I'm a creature of habit. This past month, it seems that all my consistently scheduled activities have all been rescheduled. It's very weird. The strength class I've done for 5 years changed locations and days. Our Tae Kwon Do class that has been on Tuesday and Thursday at noon for 4 years, is now on an entirely whacked-out schedule that I don't even know yet. But it's not Tuesday and Thursday. Oh yeah, and it changed location, too. Because of these two changes, everything else is changing. Except for swimming, I think that nothing is interfering with my Tuesday/Thursday morning swims. At least not yet.
I've been amazed at how these two changes seem to be affecting my brain and my body. I've worn grooves in my habits and now I've been thrown off course.Which is likely a good thing. Change tends to lead to more change, more wisdom, more experience.
To celebrate all this change, I decided to add a kettlebell class to my weekly routine. It starts at 6am. That, right there, is probably the most assertive change I've made in my life: committing to a 6am class. For me, that was a more difficult decision to be at peace with than ditching all grains. This morning was the first class I attended. I did not drink any wine last night. That was a good thing. My youngest daughter decided to change her bedtime routine. Yikes! I knew that would bite me in the ass. I went to bed at midnight, after about 1.5 hours of falling asleep, and waking back up in the kid's bed.
I never use an alarm. Ever. But I decided that since I slept like a boulder yesterday morning, I better be on the safe side. I woke up exactly 2 minutes before the alarm went off. Yay to my internal clock! I got up, made a delicious espresso with full-fat pastured cream. Changed into my workout clothes. Drove up town to the class location in the dark. Drank in the little sliver moon that was muted by some wispy clouds. Arrived at the class, alert and pretty ready to go. It was super fun. Hard. A couple of friends are also in the class, and I haven't seen them in a while, so it will be fun to be in a regular routine with them again.
I got home at 7:15 am. The house was silent. Everyone was still asleep. I made another espresso. Packed my lunch, changed into my work clothes, and headed off to work. What a whole new concept! I'm pleased with myself for committing and pleasantly surprised by how I feel. I think I can make this a new habit!
April 22 of 2012 began the start of tremendous change. It's been nearly one year since I uprooted my diet, ditched my daily consumption of beer, started meditating regularly, endured the stress of potentially losing my job on a daily basis, and began working diligently towards finding my true path in life, you know beyond this government-funded hazardous waste clean up gig I've held for the past 20 years.
Yesterday, while sitting in the little spring-fed pool watching the water scooters swim around and mate while fending off the predatory water beetle, I kept thinking that I'm trying too hard. I'm doing too much. I'm trying to do EVERYTHING. I'm feeling a little stressed about it. I signed up for a half marathon that is coming up fast, yet I haven't been able to take a run longer than 4 miles. Our weekends have been booked, and then I got sick. I ran on Monday, and felt like I had lead in my shoes. I ran yesterday, but couldn't muster up enough motivation to do a real run, so I ran up the canyon to the little spring, soaked for 30 minutes, and then ran back. That's not a real run. But the soaking is so much more satisfying. I leave there energized, revitalized, at peace, grounded, in tune.
I am doing so much. I am working. I am launching my new business. I'm finishing my book proposal. I'm preparing my presentation for AHS 2013. We're unschooling. I'm a chauffeur. I'm a mom. I'm a wife. I have a house. I have chickens. I have a dog. I'm tyring to help my company win new work. I'm working on getting my website up and running. In between all of that, I've been studying, researching, absorbing information like a sponge. Trying to get a good night's sleep each night. Trying to fix excellent dinners most nights. Battling my cravings for beer and wine most nights. Planning for my future. Planning for my kids' futures. Trying to consolidate debt. Preparing for the new classes I will be leading. Running. Swimming. Grounding. Tae Kwon Do. And there is so much more I could list, but seriously, is that even palatable?
No. I am doing too much. I think I should drop the race. I can't think of one other single thing I can drop. If I don't train for the half, I won't feel guilty for not running more.
Yesterday, while soaking and grounding, I reflected on the me I once was twenty years ago. I was still trying to do what I really wanted to do, and biding my time at my job in the interim. Never would I have thought that I'd get to twenty years later and still feel that same drive to do what I want to do. Shit! We even did what we wanted to do by starting the D.O.M.E., and building a successful outdoor shop and guide service. We just hadn't predicted the Cerro Grande fire, nor all the consequences (READ: CHANGE) that would take place in our lives as a result.
