A great reminder that the journey towards health and wellness that I am undertaking is about being as natural as possible and I have a big backyard to play/be active/work out in.
September 18, 2014
It's about being fit, not just looking it
A great article by the founder of MovNat.
A great reminder that the journey towards health and wellness that I am undertaking is about being as natural as possible and I have a big backyard to play/be active/work out in.
A great reminder that the journey towards health and wellness that I am undertaking is about being as natural as possible and I have a big backyard to play/be active/work out in.
September 11, 2014
Gifting Communities
One of the highlights of my time in Washington, was what became known as "The Gauntlet". This included Scout Week, Survival Week and the Closing Week together as a tribe. It was during Scout Week that I had a bit of a internal conflict as I watched certain tribe members get ultra competitive and for others treat it kind of like war. It wasn't until 2 months later that I got to witness a much more benevolent way of playing an age old game.
The outdoor school that I worked for sat on land that was owned by and a part of a Sufi Community. One of their values is that of nonviolence, and when it came time to play capture the flag they went about it very differently. They practiced the art of gifting. The art of gifting was more about paying attention to the needs of the tribe rather than taking something from them. You still had to practice your scout skills of movement and invisibility, but rather than the goal being to take the flag, the goal was to give a gift to the other clan without being seen. This too became very contagious as each clan attempted to sneak into another camp to gift them.
Growing up in the Church of the Brethren (and I struggled with games that seem to promote a war-like mentality) but here it was like a light went off and I quickly realized how we could go about this and still practice our Brethren values of being a blessing.
A gifting economy is one in which the most important things aren't for sale (child care, prepping meals, making music, taking care of the elderly, leadership decision etc..). Selling and buying tend to distance or impersonalize relationships. Gifting builds, sustains and grows relationships and communities. I think that's part of my current struggle with the church, we've lost the importance of gifting in favor of buying and selling our stuff for others.
The outdoor school that I worked for sat on land that was owned by and a part of a Sufi Community. One of their values is that of nonviolence, and when it came time to play capture the flag they went about it very differently. They practiced the art of gifting. The art of gifting was more about paying attention to the needs of the tribe rather than taking something from them. You still had to practice your scout skills of movement and invisibility, but rather than the goal being to take the flag, the goal was to give a gift to the other clan without being seen. This too became very contagious as each clan attempted to sneak into another camp to gift them.
Growing up in the Church of the Brethren (and I struggled with games that seem to promote a war-like mentality) but here it was like a light went off and I quickly realized how we could go about this and still practice our Brethren values of being a blessing.
A gifting economy is one in which the most important things aren't for sale (child care, prepping meals, making music, taking care of the elderly, leadership decision etc..). Selling and buying tend to distance or impersonalize relationships. Gifting builds, sustains and grows relationships and communities. I think that's part of my current struggle with the church, we've lost the importance of gifting in favor of buying and selling our stuff for others.
May 05, 2014
Exploring Our Running Roots
I've been reading Chris' book Born to Run and it has really inspired me to re-think my understanding of running. When I was young and into my teens, I was always a sprinter and never could run more than a 6-minute mile. I always told myself that I was not a distance runner.
Yet in my wilderness training out west, I was introduced to "coyote running" which greatly improved my ability to run... even distances. I've not been running much since then and this TED talk has inspired me to begin running again. I love his reference to pack running which reminded me of an ancient Ojibwe prophecy speaking about a time when wolf and human hunted together and that our paths would separate for a time only to be one day joined together again. Maybe that prophecy is unfolding in our lives today with the comeback of the wolf and our re-imagining that we were born to run.
Yet in my wilderness training out west, I was introduced to "coyote running" which greatly improved my ability to run... even distances. I've not been running much since then and this TED talk has inspired me to begin running again. I love his reference to pack running which reminded me of an ancient Ojibwe prophecy speaking about a time when wolf and human hunted together and that our paths would separate for a time only to be one day joined together again. Maybe that prophecy is unfolding in our lives today with the comeback of the wolf and our re-imagining that we were born to run.
April 10, 2014
Reclaiming an era
Is this what happens as you get older?
I find myself referring to a golden age of writing and thinking as of late. I'm not referring to some age such as the Renaissance; rather a time in my life that was rich with words, images, clarity and creativity. I find that I'm not as contemplative as I used to be; simply look back at my blog posts from 7 or 8 years ago. I don't know what's happened in that time but I notice that (lately) I find myself speaking before thinking and that feels so backward from how I used to be. I've told people recently that they've not seen the best version of me yet or that I used to be so much more contemplative.
Here's the best explanation I've come up with.
I'm the heaviest and most out of shape than I've ever been (and generally unmotivated).
I've not been reading and thinking critically (rarely if at all in the past year) like I used to.
I've not been outside like I usually am (some of this is due to a rather harsh winter).
I look forward to creativity re-emerging and the reclaiming that contemplative side of myself that has gotten lost in recent years. Maybe it is getting older, but I think vitality will return as I exercise my physical, mental and spiritual self. Wish me luck.
I find myself referring to a golden age of writing and thinking as of late. I'm not referring to some age such as the Renaissance; rather a time in my life that was rich with words, images, clarity and creativity. I find that I'm not as contemplative as I used to be; simply look back at my blog posts from 7 or 8 years ago. I don't know what's happened in that time but I notice that (lately) I find myself speaking before thinking and that feels so backward from how I used to be. I've told people recently that they've not seen the best version of me yet or that I used to be so much more contemplative.
Here's the best explanation I've come up with.
I'm the heaviest and most out of shape than I've ever been (and generally unmotivated).
I've not been reading and thinking critically (rarely if at all in the past year) like I used to.
I've not been outside like I usually am (some of this is due to a rather harsh winter).
I look forward to creativity re-emerging and the reclaiming that contemplative side of myself that has gotten lost in recent years. Maybe it is getting older, but I think vitality will return as I exercise my physical, mental and spiritual self. Wish me luck.