Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Posted: May 15, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, free range, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, paleo, passion, running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 7 CommentsBe — don’t try to become-
It’s 8:30 am, the kids are packed and ready for school, you are dressed and “ready” for yoga class at 9:00. Your mat, towel and chilled coconut water are in the car already. The kiddos are hopping about causing a ruckus as you hurry them out the front door … “Where in the hell are the car keys?!?”
At this very moment you have two choices moving forward: Being or Doing?
Being involves slowing down our frantic mind and deliberately grounding ourselves by focusing on the present moment, the “lost” car keys. In being , it’s completely fine to be your true self, and in this case? A forgetful blonde haired dude. Embrace the moment to develop a different relationship with your own senses and emotions by deliberately focusing on what they are trying to patiently convey to you.
Being involves accepting what is, there’s nothing we can do to change the current situation. Rather than berating ourselves for not knowing where the keys are or placing blame onto others, we allow ourselves to look fully and with an open mind at where we are. Eventually we realize that the situation may not be as catastrophic as initially we believed it to be. We learn to extend love onto others, compassion, kindness to ourselves, and everything around us … “Oh look here are the keys sitting on top of the filing cabinet in the garage. Exactly where I placed them after forgetting to roll up the windows before bed last night.”
Notes:
Some of the most important “things” in life are as simple as misplacing our car keys.
A Dude’s Musings On Mother’s Day
Posted: May 12, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, exercise, fitness, free range, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, intensity, kettlebell, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, mothers day, motivation, musings, natural, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, simplicity, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 10 CommentsI believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy-
I wanted Mother’s Day to be different this year. I wanted to continue my climb upward on the Mother’s Day Classiness Gift Giving Scale. Last year was pretty pathetic, a cheap card from Target and a box of Govida Truffle’s. This year? I wandered into our local Lululemon bodega (our Lulu store is right next to a wine shop = Awesome!). What could possibly go wrong?
For us dudes, a few steps into a Lululemon store is a highly visual, sensual and erotic experience! We are greeted by provocatively attired mannequins, I mean staff … and, further back in the store, just beyond the camel toe concealing yoga pants, women are exiting fitting rooms attired in raiment that often do not seem to fit—literally, and with no pun intended, figuratively.
This sight started my mind wandering on this sultry weekend afternoon, with my lovely wife’s purse in one hand and a strawberry banana smoothie in the other: How damaging can a woman’s relationship with her body be? Damaging enough to result in pain of both a psychological and physical nature?
Throughout their lives, women of all ages must deal with idealized, societal norms and how they “measure up” in life. There are different stereotypes spanning the entire spectrum of a woman’s shape: A girl or woman with large breasts, thick hips may have to contend with unsavory assumptions about her sexuality. From a different angle, this same girl or woman may feel inadequate should she have smaller breasts and no hips. Both are patently absurd.
It is therefore not surprising to see women this afternoon squeezing into garments that don’t quite seem to fit, as they struggle daily with how they confront societal myths, that don’t quite fit.
So, I thought: “Maybe I won’t buy anything in this store? Maybe a bottle of dark chocolate wine from next door would be the better option?”
Happy Mother’s Day!
*Back by popular demand – The most viewed pic in the history of CultFit*
Short but Funky
Posted: May 8, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: 90's, blogging, crossfit, exercise, fitness, free range, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, paleo, perspective, pilates, pop culture, quiz, running, simplicity, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 14 CommentsMan is the only creature who refuses to be what he is-
10 “things” that I learned in the 90’s that still resonate, painfully this morning on the mat:
The price is wrong!
There’s no crying in baseball.
In Paris, it’s a Royale with cheese.
You can’t handle the truth.
We are all connected in the Great Circle of life.
The bums lost.
Life finds a way.
Life is like a box of chocolates.
You can’t triple stamp a double stamp.
You need more flair.