But back then I wasn't doing too much. I was doing just enough. I worked my hours. I dreamt up business ideas in the evenings. We had no kids, so that was a huge time-saver right there. I did Tae Kwon Do. I biked. I climbed. I snowboarded. It was pretty freakin' simple.
So, as my life has changed, my schedules have changed, and I have changed, I realize that maybe, just maybe, I need to work some slow-down time into my life.
I've been amazed at how these two changes seem to be affecting my brain and my body. I've worn grooves in my habits and now I've been thrown off course.Which is likely a good thing. Change tends to lead to more change, more wisdom, more experience.
To celebrate all this change, I decided to add a kettlebell class to my weekly routine. It starts at 6am. That, right there, is probably the most assertive change I've made in my life: committing to a 6am class. For me, that was a more difficult decision to be at peace with than ditching all grains. This morning was the first class I attended. I did not drink any wine last night. That was a good thing. My youngest daughter decided to change her bedtime routine. Yikes! I knew that would bite me in the ass. I went to bed at midnight, after about 1.5 hours of falling asleep, and waking back up in the kid's bed.
I never use an alarm. Ever. But I decided that since I slept like a boulder yesterday morning, I better be on the safe side. I woke up exactly 2 minutes before the alarm went off. Yay to my internal clock! I got up, made a delicious espresso with full-fat pastured cream. Changed into my workout clothes. Drove up town to the class location in the dark. Drank in the little sliver moon that was muted by some wispy clouds. Arrived at the class, alert and pretty ready to go. It was super fun. Hard. A couple of friends are also in the class, and I haven't seen them in a while, so it will be fun to be in a regular routine with them again.
I got home at 7:15 am. The house was silent. Everyone was still asleep. I made another espresso. Packed my lunch, changed into my work clothes, and headed off to work. What a whole new concept! I'm pleased with myself for committing and pleasantly surprised by how I feel. I think I can make this a new habit!
April 22 of 2012 began the start of tremendous change. It's been nearly one year since I uprooted my diet, ditched my daily consumption of beer, started meditating regularly, endured the stress of potentially losing my job on a daily basis, and began working diligently towards finding my true path in life, you know beyond this government-funded hazardous waste clean up gig I've held for the past 20 years.
Yesterday, while sitting in the little spring-fed pool watching the water scooters swim around and mate while fending off the predatory water beetle, I kept thinking that I'm trying too hard. I'm doing too much. I'm trying to do EVERYTHING. I'm feeling a little stressed about it. I signed up for a half marathon that is coming up fast, yet I haven't been able to take a run longer than 4 miles. Our weekends have been booked, and then I got sick. I ran on Monday, and felt like I had lead in my shoes. I ran yesterday, but couldn't muster up enough motivation to do a real run, so I ran up the canyon to the little spring, soaked for 30 minutes, and then ran back. That's not a real run. But the soaking is so much more satisfying. I leave there energized, revitalized, at peace, grounded, in tune.
I am doing so much. I am working. I am launching my new business. I'm finishing my book proposal. I'm preparing my presentation for AHS 2013. We're unschooling. I'm a chauffeur. I'm a mom. I'm a wife. I have a house. I have chickens. I have a dog. I'm tyring to help my company win new work. I'm working on getting my website up and running. In between all of that, I've been studying, researching, absorbing information like a sponge. Trying to get a good night's sleep each night. Trying to fix excellent dinners most nights. Battling my cravings for beer and wine most nights. Planning for my future. Planning for my kids' futures. Trying to consolidate debt. Preparing for the new classes I will be leading. Running. Swimming. Grounding. Tae Kwon Do. And there is so much more I could list, but seriously, is that even palatable?
No. I am doing too much. I think I should drop the race. I can't think of one other single thing I can drop. If I don't train for the half, I won't feel guilty for not running more.
Yesterday, while soaking and grounding, I reflected on the me I once was twenty years ago. I was still trying to do what I really wanted to do, and biding my time at my job in the interim. Never would I have thought that I'd get to twenty years later and still feel that same drive to do what I want to do. Shit! We even did what we wanted to do by starting the D.O.M.E., and building a successful outdoor shop and guide service. We just hadn't predicted the Cerro Grande fire, nor all the consequences (READ: CHANGE) that would take place in our lives as a result.
But back then I wasn't doing too much. I was doing just enough. I worked my hours. I dreamt up business ideas in the evenings. We had no kids, so that was a huge time-saver right there. I did Tae Kwon Do. I biked. I climbed. I snowboarded. It was pretty freakin' simple.
So, as my life has changed, my schedules have changed, and I have changed, I realize that maybe, just maybe, I need to work some slow-down time into my life.
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