Day Off!

I like challenges and being able to check off lists and look back at accomplishments. Several web challenges are out there at the beginning of this new year that entice me to run 365 days in a row. The perfectionist in me is really drawn to that. Yes, I could do that. 365 days - totally doable. It's just a mile. I could just walk a mile if I wanted. Doesn't even have to be a mile run. I find a challenge like this appealing - as I find 365 of taking a photograph a day, doing yoga every day, meditating every day, writing in my journal every day, not eating sugar every day appealing. Then I go back to Wayne Dyer's advice about taking life a day at a time, being in the present moment. I can make the choice today to eat well, meditate, practice yoga, run, write, photograph, and then gradually these things will become part of me, part of my daily life.

Instead of 365 days and then, "Whew I'm done!" I want to make those life-changing habits become... well, life. And in that I want to allow space for days off. Especially on something like running. I have some pretty ambitious goals for my year - a trail marathon in May, my first triathlon in July, a 50K in October. I'm gonna need some rest time in there! I know my body well enough to know that running 3-4 days in a row is good for me and then I need a day off, a day of rest. Then I'm goood for another 2, 3, 4 days.

I like the idea of more mindful eating but I also like the idea of chocolate chip cookies. So while I am putting more thought into what I put in my body, I also don't want to make an unbreakable rule for myself that cuts out one of my life's big pleasures! Then I'm just destined to fail and I don't want to feel guilt over a cookie.

I have added many activities into my life over the past decade or so that really bring me to a place where I feel so much peace in my days and where I truly enjoy getting up in the morning and going about my life. Those are the kinds of things I want to keep adding in, day by day.

The Best Snack Mix in the World!

I'm on a bit of a not-eating-sweets time after the holidays! Chocolate chips cookies, pecan pie, pound cake... I ate waaaay to much of all of those and more for the month of December. Sweets are my downfall and if they are in my house, I have such a hard time staying away from them. I've been eating smoothies and soup and Greek yoghurt and salmon and other pretty healthy things. But this snack mix is the best and the combination of crunchy and sweetish is just delicious. It is filling and wonderful with a glass of milk. Peanut, cashews, raisins, yogurt-covered raisins, and sundrops - perfection!

Reflections

Ordinary to Extraordinary

I want to live an extraordinary life! I recently read Running the Edge by Tim Catalano and Adam Goucher and felt so inspired after I finished it. They talk about being a distance maven, having peak experiences, really experiencing life, being an actor instead of a reactor, and living an extraordinary life. They relate their ideas to running as they are runners, but these ideas can be applied to anyone's life. I really relate to the running stories and the experiences they have had as runners. I am not a runner who will ever win a marathon or set the world on fire with my 5K time. I am a dedicated runner though. I have been running fairly consistently for a decade now. I love running and love what running brings to my life. It makes me be a better person in all areas of my life. The time alone, the time spent outside in Nature, the time pushing my body, the time to think, the time to be creative, the time to meditate ~ running provides me with all of this. It helps me be extraordinary in the rest of my life.

Day to day

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. ~Emily Dickinson

Well, it was back to "real life" today - back to school and work. I am going to concentrate on the day to day and making the choices to live only in that day and not worry too much about what I'm going to do in the tomorrows! It's supposed to take 30 ~or is it 40 ~ days to form a new habit. Habits, routines, choices ~ all boils down to the day to day living of life. I incorporate so many things into my daily life that make me who I am and that I really deeply enjoy. Things like running, spending time outside, writing in my journal, reading... I start to almost feel a sense of guilt if I don't do those things. I guess in a way that's what a habit is - doing something until is becomes part of who you are, what you do, where you feel that nagging sense that something is missing in your day if you don't do it.

I would like to focus on incorporating yoga and meditation in my days. I set my alarm for 6:15 today and got up to follow along with Rodney Yee's AM Yoga practice. It was a marvelous way to start the day. I felt like I had really accomplished something even before 6:40 when I got in the shower. It's only a few extra minutes of sleep I am missing and as Rodney says - the rewards will hopefully be great if I continue!

I went down to the river about 7:30 in the freeeeeezing cold weather and took some pictures of the sunrise. I enjoyed being out in the chilly air and watching the light hit the sky in pinks and purples and them burst forth in a blaze of gold to light the sky and water on fire. I didn't see any herons but heard lots of birds waking up and greeting the day. I thought as I was going back to my car at 8:00 how much I had done already to make my day a wonderful one.

I made time to run during the middle of my work day. I really prefer to run first thing in the morning, but I had to be at work too early for that today. Running in the middle of the day is nice too because it breaks the day up and makes it not seem so long.

I am enjoying meditating on "Om Mani Padme Hum." I need to work on the time when meditation fits into my life best.

ADVENTURE: "An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome."

I love to choose a word for the year that defines how I would like to live the upcoming 365 days. My word for 2012 is ADVENTURE! I want to fill my days with adventures of all kinds. I want to do things I might not ordinarily do, say, "yes!" when I would usually say, "no," take some chances, connect with people in different ways.

Adventures don't have to be risky but by my definition they are going to be pursuing things I want to do in my life but for some reason haven't so far. Incorporate meditation into my days, run a 50K, start a consistent yoga practice, cook different things for meals, make an effort to nurture friendships, run/bike/swim in a triathlon, publish a new book, raise chickens!

These are some things that come to mind as adventures that I want to pursue this year. I want to keep my eyes open for others that appeal to me. I will listen to that little voice inside that nudges me toward an activity or event or person and say yes to ADVENTURES in 2012!

January 1, 2012

"Forget about those New Year’s resolutions in which you decide on the first day of January how you will be conducting your life for the next twelve months. Instead, set up day-to-day goals for yourself, and then resolve to begin living with present moment awareness for the rest of your life. When you get good at living your present moments one day at a time, you’ll see yourself changing right before your own surprised eyes. Remember, anyone can do anything for just one day, so tune out the sentences that keep you locked into your old self-defeating ways and begin to enjoy each day of your bright new year.

What are some things you've wanted to do for yourself, one day at a time?"

~Wayne Dyer

I love this! Living in the present moment is all there is. The NOW. Living in the present moment for the rest of my life. Really being there for everything I do, every choice I make, every encounter I have. Soaking in the everyday moments with my daughter, sharing time with my husband and doing things we enjoy together, taking in the beauty of the trees and the smell of the air as I run, looking into people's eyes as I talk with them, savoring every bit of food I eat, appreciating the softness of my dog as I rub her belly, really listening to music, feeling my body as I move throughout my day, connecting with my soul as I seek stillness in the midst of my busy days.

Some things I want to do for myself one day at a time?

~Meditate
~Run

~Spend time with my husband

~Grow with my child

~Read books - something for pleasure, something for inspiration

~Write in my journal

~Do yoga

~Cook and bake

~Garden

~Take more pictures and learn more about photography and my camera

~Write stories

~Make time for quiet every day

~Consciously make choices

~Be present

~Have more adventures!

I welcome 2012 with open arms!