Mindful Mondays – Faith and Irony

I find it hugely ironic that I received notice while writing the blog post below that a dear friend and her husband were found dead in their home on Saturday.  The irony in this is that I would have a difficult time finding two more faithful people than these two.  Pam, who was a friend and mother figure to me, was a devout Catholic and taught bible study.  Nothing made her smile more than her family and her students.  Her two daughters were the light of her life and it physically pained Pam to see either of them hurting, but it brought her more joy to see them smile.  First and foremost she was a mother and a wife; everything else in life came after.  Her husband Skip was a corporate man who was hugely successful in his profession.  He provided for his girls and from what I knew of him was a good man and father.  It makes one wonder why God would choose two people who worked hard and loved even harder to end their stay on this earth early.  As I write this post I am still baffled, anxiously waiting for answers and details.  Though late, I don’t necessarily have a quote, but a farewell to a dear friend.

To my dear friend Pam, thank you for touching my life in the way you did.  You were a confidant and a friend and I’ll cherish our laughs and tears and conversations and shopping sprees along the years.  I miss you already and I wish you an eternity of peace.

 

Original Post:

I never grew up recognizing a certain religion.  The only thing I knew about my family’s faith was that I am Protestant, but all that I know of the religion is what I learned in history class.  I have gone to church – Catholic mostly, with friends and relatives of that denomination.  Religion isn’t something that has been discussed much in my circle of friends, until lately.  With the creation of social media we all have the ability to know more about people we don’t necessarily know in outside of Facebook or Twitter.  We are given insight into the lives of people around us who share intimate details of their beliefs and experiences.  I say this because it seems that I am seeing more posts from people my age around church and faith.

I am not a big fan of morning talk radio, but that seems to be what I get on my way to work each day.  One particular morning the hosts asked the audience, ‘what would you text or tweet your 18-year-old self?’  I thought about that for a while that day, and I even posted that same question on my Facebook.  One man in particular called in and replied, ‘I would tell myself not to wait so long before going to church.’  I wondered about that response because I have noticed a shift in the last year in my own life and what I truly consider important.  I have done a lot of soul-searching and I’ve taken notice to those who outwardly express their faith.  My mother used to stress the importance of faith to me and it isn’t necessarily the religion or belief that is important, it is the fact that we have faith in something.  We have something or someone to guide us through this life, no matter how difficult.  And if that faith helps us through, then it shouldn’t matter if it’s not something that you believe in the same capacity.

**End Note**

What will get me through this tragedy today is the belief that Pam and her husband are at peace above and that their family will find peace here on earth.

Mindful Mondays – Come Alive

Do you have a hobby, or something you’re passionate about?  Do you also have more on your plate than you can handle at the moment?  If you answer yes to both of these items I can probably guess which one gets put on the back burner all too often.

It’s funny how we have things we love to do, but when life gets in the way of those passions, we, or at least I, tend to focus on what I ‘need’ to get done opposed to what I ‘want’ to get done.

Trying to juggle what seems like a million things at once is exhausting and I know I find myself wishing there were about ten more hours in the day just to give me a chance to get through my never-ending to-do list.

I work at a company that stresses the concept of a ‘Work-Life Balance’.  This balance should result in more productivity and motivation both in and outside of the office, but for someone who tries to cram in every activity imaginable into every day, the end result is anything but balance.

Last summer I found a new passion in running and participating in outdoor group activities, and even volunteered to be a captain for an upcoming event, yet I feel that I am doing them a huge injustice by not being 100% dedicated to the tasks at hand.

Especially when it’s beautiful outside I find myself wishing I was enjoying a nice long run, but as soon as 5:00 hits, I’m either out the door and the only thing I want to do is decompress from my busy day, or I must head to the university on my class nights.

I also find myself thinking about the books I have bought in anticipation of a few minutes of quiet time, yet I am too exhausted at night to get more than a page read.

There is a gap between my passion and my motivation and I am working to close it so that I may find peace in the things I need to get done and make time for the things I want to get done.

For this week, I encourage you to take a moment and focus your energy on what makes you come alive, and go do it.  There is no better time than now.

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

-Howard Thurman

Mindful Mondays – It Goes On

I’ve been so busy that I even forgot to post last Monday’s post.  This week is no different.  I am exhausted and my day is far from over.  There has been so much going on in the lives around me and it’s only fitting to post something about life.

