Behind the Scene(s)
Posted: November 8, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Activism, Bliss, Buddhism, compassion, exercise, family, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, peace, perspective, pilates, Poetry, running, simplicity, trail running, whole foods, writing, yoga, Zen 10 CommentsThe only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance-
In writing this blog-o-thing, I am doing what many other passionate and authentic people do: Taking the flow of my daily struggles and sharing it openly with you. The conversation we often have, like life; Is chaotic, awkward, tedious and associative.
I don’t know how to convey my feelings at times, words stumble from my fingertips and fall deftly onto the screen. Like life itself, this flow, this blog … YOU … Are intrinsically nourishing.
I can’t look YOU in the eye this morning, to find the courage to say “I am fully there” … This awkward awareness serves as my antidote to urgency and anger.
With your caring, continued support. I know without any shred of doubt, that my contribution here will be forever useful to the extent I can shift from being motivated by the desire to see results in my life: Likes, Follows, How long I can hold a pose, Being the best dad, A better lover, A better friend …
Dependence on results cannot but compromise my True Strength.
Daily Meditation:
Sometimes what’s most painful for me is the conviction I have of just how simple it would be … To love and share enough to satisfy everyone’s basic needs; to create a flow of kindness.
A Vote For the Gentle Light
Posted: November 7, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: art, blogging, Charles Bukowski, compassion, Depression, family, freshly pressed, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, Light, love, lululemon, meditation, mental health, Mood, motivation, musings, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, Photography, Poem, Poetry, Prose, relationships, strength, whole foods, writing, yoga 8 Comments…
a vote for the gentle light
burned senseless by other people’s constant
depression,
I pull the curtains apart,
aching for the gentle light.
it’s there, it’s there
somewhere,
I’m sure.
oh, the faces of depression, expressions
pulled down into the gluey dark.
the bitter small sour mouths,
the self-pity, the self-justification is
too much, all too much.
the faces in shadow,
deep creases of gloom.
there’s no courage there, just the desire to
possess something––admiration, fame, lovers,
money, any damn thing
so long as it comes easy.
so long as they don’t have to do
what’s necessary.
and when they don’t succeed they
become embittered,
ugly,
they imagine that they have
been slighted, cheated,
demeaned.
then they concentrate upon their
unhappiness, their last
refuge.
and they’re good at that,
they are very good at that.
they have so much unhappiness
they insist upon your sharing it
too.
they bathe and splash in their
unhappiness,
they splash it upon you.
it’s all they have.
it’s all they want.
it’s all they can be.
you must refuse to join them.
you must remain yourself.
you must open the curtains
or the blinds
or the windows
to the gentle light.
to joy.
it’s there in life
and even in death
it can be
there.
así (que) sin
Posted: November 6, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Alternative, blogging, compassion, Curiosity, cycling, 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, perspective, pilates, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 7 CommentsI set out to discover the why of it, and to transform my pleasure into knowledge-
I ask myself this morning, running in from the rain:
What does it take to receive myself with an open heart?
Every encounter we have during the day, life changes us. Every fleeting experience rewires a part of our consciousness. We are constantly changing. To truly befriend ourselves, to be open to who and what we are, we can practice the willingness to discover ourselves anew.
What do we actually know about our intimate selves? We have “experts” who flippantly tell us what is “right” and “wrong.” We have “standards” that we are “supposed” to meet, against which other people will measure us. We have competitions we can enter that will allow us to “win” and to “lose.”
To discover ourselves requires us to look at who we are without bias and certainly without judgment(s). It requires us not to measure, not to compete. It requires us to receive ourselves with the willingness to discover ourselves, just as we are, right now, with a pure heart.
Daily Meditation:
Practice befriending yourself, open your hearts in receptive curiosity.
Better (Off)
Posted: November 5, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, perspective, pilates, Rumi, running, trail running, Vinyāsa, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga 14 CommentsYour task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it–
In the pedantic game of tennis “love” is a score of zero. Implying that when we’re in love the score is even, our hearts are content and all is well in life. However, how often do we keep a competitive score in our relationships with those who love us, the person next to us in yoga class, running a race … Who can find the best parking spot this holiday season?
Instead of comparing myself constantly and competing against others I challenged myself to compare “me” in this moment, to the person I was one year ago. Am I kinder, happier, more confident and peaceful? If not, I take a deep breath to explore what has caused me to lose focus, and how I might learn moving forward.
I’ve found that by trying to keep the score zero in my life, trying being a key word … By giving generous doses of gratitude, making caring gestures to other(s) daily, witnessing the passion and abundance growing around each one of us? Is an inspiring “thing“.
Daily Love Meditation:
Keep a loving score today. Count how many times you utter something loving and positive …
A Long and Gracious Fall
Posted: October 31, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Autumn, compassion, cycling, David Budbill, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, halloween, happiness, health, hipster, Home and Garden, life, love, lululemon, nature, October, Poem, Poetry, Prose, whole foods, writting, yoga Leave a comment…
A long and gracious fall this year.
The leaves are down. Gardens: emptied,
manured, tilled, smooth, and waiting.
Mower and tiller serviced and put away.
Smoker put away, as is the summer table.
Prayer flags, windsocks and their poles: down.
Twenty-foot homemade badminton poles,
peace flag at the top of one, store-bought net—
all down and put away for another year. No more
outdoor summer chores.
Fall planting — peonies and tiger lilies — done.
Summer flower stalks removed, beds mulched,
a blanket for the cold. Fall pruning done.
Woodshed roof hammered down and sealed again.
Cellar closed. Drive staked and flagged so the
snowplow knows where to go.
What else is there to do? Finally, for once, we are ready
for the snow. Ready now to come inside. Time now for
words and music, poems and shakuhachi. Time now
to light some incense, sit and stare at candlelight.
CultFit 