Posts Tagged ‘life’
1,000 Miles: Month 3
Usually when I talk about running I get really excited. Depending on how good the last run was I may get that moderately crazy look in my eyes. And I get excited when I sit down to write about it (proof: Month 1 and Month 2 recaps).
But March didn’t really have any of that. In fact I’m hesitant to even write a recap of the month because it felt like I barely ran at all. Instead, the knees said “you need to take a break!”
Because I’m not training for a marathon, or an ultra trail run, or a triathlon, the potential of an injury hadn’t really crossed my mind. Sure, I was intent on running a little more than usual, but not that much. But then the knees started hurting. Not in a “I am about to break” kind of way, but in a “hi! you better pay attention to us or we will break” kind of way.
So I did what any runner would do: got out the foam roller. I also added in a routine of sun salutations every morning. And some squats. In other words, I started doing all of those things that I knew I should have been doing from the get-go, but just hadn’t got around to.
Which got me thinking: how often does this happen to us in life in general?
Use Your Heart: Create Love, Spread Love
“The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it.”
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
It’s funny how when you need certain words, they come to you. My mother sent me this today – she’s good like that, having that motherly intuition to send me inspirational words when she knows that I need them. Sometimes they are her own, sometimes they are someone else’s.
And these struck a chord; a good reminder for a world where our brains are constantly spinning. Things may be overwhelming, but often all we need to do is to treat ourselves and those around us with kindness. Give love, receive love.
So with that, go spread some positivity this weekend.
Reminders for a New Year
“I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me. ” – Anaïs Nin.
New Year’s certainly shouldn’t be about criticizing oneself, but it does happen to be a good time for reflection on what’s important. That’s what New Year’s resolutions should be: reminders about how to live well and embrace life.
Instructions For Living a Life
Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
― Mary Oliver
Conscious Living: Notes from the New Media Age
This article is cross-posted from Elephant Journal.
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru
That quote was pulled from an excellent list of 50 inspirational travel quotes that is a constant point of reference whenever I need to be reminded of the important things in life. Last week I also came across another list of good “life reminders” entitled How to Be an Explorer of the World. Good stuff, eh?
So with all these wonderful, inspirational reminders, I should be living a healthy, balanced and creative lifestyle, right? But something still feels a little off, and I’m not alone. From my friends in the social media world (you know who you are) I often hear “it’s hard to keep up” or “the amount of information out there is overwhelming.”
There are many of us that spend plenty of time writing about the benefits of living slow, conscious lives, but when we take a step back and look at our daily realities, how slow and conscious are they? In fact, although they’re necessary tools to doing my daily job, a Crackberry, a constantly updated TweetDeck and a plethora of RSS feeds aren’t really vehicles to feeling more balanced.
What I Learned on Vacation, or, Thoughts for 2010
I was asked to post something that I had thought about during vakay… so I came up with this:
The one thing they don’t teach you in school is that when you’re out of school, there’s no such thing as a Christmas vacation… at least not the two week kind. Which is exactly why I upped my nose at the real world, co-founded my own business and set out on a venture that let me plan my own schedule that has very little to do with 9-5. Hence the reason that I actually had a Christmas vacation.
That vacation kicked off with a four day backcountry snowshoe trip, during which I had a lot of time to think (you’re forced to come up with inspiring thoughts when you’re sludging through pouring rain and ice). 2009 was a year filled with many negatives — recession, climate change, reality shows — but the goal is of course to pull ourselves from the ashes and hit the new decade with a renewed sense of energy. So from the snowy slopes of backcountry snowshoes trails, here are my life conclusions that I’m taking into 2010.
1. Spend more time outside, and drag someone else along while you’re at it. Taking off on a four day backcountry adventure seemed like no big deal. Why? Because I grew up with a father that encouraged and inspired outdoor pursuits at an early age. Take a child, a cousin, a friend — hell, even an enemy — on an outdoor adventure and see where it takes them. We could all use a little more fresh air in our lives.
2. Watch at least one sunset and one sunrise every week. Experiencing this fantastic part of the daily natural rhythm is inspiring. And it doesn’t cost anything. (P.S. That’s my 62 year-old mother doing a Christmas Day warrior on a very rocky beach…)
