What Magazine Headlines are Really Saying

Statistics show that magazine covers highlighting weight loss articles or features like "best and worst bodies" sell more copies. Although men aren't exempt, female targeted magazines are littered with these your-body-isn't-good-enough messages and we, as women, snatch them off the shelves with the hopes that this issue holds the magical answer to the ever-elusive body-happiness we are constantly in search for. 

We thumb through the pages, read the article, see the same diets of weighed and measured out bits of boring foods, see pictures of smiling women who have found bliss after losing such and such amount of weight and wonder what the heck is wrong with us that after one week, the scale hasn't budged, much less shown a decrease of 20 pounds. 

It won't be our smiling faces in those perfectly sculpted "after" pictures. Nope. We're perpetually stuck in the "before" frame. But, clearly, we're at fault here. 

I call shenanigans!

How can we possibly begin to start feeling good about ourselves as long as the media tells us we are in need of change in order to be whole? 

It's unfortunate that because of the numbers, the sales driven media will continue to plaster their glossy pages with the same negatively charged message hidden as secrets to happiness over and over. After all, they are businesses and need to give their readers what they want. 

Unfortunately, "Lose 20lbs By Friday" sells more copies than "Don't Change, You're Perfect." 

Yes, I'm a nutrition counselor and a personal trainer. Yes, I am in the industry of reshaping bodies and a great deal of my clients have weight loss in the forefront of their minds. 

But, I always start with reshaping the mind. 

Only when the mind is healed, the negative self-talk stops, and external messages are filtered out can real change begin. Otherwise, any attempted work is superficial, literally and figuratively, and it won't last. 

In my practice, I always preach self-love and self-acceptance. 

Because we are all whole, complete and perfect, just as we are. 

And no amount of weight gained or lost will ever change that. 

Keep Smiling and Be Grateful

I drove my car to the auto-parts store, parked in the lot at 6:30, estimating I'd be in and out of there in under 20 minutes for a very simple routine replacement. I'd already paid for the part online and the technicians there allegedly switched car batteries out several times per day, so I was sure I'd drive off in no time. 

I watched as the technicians poked and prodded under my car's hood, pulling out WD-40, popping off bolts and making use of plastic zip-ties.

At 8:30, I stood in the lot, waiting for AAA to come tow my car home. 

Mysteriously, after the new battery was installed, my car refused to turn on. 

I smiled through the whole process, knowing anger and blame would do nothing to help the situation. I was also lucky enough that a great friend came to keep me company (after I realized I was running a tad late for grabbing a bite to eat with him). We cracked jokes and laughed, making light of the situation. 

It's good to have a friend that shares the same everything-is-fixed-by-laughter-and-dancing mentality. 

The AAA agent came within 20 minutes of calling for him. At this point, I was already thankful enough. I called home to explain the situation. My heart started to sink as Dad reminded me of the ensuing costs that were piling up in front of me in order to repair my car. I told him to expect me towed home in a bit. 

But, this night wasn't really an as-expected type of night. 

Enter, the most amazing AAA agent there ever was. 

Not only did he spend an hour diagnosing and making adjustments to my car, he fixed the problem, followed me home in case my car broke down again, pointed out more work my car definitely needed and offered to help fix them himself for an unbeatable price! I trusted his words and sensed absolutely no ulterior motive to his kindness which, unfortunately, is a rarity, these days. 

He double checked to see if the problem was truly fixed (it was) and gave me his information so I could call him for the other repairs. He drove away and I was filled with the purest of gratitude for having been sent such a pure-hearted savior that night. 

As I ate a late dinner, I couldn't shake the overwhelming thankfulness I had for both my friend that kept a smile on my face as I waited for help and for the amazing AAA agent. 

Later, I heard my mother on the phone with Grandma, wishing her a happy Korean Thanksgiving. 

Today, I am absolutely more grateful than usual for the wonderful people that are cross my path and for all the things I have.

Not only is life not that bad... it's actually pretty amazing. 

Another Reason to Work Out

Exhale, lift, squeeze, hold, release, inhale, pause....

