If you are reading this...

If you are reading this, I ask you to do one thing for me. Turn off your computer screen, mute whatever music is playing, silence your phone, remove yourself if possible to solace location, find a comfortable position, and just take 15 minutes to quiet your mind.

Be still. Relax. Focus only on your breathing. Let your mind be clear. Find yourself in your own Zen.

Do this and let me know what you think and if you think someone needs a "quick breather" send them a link to this entry. They will thank you for your genuine concern.

The process of judging others...

Editors note: I have put a few key strokes of thought down everyday adhering to my previous post's intention, so the following entry has been a "work in progress" due to the hectic and sometime demanding nature of my life. Please excuse any irregularity this may have caused.

What should the basis of our decision of people be based on? If we look at it through the prism of MEPS we should be able to find the criteria for our decision. I think that the ME portion (mental and emotional) have smaller value in the overall evaluation process. I think the general appraisal of these two should be that one- the person has a healthy mental diet and is striving to better themselves in that area; and two that the person displays healthy relationships with others. These two factors, if met with positive marks, are really just checkboxes in the whole process. If the person lacks in these two areas you may have to factor them into the equation but for most part I think we all relatively qualify as "normal" under these two aspects. I think the other remaining parts (physical and spiritual) carry more weight and there are multiple reasons why I believe this. First with the spiritual base, if the person has a good moral compass that is active in their decision making process it should directly relate to their actions (the real interpretation of physical) and their actions are ultimately decided on their spiritual base. Now I do believe that the physical outward appearance and health of a person is a direct expression of discipline (to take care of oneself) but is determined by the priority/value system ultimately established in one's moral compass i.e. their spiritual base. Now to further this train of thought, ones actions should be the benchmarks we establish as persons spiritual direction. Notice I didn't say level and said direction. You can't measure someone's spiritual level it's not something that they accumulate, but rather you can establish their heading of their moral compass. Whatever their principles, morals, values and priorities are, those are like their "true north"- always giving a basis for any bearing they take in their decisions and actions. So attempt to determine the person's direction, search out a persons unseen 80% of their iceberg, and try to understand what their "North" is. Then when you have this root of information base your further judgement of their actions from that, and ultimately your final opinion of someone should be as close to "true" as possible. Hopefully. If nothing else you will have spent a lot of time thinking about this person!

Realigning to MEPS

So this will be a very short and sweet blog entry. I just finished a quick but intense workout after putting my children to bed. The workout was definitely the easier of the two tasks but I digress... The reason for the post is that after the workout I came upstairs to clean up and prepare for bed when I decided to mess with my iPhone. Now I am a person who likes to rearrange furniture/ my desk/ the kitchen countertop layout/ etc. every couple months. I just need things to be "new" or "different" just to keep myself from being to routine; so obviously my iPhone is no exception. But here is the thing- I rearranged it to put things that would support my daily practice of MEPS out in the front so every time I use my phone I must look at those apps and remind myself to do something each day for each one of those areas. Now I know this isn't mind blowing stuff but I pose this question to you- what can you do to rearrange your daily settings to support your MEPS? My action may be simple but hopefully it makes a big difference. To each their own- and with that being said, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

An everlasting love...

I miss you, I don't know why I'm writing you this letter because I know you'll never read it. But it's only been a few days without you, and I can't seem to stop thinking about you. Everywhere I go, I swear I see you. On the tv, billboards, even radio ads seem to speak your name.  In the morning I swear I can still smell your fragrance in the air and it floods my mind with thoughts of you with me at breakfast, and I wonder where you are.  I used to hear applause when you'd cook for me, but now the mornings are silent and don't seem to have that same sizzle they once did. At lunch, my sandwiches don't taste the same without you there. Even dinner has lost it's appeal. I used to love salads and burgers with you, but now my appetite suffers in your wake.  I'm wasting away without you! Some people said it was an unhealthy relationship, you and I, but to me it felt so right.  My friends would say my over indulgence in you was slowly killing me, that they couldn't even recognize me anymore. They said it could never work- a Canadian like you and a guy like me. They even called you thick cut and a fatback, but I don't care! I still love you all the same. I wait patently till the day you come back into my life. I must say truthfully, I love you bacon! Please come back... xoxoxo, Bacon Lover

Don't want to sound hypocritical but I may anyway...

So as I sit here in my recliner with no lights on in the house, the children (and wife now too) asleep, I'm left to ponder what to do at 10PM. The kids are a bit sick so they are sleeping lightly leaving me unable to do any work projects around the house, or watch TV. Doing any work related stuff is a no go at this late hour and any spiritual type reading would be difficult for me to truly focus on. My head is still working and since I was unable to run today my body is still awake but I'm at a loss for something to do. So why not blog about it right?! I mean we live in a world where we have instant access to virtually anything. Smart phones, computers, television, Facebook, Twitter; The Internet can allow us to share thoughts and ideas in the blink of an eye, yet most of the information we (as a society) put out there is utter crap. Now I said in the title of this post that I would sound like a hypocrite, but I'll try to save myself that label by saying this. Take heed to the information you digest as well as dispense. Roses in roses out, crap in crap out. Don't try to say something JUST to say something, have a reason and a purpose for what you share with this world. Not only will you find yourself being more aware of the world around you but you'll be more aware of "yourself"; and that can never be a bad thing!

The music/running phenomenon

I have a naive belief that everything happens for a reason. Now I won't go into the deep philosophical God/universe/meaning of life portion of my belief; no I'm going to keep this discussion strictly to the music and my running experiences. I have found that every time I go for a run, no mater the length or difficulty, the music selection always seems to fit perfectly. Sometimes it's a predesigned playlist, other times an album, and sometime just a random shuffle, but no matter the selection I find that it fits perfectly into the run I'm on. The ebb and flow of the music matches my physical rhythms and feeds my mental, emotional, and spiritual tones as well. My greatest enjoyment though is when the music pushes me to go harder better faster stronger; almost as if it's my unseen coach, knowing what I need and when I really need it. Now again I know that this is a naive thought, to think the music was meant to be played at that exact time just for that run, but a thought that serves to fuel my belief that there is something greater than us, a purpose for everything, a fate that is beyond our comprehension; like it's all supposed to happen for a reason. Now I'm not saying that the music/running sync proves anything to the aforesaid but I will say this; I love that my music and running are in stride together...

Upcoming nap!

I think naps are one of those truly precious things that we appreciate more as we get older and realize how awesome they really are! So with that said I am now going to go nap with my kids!