We all know it’s good to exercise. Watch our diet. Keep our thoughts positive. Meditate. So why don’t we regularly do these life-improving things?Because we are human. And we operate on the self-defeating premise that unless we do things perfectly or all the time, it’s – well – why bother? So, we do nothing. And, that’s where we really hurt ourselves.We don’t have to exercise as if we’re preparing for the Olympics. Or eat like we’re applying for a Paris runway (God forbid!). And, we don’t have to aspire to Dalai Lama-like serenity. But we do need to drop the ‘why bother?’ excuse and do something that resembles self-care. It’s never too late to start walking. Stop eating dessert. Sit down for just five minutes with all the noise turned off. Those seemingly small acts can add up to seismic shifts. It’s just like Nike says – JUST DO IT.
06/25/2008
06/09/2008
In this moment.
Yes. That IS David Archuleta of American Idol. And if you really want to be in the moment, he’ll get you there and make you want to stay there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q26vROvKeFw
“Driving through the city for the first time, you and me
Staring through windows and my own reflection
How can no window encompass perfection
Now that I know what it’s like to be living
This beautiful world and never stop giving
I can’t return to a life with no vision
Born into eyes not by my own decision
(and) I wanna be in this moment,
No one can take it from me
(and) I wanna stay in this moment,
No one can take it away from me
Give me a chance and I’ll show you what’s real
Open your eyes and you’ll see
Then I’m stuck in a moment and no one can take it from me
I wanna be in this moment,
No one can take it from me
I wanna stay in this moment,
No one can take it away from me.”
06/03/2008
Resistance vs. Opposition.
Merriman-Webster defines ‘resistance’ as the inherent ability of an organism to resist harmful influences. Harmful. Hm. That would make resistance a good thing. Yet, others say that what we resist persists. Now that sounds really harmful. So, which is it? Perhaps both.On the plus side, we certainly want to be resistant to illness. To illicit temptations. To unwarrented risks. It’s when we find ourselves resisting the doing of things that will help us, enhance us as individuals and contributors to society that things can get ugly.In fact, there are countless good things that we resist: change; learning; fully expressing our creativity; commitment; taking a stand on important matters. Just a few examples where resistance can turn into massive procrastination or dangerous malaise. And, trying to fight resistance (no, this is not a redundancy) doesn’t work. Resistance produces negative strength. So anything we are tyring to overcome is actually reinforced by our resistance to it. What we really need to do is form opposition to what we don’t want in our lives rather than settle into resistance. Instead of hating war, love peace. Instead of feeding fear, nourish freedom. Instead of allowing resistance to obstruct our progress, our success, we define it as the enemy and place opposition in front of it.