I was so lost in my meditative state, mid bicep curl, I didn't even notice a friend standing a mere few feet behind me, waving for my attention. 

This is why working out is my escape. 

The mind-body connection is, undoubtedly, highly important to pay attention to in order to avoid injury when lifting weights, but often overlooked is its incredibly centering, calming and empowering potential. It is meditation in motion with an added muscle-challenging intensity.

There are many things that drive my work outs and I've touched on them more than once throughout my relatively young blog. I've gone over why I choose not to work out for the calorie-burning effect, the amazing bond shared in a group fitness class, and the joys of trying something new, among other reasons. This reason is more quiet and strength driven. 

When I train clients, I try my best to make sure they understand the reasons for why they are performing a certain exercise. I don't care so much that they can lift something up and put something down- that's all well and good, but we'd both be doing each other a great disservice if I were just being paid to watch that happen. 

I want clients to understand what muscle they are working and why it matters. I want them to focus on the contraction and relaxation of the muscle fibers and mentally hone in on the firing of the nerves. I want them to not only strengthen their skeletal muscle, but their mind-body connection muscle as well. Working out then becomes a total experience.

Within the 24 hours of our day, there is already far too many actions that we mindlessly move through the motions of. Most of our days are spent on autopilot as we repeat the same things, follow the same schedules and carry out the same tasks, day in and day out. Personally, I believe we can all benefit from daily practice of being in the moment, even if only for a few minutes at a time. 

It would all do us good to learn to slow everything down and just breathe. 

But, I get a lot of scoffs when I try to get people to actually take time to sit. And breathe. and do nothing else. 

Sometimes, I don't even have the patience for that. 

So this is my alternative when I'm not trying my darndest to practice seated meditation. 

Exhale, lift, squeeze, hold, release, inhale, pause....

Strengthening my mind as I strengthen my body with every rep, every set, every workout. 

There's nothing like it. 

Ahhh....

A Reason To Be Happy

He's the happy-go-lucky, white beagle everyone loves that has a nose-in-the-air dance that is joy, personified. He exudes positive energy, no matter what the situation and never gets hung up on a negative thought for more than a single cartoon frame. He gives no explanation for his happiness and needs no reason to always live on the greener side of life's fence. 

He is happiness.

He is Snoopy. 

I find that simple things have great potential for life impact due to their vastly open capacity for interpretation. Enter, Snoopy, the cartoon dog from the Peanuts Gang.  

Funny how a simple black and white cartoon character from the 1950's that speaks no words can be an influential figure to 24 year old me, today. It's hard not to smile when you think of his trademark happy dance complete with piano tune in the background. 

Everyone, today, is busy. Everyone is stressed. Everyone has an endless to-do list and no one has enough time to do it all. 

We have become accustomed to being tired and frazzled. Antidepressants and self-medicating tactics are turned to far more often that they should be. We numb out the pain and demands of life and have no energy left to be happy. 

We don't smile and dance nearly as much as we should.

Perhaps, it may not always be appropriate to break out in a full out dance, but even when life is the crappiest of crap, we have the ability to break a smile across our faces. 

Life only puts things in our path that we are capable of handling. Sometimes these things seem so monumentally impossible to deal with, smiling and laughing about it initially is the only way to take the first stab at it. It takes the edge off. Try it.

But, how could we smile? There are bills to pay, places to be, deadlines to meet... What is there to be happy about? 

Snoopy needs no reason to be happy. Why do we?

"Make it a Great Day"

In high school, the Dean would come on the loudspeaker and make the morning announcements. He would notoriously sign off with, "Make it a great day." 

It was customary to mock and laugh at that closing statement, especially since the tone of his voice was always so stoic and robotic with little to no warmth. It also didn't help that he was a disciplinarian that was somewhat feared among the students. 

Hearing it every morning, five days per week, for four school years, I must have subconsciously absorbed it; it popped in to my head, seemingly out of nowhere the other day even after being out of high school for years now. Today, though, I look back at those five words in a completely different light. 