So this week is short and maybe sweet, depending on how you look it it.  Maybe it’s not so sweet, but it’s very true.  No matter what is going on in life, the only constant is that it goes on.

“Life. It Goes On.”

Mindful Mondays – Namaste

There is a long list of topics I could write about today, but I really don’t have the time to spend delving into any one topic and give it the time it truly deserves.  So I will save my lengthy posts for another day.

Lately it seems that my plate has been piling up and my to-do list is never-ending.  For the sanity of myself and those around me I have decided to find outlets for my pent up energy.  Last week for the first time I tried Pilates, with the reformer machine.  I can honestly say that for the first time in I don’t know how long, I spent the whole hour focused solely on my moves and breathing, partly due to the fact that it was one of the most difficult exercises I’ve ever done.  Today I went to my second yoga class for the week and even though I can still barely move my arms from last week’s Pilates, I have found two new outlets that help me focus my energy in positive ways.

In failed attempts before I was never truly able to clear my mind; in fact, I would actually use the time to think about everything I had to get done rather than to focus on my breathing and form.  My form todays is nowhere near perfect and I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but the time I spend focusing on nothing other than breathing and posture is priceless.

If you feel the pressures of life and obligations add up, take some time out for yourself.  Whether it is 15 minutes or an hour, remove yourself and find some form of inner peace.

“Namaste”

Mindful Mondays – Let’s Play Ball

Last Friday marked the opening day of Major League Baseball.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love sports.  Maybe what they don’t know is the reason why I love sports the way I do.  Growing up, it was the one thing that my father and I could enjoy together.  Most of my fondest childhood memories revolved around spending time at a baseball stadium with my family.  Whenever we’d visit my grandparents in the spring and summer we’d always make it over to the ugliest stadium in America, the Seattle Kingdome.  Or, closer to home, we’d catch the Ms play the As for a day or two down in Oakland.  Around the house, it was common to have a game on in the background of any conversation.

On Sundays, instead of going out to play with my girlfriends, I would park in on the couch with a big bag of sunflower seeds and turn on whatever game I could find.  Becketts, baseball cards, posters and ticket stubs are what I collected.  I would even trade baseball cards with the neighbors over the fence.  My dad even brought me a plaque of my all-time favorite player, Ken Griffey, Jr., home from one of his trips.

I still remember those days, and even now when I visit my father during the summer I can expect to walk into the house and see him messing around the house and sure enough baseball will be on the television.

The love of baseball, and all sports, has been engrained in me.  It is who I am because it is how I grew up; that coupled with the love for my father and the common bond we share is why I look forward to opening day every year.

So this week I leave you with a quote from a movie and what it means to me.

… People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come. – Field of Dreams

Mindful Mondays – April Fools

I didn’t realize that it was April 1st yesterday, and April Fools Day.  I don’t remember what reminded me, but needless to say I didn’t have any practical jokes played on me, nor did I have the energy to play one on anyone else.  It was one of my laziest and most relaxing days in a while.

So in the spirit of this silly day, I found a quote that reminds me of conversations I’ve had a lot of lately.  I tend to take things seriously; too seriously at times.  I’m learning these days that sometimes its better to laugh because the alternative is too unbearable.  I also am learning not to take myself so seriously.  That one will take me some time, but I’m getting some good practice. This week, I hope you find yourself laughing just a little more.

“Suppose the world were only one of God’s jokes, would you work any the less to make it a good joke instead of a bad one?” George Bernard Shaw

Mindful Mondays – Dancing in the Rain

I ran my second ever half marathon this weekend down in Napa Valley.  Me and a handful of friends went down and planned to run the race and follow it up by wine tasting and enjoying delicious food.

When we got up on Saturday morning the rain had already starting coming down.  The course was not anything that we had expected and we knew we were in for a long couple of hours.

It rained the whole race and started coming down heavily about half way in.  We finished our race, but I defintely didn’t hit the time marker that I had hoped for.

It rained the whole weekend and we didn’t hit as many wineries as I would have liked, but it was Napa all the same.  We ate good food, drank great wine, did some shopping and enjoyed time with family and friends.

So, if you find yourself in a storm this week, I hope you dance.

“Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.”