Notes:
First response that can correctly name the movie the quotes appear in, wins something. There is consideration for style points and what these quotes are in reference to (Hint: I was the only dude in yoga class). Time to get creative peeps …
(I’m) Reckless
Posted: May 7, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Addiction, blogging, crossfit, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, intensity, jogging, kettlebell, kindness, life, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, pain, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, simplicity, social media, technology, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 10 CommentsIn this world of numbness and information overload, the ability to feel, my boy, is a rare gift indeed-
You scowl at your running partner(s) for running with headphones in. You can faintly hear ‘1901’ blasting from their ears. They are insistently checking their GPS watch, every ten steps, although 10 miles later during a quick stop to refuel? Out comes a magenta hued insta-message to let the world know you just slammed a gel pack. Don’t they realize how much it annoys you? The anger on your face is plain as day …
Remember when placing an emergency call meant stepping into a phone booth? Today’s electronic do-dad’s and wireless communications gadgets have made it possible for us to handle emergencies in near real-time, help us to find and reconnect with long-lost friends and the best part: Fantasy Sports. Although all of this “convenience” we have at our finger tips comes at a steep price. The incursion of technology into our lives both at home and while out for an evening run, means less down time and we become ungrounded from our true spirit (tomorrows post). FaceTube and iThings rip into and tear apart relationships and thwart leisure pursuits. I often lament about leisure/life balance, oddly the term “Balance” seems to be a thing of the past.
What in the world is the meaning of balance anymore?
Steeping back from the running story, we as families are feeling this pain at home as well. Social experiment for the day: Engage a teenager in an eye to eye conversation. Let me know how that works out for you. Today’s teens have booth feet, wading chest deep in a technology sinkhole, sad.
Notes:
Know what? It’s rather easy to blame social media and technology, I should know, I am rather adept at it. Over the past fortnight I have been thinking about this issue ad nauseam, what “balance” truly means, the mixed blessing and danger of technology and many other things (NHL Playoffs). Even though social media and technology have placed the world at our feet, the 24/7 access impedes our spiritual health and quality of life.
Ask yourself today: Has the convenience been worth it?
Prosa before Plantear
Posted: May 3, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Apple Pie, blogging, exercise, fitness, free range, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, life, love, marathon, meditation, natural, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, Pie it forward, Poetry, Pose Running, Prose, running, Spirituality, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 9 CommentsThe young student sits with his head bent over his books, and his mind straying in youth’s dreamland; where prose is prowling on the desk and poetry hiding in the heart-
Never in a million years would I have envisioned that poetry and prose would be at the forefront of helping me heal: Knee surgery, back surgery, fractured neck, shattered orbital bone and too many other injuries to bore you with before the weekend begins. Although, injuries and rehabilitation are places where the human spirit is most vulnerable. It’s within these planes of vulnerability that literature and the arts have the greatest resonance.
Everyone reading today, is at some point touched ever so gently by an injury, either personally or through the experiences of a close friend or family member. None of us, NONE of us, are immune to the frailties and limitations of the human body. The burgeoning of the Inter-Webz, FaceTube and YouBook has shoved down our throat a wealth of information. However, the excessive amounts of “facts” at our disposal do not necessarily make it easier to cope with the fears and unknowns of illness, injury and loss. This, I believe, is where the Arts and Humanities fit in. *Long time readers have noticed the changes around here.*
When I started this blog over two years ago, I had no idea that my life would veer toward literature and the healing arts. Poetry, prose, the arts have reminded me that healing is a multi-dimensional process, being spiritually healthy is far more important to me now.
Notes:
The arts and the humanities are critical elements in our life, and I am truly grateful that they have a home here at CultFit, with you, and our friends. One last thing before you download another running-app … Click on over to the Poetry Foundation and consider downloading their Poetry App. Immerse yourself in new poetry after a cool down run or workout, maybe?
Pie in Omaha?!? Did someone say “Pie in Omaha?!?” Take care and have a beautiful weekend!
CultFit 