Make it a great day. 

Not, "Have a great day." or the more informal, "Have a good one." 

MAKE IT a great day. 

It was as if he was empowering us all to choose the fate of our own days, hoping we would opt for the good over the bad. Maybe he was. 

It would be nice if "bad days" didn't exist. It would be wonderful if every day we felt healthy, motivated, energetic, positive. If only everything was always rainbows, glitters and unicorns. 

But, it's not. 

And that's reality. 

The bad days do help us to appreciate the good days much more, in comparison. After all, "the sweet is never as sweet without the sour," to quote "Vanilla Sky."

Here's the beauty of the Dean's sign off message though...

To a certain extent, we all have the power to choose to make our day as great as it can be. 

Yes, there are limitations on what we can control in the level of greatness possible in our days. We can't control the weather, the jerks on the highway that should have their licenses revoked, the clerk with the attitude or the mosquito that chooses to bite you on the nose on the day of your blind date. 

But, what we can control is our perception. 

I've said it before: change your perception, change your experience. 

Look through rose colored glasses and the world seems much more beautiful. Positive energy is a powerful force and one that is far underutilized. If we see our glass half full, the empty portion isn't just a lack of filling- it's a space for opportunity. 

It would be wonderful if everything in life always lined up so perfectly as to never have a bad day to suffer through. Wouldn't it be just peachy if every day, "goodness" just fell on our laps? Don't you envy those that seem to never have an "off" day? Those that are surrounded in and radiate positive energy? Lucky them...

But, does luck really have anything to do with it?

We could all benefit from being the positive force we want to attract in to our lives. We could all do well to laugh more and take the little things less seriously. We could all feel so much better about the lemons we are handed in life if we just learned to breathe, smile, respond instead of react, and make more lemonade... or at least make it a great day. 

To Be a Performing-Artist-Nutritionist-Author-Trainer

"So... what? You're going to be a performing-artist-nutritionist-author-trainer?" 

That was the scoffed response I got as a junior in high school when a friend and I pondered what we'd like to be when we "grew up." I shrunk back in defeat, knowing that no one was looking to hire a "performing-artist-nutritionist-author-trainer."  

My interests were always everywhere (and still are, for that matter). I love art and writing, dancing and performing, cooking and nutrition, fitness and wellness... anything that stimulates my mind/body/spirit and challenges my creativity. I spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to figure out what career path was right for me. 

Finding myself was proving to be a terribly difficult task. 

I envied those that knew exactly what they wanted to do and the clear paths that laid in front of them. My path looked to be more like a tangled mess than anything with a sense of cohesiveness. 

For years, I slowly loosened the knots in the tangles, finding my way little by little, sometimes creating bigger messes along the way. I had a new job every few months and thanks to boredom and lack of passion, nothing seemed to stick. The promise of a big income or a steady paycheck seemed empty if it meant doing something I didn't truly love. 

So, it hit me.

If my perfect career didn't exist, I would create it. 

And that's exactly what I did. 

From that early age, I knew, at my core, what my calling was, but the noise of societal norms and the "shoulds" of life got in the way. Even though I always had a smile on, I knew I felt anything but comfortable behind a desk in an office or waiting tables and serving drinks. I ignored my instincts to follow my passions and instead pursued the things I thought I should be doing, instilled by my parents and the idea of what "grown-up life" was supposed to look like. 

But, as I grew up, the noise diminished, giving way for reason and passion to scream for me to take notice and take action. 

So I began with the things that made me happy and checked them off, one by one.

I love art and writing... started a blog

      dancing and performing... created my own stage with Zumba

            cooking and nutrition... became a nutrition counselor and play with recipes

                  fitness and wellness... got certified as a personal trainer & health coach

Voila~ I am a performing-artist-nutritionist-author-trainer!

It was only when I allowed myself to trust my heart that I began making sense of the tangled mess of a career path. I am still combing through the knots, gradually morphing my business, YOUfit, in to what it will eventually become. 

