kind to ourselves may be appropriate in some (all) situations, although in times of over-indulgence, over-training and utter laziness? Self-compassion involves toughening up and taking responsibility for our actions.

Notes:

By heading-off and preventing the defeating effects of self-criticism, self-compassion allows us to maintain peace of mind, control, allowing us to retain our energy for some cool/fun “things” in life – Energy to put to good use during a 150 mile-ish “Gravel Grinder” event …

CultFit Wave


Let Nothing Lie Dormant

At the farmer’s market in Rosarito, Mexico,
a man touched my arm.
He sat on a stool at a wooden table,
and in the center,
a blue pitcher of water beaded under the sun.
Hunkered over his lap,
he worked with a gouge on a block of walnut,
and he blew at the dust,
and the dust swirled in the breeze.
Done stripping the sapwood vulnerable to rot,
the man held the heart of the wood,
a purple wood hard against
the chisel’s cutting edge.
He looked up from his work,
and his gray eyes told me I must listen.
“This wood must be strong
or the heart cracks before the real work is done.
See this?” he asked softly,
and he lifted a mallet carved
from a branch of apple, “Strong wood,” he said.
“It wanted to be more than a tree.”
He rubbed fresh walnut dust between his palms.
We drank glasses of ice water,
talked about life in general,
and he used the pitcher,
billowed and wet like the sail of a boat,
to cool his neck.
Later, through the soft meat of an avocado,
I felt the pit longing to be free.

David Dominguez

CultFit Woods


(A) Gentle Dissolve

My past is everything I failed to be-

I often find that “sometimes” I lose patience with myself. I want to think, feel and act differently than I do; naturally my inclination is to tell myself to just be different, in these ways: Think, Feel and Act differently. Spoiler Alert – When this doesn’t happen, I become frustrated and try harder, push and struggle even harder. Rather than making any meaningful progress, I just end up being brutally harsh with myself. Despite my best intentions, this approach does not and will not help – Shocker.

Maybe what some of us are failing to take into account is the part of ourselve(s), that’s not quite ready to change yet. No matter what the reason is, or what the excuse is today.

This is why folks … We need to approach “life” gently.

Notes:

Identifying self-criticism and practicing self-compassion? Who would had ever thought that a happier you would be a healthier you? Without ever doing some workout or whatever …

CultFit Shine