Happy New Year!

Well it’s nearly February and I haven’t written a visible post since mid-2012 so I think the Internet gods would say that it is about time I unleash my absurd and overactive imagination onto the world again. I know, I’m sorry but I have to do it.

Happy New Year 2013 to all! I hope 2012 was joyful, and if not joyful, then at least constructive, and if not constructive, then good god I do hope you learned something, anything. It’s nearly impossible though isn’t it, to go through each passing year and NOT learn something about yourself and about the world around you. Now whether you choose to take what you learned as an impetus to change yourself or the world around you, or whether you feel it needs changing at all, well that is entirely up to you, but to further encourage you to make those changes, modern-day humans have concocted a cute little thing called New Year’s resolutions. I will reflect upon my own resolutions briefly now if you don’t mind. Now, it should be said that typically New Year’s resolutions are not made after the entire first month of the year has passed, but it should also be said that I was detained by my own procrastination.

…which leads quite nicely to my resolution. I resolve this year to act upon my thoughts with greater motivation and deliberation. I don’t mean my day to day thoughts – the ones that tell me I need to fulfill my personal or work responsibilities – those more or less necessitate me to act upon them with immediacy, and I consider myself well organized in that regard, so translating thoughts to actions is not a problem in those cases. No, my resolution centers around bigger thoughts – primarily the ones I have about my aspirations and about my future – these are the thoughts I seldom find the opportunity to act upon in the present moment. They’re always simply there in the back of my mind, and they diminish after long days at work – but this year I won’t ignore them. I’ll listen to them and I’ll take the steps I need to further them, because until I do this, these big thoughts and dreams will never become reality, and at the end of our lives, what good will such thoughts be? There’s no time like the present to align what we think we will do, with what we say we will do, with what we finally do.

Run for your life!

There is an unmistakable comparison between life and running that I can’t help but notice when I run.

As I set out for my run I feel a mixture of optimism and exuberance. Clearly at this stage I am naive, as there is no daunting sense of the long run ahead of me. Neither is there in early life. We know in youth that life is long, but we don’t yet fear its trajectory.

The first stage is the warm-up, and it is difficult. My steps are not as deliberate. I am moving forward, but not as confidently. The body systems have to adapt to the notion of running. I have to develop my stride. I would equate this to adolescence, complete with the gangly flailing about that sometimes ensues.

Following this stage is young adulthood, or that stage when the body is operating at its peak and a more natural stride has developed, but as the course unravels before us, the mind begins to wander and tests our will to continue, turn around, or stop. My mind tells me that I can complete the course I’ve begun, but I cannot be certain how I’ll feel some miles down the road. Can I do this? The decision to persist becomes self-defining.

Inevitably, my exuberance wanes as my muscles wisen up to what they are really in for! Energy stores dwindle as we age and as we run. Mental stamina becomes far more important than physical stamina. We wonder how we have the strength to carry on, but we carry on nonetheless. Our running gait and our surroundings are by now very familiar to us. Our focus moves away from our selves and onto our destination.

In the final stretch, I am overcome by a sense of liberation and forget all of the earlier obstacles. I don’t long to be back in that first leg of the run. I just want to be here, now. I stop and take deep breaths. I feel victory, serenity, and accomplishment.

Rough edges

People are always inclined to feel that something in their lives is missing. We may have an instinct to look for holes and poke at them with great scrutiny. But if we look upon things with some perspective, so long as we have basic necessities, and people in our lives who care about us, there is little that we could say is genuinely lacking. We only have images and idealizations of life which prevent us from seeing this simple reality.

When I talk to my aunt I get this outlook of sheer simplicity and boundless hope, like, here’s a woman who is utterly content and lives with bliss with what she has. She seems to have arrived at this sense of calm that few have by her age. I greatly admire her for it and wish others had this quality. When you meet someone who has this quality, you sense it immediately. They never waste their time on trivialities. They live every moment as it comes, and they don’t have a need to be forceful with their opinions. All of their actions are subtly in sync with the universe. Their outlook smooths the rough edges of life.

Old times

“Old times” never come back and I suppose it’s just as well.  What comes back is a new morning every day in the year, and that’s better.  ~George E. Woodberry

“Those who love Egypt should not sabotage Egypt!”