The progress is slow...

and, at times, discouraging...

but it's progress nonetheless...

and I'm okay with that...

because I know that this path not only keeps a smile on my face, but makes that smile authentic, from the inside, out. 

Loving Ourselves First

As I browsed through some blogs, I came across this on feelgoodeating.blogspot.com:

"A fool in love makes no sense to me. I only think you are a fool If you do not love."

What a beautiful quote! 

I believe that love is one of the strongest powers in existence. I could go on to argue that love gives purpose to life. 

Love is passion.
   Love is relationships.
      Love is respect for self and others.
         Loving yourself and others and to be loved is happiness. 

To love ourselves is to take care of our own well-beings. 

Without that fundamental base of self-care, how can we expect to provide the best love and care for others? Far too often, there is an imbalance between the energy we spend in the outpouring of care versus the energy used to make sure we are at our well-est. 

Imagine if we held on to a fraction of the energy we expend doing things for others, meeting others' deadlines, and making sure others know we love them. 

To love and care for yourself is not selfish, but necessary.

Making sure we feed ourselves nutritious, yummy foods, keep our bodies strong and limber with proper stretching and exercise, maintain mental stimulation for our brains and honor our needs for rest and relaxation are all vital for us to thrive and reach our fullest potential. 

To believe we do not deserve the same love we share with others is nonsense. To dishonor our bodies, minds and spirits through neglect, poor quality foods, physical and chemical abuse, and negative self-talk only broods more negativity. 

We all deserve happiness; taking self-care measures to bring more light and positive energy into our lives puts us in a much better place to be able to share that same bright energy with others. 

So here's to cooking a good, hearty meal, getting to the gym, allowing room for more laughter and taking long, soothing bubble baths to ease ourselves to restful sleep!

The Silent Language of Runners

The warmth from the sun being tempered by a slightly cooler breeze coaxed a pair of running sneakers on to my feet, sending me on an outdoors jog, despite the fact I had deemed it a “rest day” for my muscles to recover. Taking it at an easy pace, I paid no mind to the time or my miles-per-hour. This run wasn’t about athleticism or personal records- it was about feeling the earthbeneath my feet and enjoying nature’s gift of a perfect summer day.

There is an unspoken set of mannerisms among the running community. A slight nod of the head or wave of the hand is normal as paths are crossed. It’s a polite, subtle recognition of a mutual love for pavement pounding. Sometimes, it serves as a nonverbal “hey, I feel your pain” if the weather is challengingly extreme or a hill seems to be at a 180 degree angle. It’s like being in a club with a secret handshake and all it takes to become a member is to place one foot in front of the other and repeat.

I rounded the second to last turn on my usual route and saw a man with grayed hair, wearing multicolored spandex running gear and a dark pair of athletic sunglasses in the distance, running towards me. He seemed to be in his late fifties or early sixties, but in great physical condition, nonetheless. I gave him a quick wave of acknowledgement.

As I came around the final half-mile marker bend, trudging along at my casual pace, I saw the same man out of the corner of my eye, gradually gaining headway on me. Out of admiration of his conditioning (and partially due to my competitive nature), I picked up my pace, just enough to steadily keep a few feet behind him. I remained on the uneven sidewalk as he opted for the flat roadway’s shoulder.

There are two baby hills within the last quarter mile that I usually sprint, fueled by a runner’s high that never fails to push me through. As I revved myself in to full speed, I passed my unofficial running partner, ending my run at the top of the driveway accross the street, panting for air, feeling accomplished. Turning my gaze towards the man, we caught eachother’s attention as he gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up and I smiled through my gasps, shouting “thank you!” knowing that he knew I was grateful for the extra motivational mental push he provided me.

As I crossed the street, I realized that the man was actually my neighbor. I watched him turn in to the driveway that I had used as my finish line for years. All this time, I lived across the way from a fellow runner that ended up being a source of motivation for the end of my run. On any other day, that man would just be a fellow road-runner that understood the unspoken runners’ launguage.  I smiled to myself as I realized that motivation and inspiration can come from anywhere- even from the neighbor accross the way that I had never once introduced myself to.

