9/6/2023 Ready to IgniteToday, I woke up with a tornado swirling in my gut, my heart, my soul. I feel like a raging bull.
The reason, truly, doesn't matter. I want to sit with the emotions churning within me today, allowing them to ignite and spark a revolution. I have enough rocket fuel inside me, and we all do, to transform things from the way they are to how I wish them to be. This is tough, it sucks, but it's all part of the process. No amount of meditation, introspection, visualization, or gratitude is enough to move me, until the desire catches fire and becomes uncontrollable. I'm ready to ignite 8/6/2023 No pain hereNext week, I'll be taking on a 100-mile race! Technically, I'm a new to this particular distance. I've run further before, but never actually in a 100 miles race setting.
The race is a point-to-point course and, weather permitting, it should offer a very runnable terrain with minimal elevation. I'm excited to take on this new challenge and curious to see how my body will respond to the shock of an additional 60% distance compared to the races I've completed recently. It's been 3 years since I last ran over 100km, and it seems I've erased any memory of the temporary pain one experiences, only remembering the incredible sense of accomplishment at the end. So perhaps there wasn't any pain at all? Maybe that's the right mindset to have getting into it. 6/6/2023 Do Your Part
Every day, as a parent, I encourage my children with my words. I urge them to be brave, kind, and persistent, and to follow their dreams. But wait. Are my actions in alignment with the advice I give?
Not always. Not recently. I know this because I have recurrent dreams - of experiences I haven't had, places I've not visited, and personal challenges I've yet to tackle. When these recurrent dreams surface at the forefront of my mind, I often dismiss them with a casual "one day." It's time to do my part. To be brave, kind, and persistent. To follow my dreams. Actions will always speak louder than words. 5/6/2023 Never snooze. Get up and get going.
I don't have curtains in my room so most days I wake up when the first light enters, accompanied by the morning chorus of birds. It's a beautiful way to wake up, even when it means being up at 4AM in summer.
Now, in the heart of winter, the first light is much later in the morning. It's cozy under the duvet, and even the birds don't seem too eager to start their day early. So, I've returned to using an alarm clock, but merely as a last resort. I don't set it for my ideal wake-up time, but for the latest possible time I can rise. This subtle mental shift, which I realized just this morning, has greatly improved my process of getting out of bed and tackling the day. If I wake up naturally and stay conscious long enough to form an intelligent thought (about the moment, the day, the fact that I am awake and conscious), I congratulate myself: I am ahead of the game. I've earned bonus time in my day to do whatever I want. Meditate, train a little extra, stretch, read a book, inhale the aroma of coffee beans... I can do almost anything, as long as I'm quiet and don't wake up the rest of the family. Unfortunately, switching on the coffee machine falls into the 'too noisy' category. However, if I'm awoken by the alarm clock, the scenario changes entirely. There is no extra time. It's simply go time. There is no room for snoozing or taking a time-out. There is no decision to be made. If I snooze, I lose the game. 4/6/2023 Full moon party
Have you ever had a moment where you realize you're stuck in a rut? Last night, Lidia and I attended a full moon dance party. Not the kind of party you might be thinking of, but an event that happens every three months, coinciding with the full moon. The event had a live acoustic session, a DJ spinning tunes, and for the grand 2-hour finale, a six-man band played upbeat Caribbean rhythms, covering Calypso, Mento, Early Reggae, and Ska styles. They improvised with each other and engaged with the crowd. The energy was infectious and electric, and we found ourselves dancing, laughing, and making new friends well into the night. We ended the night in true Italian style, with a late-night plate of "spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino" at 1:30 AM, reminiscent of the carefree times we used to enjoy.
Truthfully, I had no idea what to expect from the night or the venue. It had been a long time since I stepped outside my comfort zone, embracing the unknown and letting the night unfold. I realised that I had begun to avoid such spontaneous outings. But why? This morning, as I chose to run with my kids instead of going for my usual solo Sunday run, I realised I've been caught in a cycle of 'serious' routine. Like many others, my life revolves around work, household chores, training, kids' activities - the usual, nothing more, nothing less. But it's not the routine itself that's the problem. It's my attitude towards it. A routine is essential; it keeps my life organised and efficient. But it shouldn't consume me. It shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of existence. Instead, the routine should serve as a foundation, a springboard that propels me into the realm of the unpredictable, the exciting, the fun. It should allow me to carve out time for the unexpected joys and experiences that life outside the routine can offer. In essence, I need to change my approach: be laser-focused during my routine to maximise time efficiency, and then let go. Allow myself the freedom to live, to enjoy, to have fun outside the confines of the routine. Reflecting on the fun I had last night serves as a wake-up call, a reminder that life exists beyond the boundaries of our everyday routines. |
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