Huffington Post (my reading addiction) is running a headline this morning titled “Back to the Streets,” regarding the current crisis in Egypt. “Those who love Egypt should not sabotage Egypt!” is just one of the many cries of protesters calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down. It is humorous to me that the Egyptian cabinet is still being reassembled at the same time that these boisterous protests continue to occur in Cairo for a 5th day. Leave it to government to move at a snail’s pace. Below is the one of the images displayed for the article; it is particularly striking to me. I love how these protesters think they’re all that – sitting back, smoking with their smug expressions. The only thing missing from this picture is Snoop Dogg. Not to make light of the situation though. I certainly wish for peace for this country in the very, very near future lest citizens continue to be put at risk and Cairo continue to be looted and ransacked beyond recognition.

Poetry

“Create the poetry of your life with toughness and determination.” -Deng Ming-Dao

Patience

Patience is a virtue, but some things in life are simply not worth waiting for – waiting for a person to change is one of these. You can look at a person one hundred times and still not acknowledge who they are. Then one day you wake up and find that you finally know them very well, but they are not who you thought them to be, nor will they ever be. That acceptance is brutal, but necessary.

Someone just like you

One of my favorite finds on Tumblr. Love the looseness, the casual style of the woman, the warm colors, the openness that expresses a depth of emotion, and the sky.

no matter WHAT HAPPENS

USA

In the midst of all of this ridiculous chaos that has ensued because of the insane and uninformed Republicans in this country, I suddenly had this thought of the name of our country- “United States of America” is such an exaggeration. Perhaps it was optimism on the part of our nation’s founders that led to this name. But the truth is, few times in history have we ever really been united in any sense that would warrant the term. In fact, at this moment in time, I can think of no other country more disjointed and divided than ours. While the Glenn Becks of this world continue to voice their loud but baseless opinions, already misguided Americans are being further fueled by conservative negativity. I’m 22 but I would have never imagined that in 2009 we would be living this way. Is there a solution to the wide disconnect in this country? Lately I think we are right back where we began, the Confederates and the Union, with no possibility of reconciliation. And quite frankly, the values that right-wingers today are displaying largely mirror those from the pre- Civil-War era. How can we move forward if we are always moving backwards as a country?

Nadal loses to Soderling, no!

Recently I’ve been too engrossed in the NBA Playoffs to pay too much attention to the French Open. I just always assume that I can just tune in for the final match up, which inevitably would be between Nadal and Federer. But not so this time sadly! Maybe I should give up my sports watching habit? It’s far too addictive and I get too far involved when my favorite players or teams are playing. I’m such a sore loser!

From French Open Official Blogger at 8:35 Paris time:

“What a day. One that will live long in the memories of all those lucky enough to watch the match. It’s only the second time I’ve seen Nadal lose in eight tournaments (I blogged at Wimbledon 2007 but missed the final) – Bercy last year when he was injured was the only other time. Other than that – the French 2006 – 2008, Wimbledon 2008, Rome 2009… Borg’s record of four consecutive Roland Garroses – equalled by Nadal – remains intact.”

Nadal and Sodorling score
2-7
7-6
4-6
6-7

“You need a defeat to give value to your victories,” apparently said Rafael Nadal.

How true. I guess if Nadal has accepted it, I can too. :]

Moscow Rules

 

Assume nothing.

Never go against your gut.

Everyone is potentially under opposition control.

Don’t look back; you are never completely alone.

Go with the flow, blend in.

Vary your pattern and stay within your cover.

Lull them into a sense of complacency.

Don’t harass the opposition.

Pick the time and place for action.

Keep your options open.

 

My realization.

“There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, which demanded that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same.”

Norman Mailer, 
American Novelist, Journalist, Poet and Playwright

Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.

Henry Rollins

Honey,

:]

Federer Cries, Nadal Hugs

“Sorry for that Roger I know you wanted to win your 14th Grand Slam title but I’m sure that it will happen soon” Nadal told Federer. “You are one of the best players and it is always a pleasure playing against you” he said, cheered by the crowd.

Barcelona Ramblas

  

 

The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.

-Henry Miller

 

Barcelona (III) Ramblas    Originally photographed by Reinante aka Benquerencia