We Are Walking Billboards of Ourselves

As I am in the midst of growing my business and developing my future as a wellness/nutrition/fitness/etc figure, I am always aware that I am a walking billboard for what I have to offer. In order to have clients to choose to work with me, I must demonstrate to them a desirable lifestyle that can be achieved under my guidance. The importance of fully practicing what I preach is tenfold- how could I expect someone else to respect my word if I show no respect to it in the first place?

Even as a non business owner, every person is a manifestation of his or her own beliefs, actions, morals and values. As much as we may try not to judge a book by its cover, first appearance, attitude and behavior is held highly accountable for forming an idea of who someone truly is at his or her core.We are all our own walking advertisements of what we have to offer to the world.

Not everyone is trying to sell a lifestyle or attempting to attract clients, but with Facebook, free blogging platforms and the like, every person, no matter what their celebrity or non-celebrity status, has the opportunity to present themselves to the world. Through photos we post of ourselves, “about me” sections we write and interests we list, we create a snapshot of who we are and invite others to perceive us accordingly. Even portraying an attitude of “I don’t give a **** what you think about me” speaks volumes as to who someone is and how he or she would like to be seen as.Having conclusions drawn upon us based on what we choose to show others is inevitable, unavoidable and inescapable. So what is the lesson?

Respect yourself and others will show you the same respect in return. Living life consciously makes time on Earth much more enjoyable; the alternative is to idly watch time pass, opting out of any enjoyment or any other emotional experience life has to offer. Choosing to be aware of what is important to us, how our actions may affect others and valuing ourselves through self-respect creates an accurate picture of who we really are. We get what we give, in this world. With that being understood, why not give the best that we have so that only the best can come back to us?

Tail Wagging Persistence

My dog has never harmed a living creature.. Not to say she hasn’t tried. She’s chased rabbits, sprinted after the elusive chipmunk and squirrel, pursued our backyard groundhog and even attempted to catch a bird in flight. I really don’t think her instinct is to kill- even when she had captured a grasshopper that had lost use of two of its legs, she only toyed with it between her front paws, never actually doing any fatal harm. To her it’s a game and the prey she sets her eyes on are just toys in perpetual motion.

At eleven years and seven months old, she still pounces after scurrying animals as we go on morning walks. Sometimes her attempts seem so feeble that I wonder if she’s acting more on instinct than intention. She will lift her rear towards the sky and ready her now-shaky legs to spring in to forward movement, her play-thing in the cross-hairs. Lurching towards the doubtlessly-faster-and-more-nimble-than-her creature, she excitedly goes in for the non-kill, relentlessly returning to me with tail in a high-wag. No matter how many times she’s failed, she never gets discouraged and never loses her willingness to try again.

I thought back to all the things in my life I’ve vehemently pursued and dropped when success hadn’t come after the first few attempts. I thought of the frustration I’ve felt when I didn’t catch what I had thrown myself after. I thought of the immense sense of discouragement that ominously grew darker whenever I let an opportunity slip away. All these negative feelings, brewing within me. All those missed chances that just might have gone right had I tried just one more time. Had I kept my proverbial tail wagging, regardless of a win or fail or had I not let one negative outcome effect my expectation of the next attempt… what could I have accomplished by now? How much frustration, anger and disappointment could I have avoided?

Understandably, my dog’s mental capacity is a bit different than mine. Blessed and cursed by a higher level of brain function than that of a house pet, it’s harder for me to hold no attachment to a past failure in order to try again with an equal amount of gusto, but there is always a line that can be towed between being logical fact-sorting realist and a hopeful life-of-a-dog-inspired dreamer.

Cognitively, I can change my method of attack in order to increase my chances of success on the next attempt, but I don’t have to feel so dejected with each unsuccessful try. Learning from my furry companion, I can be happy that I even went for it at all, wasting not even a passing moment on the negative feeling of having failed. Not once had I seen Biscuit drag her tail between her hind legs, even though her rate of success remains at a whopping 0%. Not once have I seen her stress out over letting the bird fly away or the squirrel scurry up a tree.

