Back (to) the Start
Posted: August 21, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, crossfit, cycling, exercise, failure, family, fitness, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, passion, running, success, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 7 CommentsDon’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth-
Modern society has taught us that we have either “winners” or “losers.” How often have you witnessed a teacher, yoga instructor, life coach, personal trainer and dare I mention parents … teaching us how to approach failure, how to accept loosing as part of life? We often spend more time focusing on the less important lesson – Winning, succeeding at all costs, no matter what the consequences and outcome(s) may be.
People who fail repeatedly develop persistence in the face of difficulties and only those folks with an extensive history of failure could survive the difficulties that they endure during their lives. Such dogged persistence is not a universal trait we share. If it were, everyone would be in shape (whatever this means), trim, happy, healthy, super flexible during yoga class, 14 minute 5k time etc.
Success, only teaches us to keep on doing the same thing … Failure teaches us to adapt and change, to overcome. Speaking of overcoming obstacles … Gravel Worlds Premier 2013
Notes:
The practical power of failure is not restricted to work, school and getting the sweetest parking spot at Whole Foods. Failure applies to all aspects of simply being a human being, including the crass activity of bragging about your weight room stats and run times.
Failure has taught me more in life than I can possibly begin to imagine and accepting failure helps me to get the old creative juices flowing once again … Success breads and harbors contentment – How utterly boring!?!
Still (Time)
Posted: August 9, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Bliss, blogging, compassion, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, harmony, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, trail running, walking, whole foods, yoga 22 CommentsFreeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another-
Where self-criticism leaves us powerless and distraught, self-compassion and following our true passion in life is at the root of empowerment, learning, and inner strength.
It’s safe to say that common knowledge favors passion, right?!? “Follow your passion” random bloggers urge. “Give all your heart” reads another witty blog post title. Can we all agree that passion is pretty cool and a useful endeavor? Sprinkled kindly and with care, passion on top of passion, and everything else in life that follows will be pure bliss. So why not marinate yourself with passion and savor this “sauce of life?“
Ladies? Dudes? Come a little closer so know one will hear what you are about to admit … How many movies starring Hugh Grant have you watched with plots that center on this very question: Will J-LO (some woman) run away and madly fall in love with Hugh, choosing the frenzied, passionate hunk for a life filled with unpredictability and passion, or will she choose the man whose love is firm and deep, a man who is predictable and well … steady, loving?
Notes:
Passion can be tricky, really tricky and nasty at times. Passion is pure joy, when carried away by romance, or in the flow of yoga class, out on the trail, passion makes us feel vibrantly alive. Like the essence of a perfumed wind, delicious, delightful, not to be missed…and fleeting like an ephemeral flower in spring.
Be well and take care this weekend!
Let Nothing Lie Dormant
Posted: August 8, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, David Dominguez, family, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, Poem, Poetry, Prose, running, trail running, yoga 13 Comments…
(A) Gentle Dissolve
Posted: August 7, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, pilates, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 13 CommentsMy 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 …
Desert Wind(s)
Posted: August 5, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, pain, passion, Patience, perspective, pilates, running, Suffering, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 4 CommentsRivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day-
What does patience mean to you personally in regards to mindfulness and living an authentic life?
Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, difficulty and annoyance without getting angry or upset.
What are we to think after reading this definition of patience I pulled from a dusty dictionary? You may be asking: “Will I encounter delay, difficulty, or annoyance in my life?” All of us share a universal answer: (we) can’t recall a single day in our lives when at least one of “three” –delay, difficulty and annoyance … Didn’t make an appearance.
Throughout the years, my reaction to the presence of any one of the three was to get “angry” a little “upset” and completely “ticked off.” Then early one winter morning I realized that my normal response served only to make an already unpleasant situation, worse, much worse. Thus began my journey to making a conscious effort to respond to “delay, difficulty and annoyance” differently than I had done before. On the worst days? The best I could do was to simply “tolerate” their presence in my life. Although with practice, just like riding a bike and doing the yoga thing, I was better able to “accept” them kindly, with a smile and as an inevitable part of daily life.
When we start to weave tolerance and acceptance into delay, difficulty and annoyance … We sit up straight and start to notice a few things. Firstly, patience is a gentle way of treating ourselves with compassion. Keep in mind Dear Reader: Compassion is the act of reaching out to those who are suffering … Including ourselves.
Secondly, I noticed that being patient gave me a feeling of calmness that makes it infinitely easier to ride life’s ups and downs without being tossed about aimlessly. Seeing the correlation between patience and enhanced self-compassion and awareness convinced me of the value of practicing patience.
Notes:
I suffer deeply when I stray from the path of patience, lack of patience is a stress response to whatever is going wrong in my life. Stress firmly grips both my mind and my body … Cultivating patience is my way of taking care of myself, which is the heart of self-compassion. the calm acceptance of life as it is, right now in this precious moment
Now how does one share to the world, the hyper obsessed runners and fitness aficionados that the idea of suffering and stress from punishing our bodies is NOT taking care of ourselves?
CultFit 