Passion, The Savior
Posted: October 1, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, Cyclocross, exercise, Faiure, family, fitness, freshly pressed, gratitude, happiness, harmony, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, nature, Omaha, passion, pilates, running, trail running, Truth, writing, yoga, Zen 10 CommentsAlways aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well-
Before a cyclocross race recently, I was listening to a close friend describing his favorite hobby – He likes to make wooden toys and other wooden “things“. Although, he starts many projects and simply lets them stack up, unfinished. “I don’t have a real passion for my hobby at times,” he said to me … His last words before we started the race planted a question in my head that I have often thought about: How do we cultivate and nurture our passion(s) in life?
…
You know it when you feel it don’t you? You get that butterfly sense deep inside that “something” significant is close and you gently move towards it. You make room for “it” and you fully awaken to its presence in your life. Maybe these new-found feelings affirm what we desired, or maybe they will completely change them? For some folks, a single passion burns for their entire lives. It’s their true essence, their true authentic self and they would never give it up …
Daily Meditation:
I know that whatever compels me toward these deeper experience(s) will likely wear thin at certain times during my life. But you know what? It’s totally fine with me.
The Last Swim of Summer
Posted: September 25, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, Jonathan Galassi, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, Poetry, recovery, rest, running, simplicity, The Last Swim of Summer, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga, Zen 4 Comments…
ought to be swum
without knowing it,
afternoon lost to
re-finding the rock
you can stand on
way out past the
raft, the flat one
that lines up four-
square with the door
of the boathouse.
Freestyle and back-
stroke and hours on
the dock nattering
on while the low sun
keeps setting fin-
gers and toes getting
number and number …
how could we know
we were swimming the
last swim of summer?
East of the : Sun :
Posted: September 16, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Big Ring Ranch Enduro, compassion, cycling, Cyclocross, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, nebraska, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, running, simplicity, Star City CX, trail running, writing, yoga, Zen Leave a commentNever to suffer would never to have been blessed-
There’s something deeply ingrained between our ears, that believes if “something” is hard to do, takes us out of our comfort zone or doesn’t come naturally, it’s better to avoid “it” at all costs.
It took me quite a few years to have the proverbial light bulb go on, although I am confident in saying now that virtually everything which creates positive results and change in our lives, will be hard to do. Better yet – Some things will always be hard to get ourselves to do … Coconut water and staying up late on a weeknight instantly come to mind?!?
Thinking out loud this morning after completing the grueling Big Ring Ranch Enduro this past Sunday – It’s a strange phenomenon that our lives seem to ebb and flow with a natural current toward what we don’t want, toward what will make our lives miserable. Much like its easier to sit on the couch, being programmed by mindless TV shows, than it is to spend quality time with a loved one, a close friend, or heaven forbid – To enjoy the richness that only comes when we read a book. We simply stop stimulating our mind and spirit, enriching our lives – Going with the flow.
…
I’m an expert when it comes to hanging out and doing nothing after a long day at work. Packing it in rather than getting up to do something that could be considered productive, such as helping my Son with his homework or going for a bike ride with him. It’s easier to pick up some fast food, turn on the TV and worry about homework in the morning. This is something I need to work on.
My only way to combat this natural ebb and flow is to be determined to swim against the current. I deeply cherish nurturing relationships, whether the person is sitting next to me eating Cheerios, or in some far off land.
Daily Meditation:
I can’t sit back ant wait for my Son to do it, or anyone else for that matter. Yet, sadly … Many people won’t, as they unconsciously go with the flow of – Drifting apart.
*Join us “Dudes” tomorrow evening in Lincoln for the start of Star City CX series*
Listen to the – Dawn –
Posted: September 12, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: anxiety, Autumn, blogging, Body Image, Buddha, Buddhism, Celiac Diease, compassion, exercise, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, karma, Karma yoga, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, natural, running, Seva, sex, trail running, writing, yoga, Zen 22 CommentsThere is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up-
What is the secret formula that can provide us with a long and fulfilling life? Most of the nauseating advice we are bombarded with is formulated around living a “healthy lifestyle” (<- whatever this is), leading to assumptions that center primarily on the physical aspects of this thing called life.
“Eat your cauliflower!” “Drink your coconut water!” “Run, walk, cycle, sex, yoga and drink red wine!” Say the experts, and you wonder why our culture is brimming with anxiety! Gotta do this, and we gotta do that if we want to live a long prosperous life! Gotta browse LivingSocial for the best yoga deals, shop organic and eat gluten-free – even if we don’t have Celiac disease. Most of our effort is done with variable success and the predictable stress is eagerly awaiting us around each corner.
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How can we feel better about ourselves, boost our confidence naturally and build true inner peace? :Generosity: The quality of being kind, practicing selflessness and understanding, the willingness to give to those in our lives “things” that have value. Generosity is a spiritual principle that provides us with the key to leading a happy and healthy life.
Generosity is a natural (organic – ha!) confidence builder. Generosity acts as a shield against self-hatred and anxiety. By focusing on what we are giving, rather than what we are receiving, we cultivate and nurture a more outward orientation toward the world, shifting the focus away from our physical selves, onto something deeper, something that has a far greater impact on our daily lives.
Daily Meditation:
Each beautiful morning life presents us with a handful of opportunities to be generous; through embracing generosity (not cauliflower, not coconut water, not even gluten-free bread), we can do ourselves and those around us a world of good.
I am deeply grateful to each of you reading today – Take care and be well.
The Problem of Describing Trees
Posted: September 11, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: art, Aspen, Autumn, blogging, books, culture, Education, Fall, happiness, meditation, natural, nature, passion, Poetry, Robert Haas, simplicity, walking, writing, Zen 11 CommentsFor a Dear Friend
…
The aspen glitters in the wind
And that delights us.
The leaf flutters, turning,
Because that motion in the heat of August
Protects its cells from drying out. Likewise the leaf
Of the cottonwood.
The gene pool threw up a wobbly stem
And the tree danced. No.
The tree capitalized.
No. There are limits to saying,
In language, what the tree did.
It is good sometimes for poetry to disenchant us.
Dance with me, dancer. Oh, I will.
Mountains, sky,
The aspen doing something in the wind.
CultFit 