Perhaps she knows that there will be other opportunities, or maybe she understands that there is more to life than a failed moment (or fifty!). It’s possible she knows that regardless of if she catches the chipmunk or not, I will hug, love and kiss her, free of judgment of her poor hunting skills. Could it be that this dog with the simple mind knows secrets to life happiness that I do have yet to learn? In this case, it seems to be that way. She seems to have figured out how to remain enthusiastic about pursuing goals and chasing targets. She may never catch her prey in the span of her hopefully-long lifetime, but one thing is for certain: with a smile across her face and a nonstop wag in her tail, she will never, ever give up.

Lessons From Teenagers

For the past 16 months, I have been a nanny/mother’s helper to two teenage boys. I must admit, it is a cushy job- No diapers to change, no disastrous messes to clean up after and, lucky enough, both boys have hearts of gold with stellar behaviors. The only nuisance I have to deal with every once in a while is to break up the occasional fight over whose turn it is to walk to puppy (to which I often end up taking responsibility for, myself). 

Over the short period I’ve known and cared for these kids, I have seen them take on new challenges and grow through them. I watched as the younger boy graduated from middle school and entered his first year of high school. I observed as his older brother stressed over SATs and college prep, went through hours of driving lessons and, most recently, got his drivers license.  

No doubt, I am grateful for the job I have that supplements my income as I grow my YOUfit brand, but today’s post is about more than the gratitude I have for this part time job. Seeing these boys five days a week for hours each day, I feel like I have become part-time mom to them. This in itself continues to reveal valuable lessons on a daily basis, but today my eyes were opened to something I was told I could never understand until I had children of my own…

The older of the two boys was given instruction and permission by his mother to drive to the store to pick up a birthday cake for his brother. Instinctually, I wanted to ride along with him to make sure he would be okay. Not wanting to insult or undermine his newfound ability to drive, I resisted. My next thought was to discretely follow him with my car, remaining a mile behind, unknownst to him. Again, I resisted.

I took a deep breath and reminded myself that he was a highly cautious teenager. I would not have to worry about his wreckless driving- it was the other nuts on the road I was worried about, after all. As he grabbed the keys and checked for money in his wallet, I found myself demanding his undivided attention as I instructed him to “be careful and make sure to text me as soon as he got back home to let me know he was ok.” At that moment, I recognized my parents’ words coming out of my mouth…

When I first learned to drive, I rolled my eyes every time my dad always sent me off with a reminder to be careful. I brushed off the importance of letting my mom know when I got to the mall okay. I was a typical kid! But, here I was, feeding this teenage boy the same exact parental lines I had scoffed at just years ago. Suddenly, they didn’t seem so laughable.

I got to the gym, where I still am now, and watched the clock. I went to and from the locker room, checking my phone for a text that said I could stop worrying. Thirty minutes passed… nothing. An hour passed… still nothing. Finally, I called him to ease my nerves. Oblivious to my concerns, he casually picked up his phone, thankfully alive. I breathed a sigh of relief, gave him a half hearted scold for not texting me when he got back to the house, hung up and finished my workout. Sure, kids will be kids, but eventually, we all grow up and, hopefully, if we’re lucky, we get the opportunity to see things from the perspectives of our silly, overbearing parents.

Today's Gift

With 10 minutes left in the day, I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss today’s gratitude blog. I’ll keep this extra short and simple as I am certain it will come up again in the future in much more detail.

“Tomorrow” is not always guaranteed but when it does come, I seldom express my gratitude towards it. When I wake from a full night’s sleep, I feel refreshed by the energy of a new day. No matter if the day before had brought me anger, fright, heartache or sorrow, having fully recharged my batteries overnight, I can move forward and leave those emotions in “yesterday.”

This is not an excuse to put off til tomorrow what can be done today nor is it an excuse not to live in the present- I avoid procrastination and embrace the now to the best of my abilities. This does not mean there is no place toappreciate the gift of a new day. So tonight, as I lay my sleepy head down to rest, I will kiss today’s challenges and troubles goodnight and leave them behind as I drift off towards tomorrow.

Learning

The more prevalent and available something is in everyday life, the easier it is to overlook and under-appreciate it. My mind- hardly a moment goes by when I don’t use it (even though some would beg to differ). There are so many things that the my brain does for me that I owe thanks to but today’s gratitude post goes out to its ability to learn.

As a student of life and self-professed nerd, absorbing new information and picking up new skills always gives me a natural high. The world holds a never-ending plethora of knowledge to challenge the brain, ensuring that the possibilities of boredom or stagnant ideology are only achieved once the mind is closed off. I strive to remain open to accept the daily lessons placed in front of me to be discovered.

Opportunities to expand mental horizons are never in short supply, especially in today’s world that has been shrunken by technology. I can listen to a podcast recorded hundreds of miles away or read an article written by a man I will most likely never meet. I can go to the book store for an instruction manual or search through online how-to forums and teach myself a new skill, adding to my list of trades (which, by the way, is a very effective confidence booster!). I never scoff at my childhood list of “what do I want to be when I grow up” because there are no excuses to end the pursuit of them (short of, perhaps, marrying Leonardo DiCaprio). 

Just as my body will age and slow if I do not constantly condition it, my mind will grow stale if I don’t put it to use. I stretch at the end of a workout to keep my muscles supple and much in the same way, I attempt a daily crossword puzzle to maintain mental flexibility. I may use anti-aging products to keep the skin on my face free of lines, but I fully encourage the wrinkles in my brain to form freely with every new thought.

Filed under learning lessons ability gratitude life lessons life m

Fighters' Energy

A grey, rain-cloud covered sky on a particularly dreary Sunday morning makes sleeping in late and claiming residence on the couch an attractive option. Sunday morning, to me, means Body Combat- a 10:15, hour long, mixed martial arts group fitness class at the gym- and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Group exercise classes are all fun and offer a great change of pace to a workout routine, but to purpose this class as solely a calorie-burner would be doing it a disservice. It is so much more than punching and kicking in unison- every week, I leave the class stronger- not only physically (and boy, is it an awesome physical challenge!) but mentally, as well. Today, my gratitude goes out to the class that leaves me completely breathless and drenched in sweat. The charge of a classroom filled with people, all fighting for the same goal of fitness is intoxicating. I feed off of the palpable energies of the other class participants around me, allowing it to push me farther and harder.

I would be a fool to not mention the role of the instructor, Lori, as she sets the tone, bringing out the best in each and every Body Combatter in the room. It amazes me to watch how one person can create a motivational wave amongst a consistently filled studio. The inspiration from the class sticks with me throughout the week as I hear her cues of not only which leg to kick with, but also to never stop fighting, never give up.

This class that has become a routine a part of my week. I always leave with a renewed appreciation for my body and a reminder of how strong I really am. The motivational vibration from yesterday morning’s class is still buzzing within me as I kick off my week and, without a doubt, it will help pull me through these next few sun-less, rainy days!

Lesson from a Happy Old Man

Having just celebrated my 24th birthday, I’m amazed that I’ve made it this far. It exhausts me to even think about another 50+ years of life ahead of me, but don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see what it holds for me. It is far too easy to get caught up on the things that make us frown and let the simpler things fall by the wayside. Who has broken your heart, what bills need to be paid, how long your current to-do list is… in retrospect, none of that really matters in the long term. Emotions are fleeting, money will come and go and the to-do list will never, ever be a complete to-done list.

There is an elderly man that resides at the Christian Care Center in the town over that has found his way to my heart. Always dressed in an orange overcoat, a green cap, glasses and toting a plastic shopping bag, he stands on the lawn of the care center, watching the cars drive by on the main street, waving at those that take notice of his presence. He has become somewhat of a fixture on the side of that busy road. As long as the sun is shining and the ground is walkable, people have grown used to looking for this simple, yet somewhat odd man. He seems to have come to know certain faces and recognize familiar cars, as he usually appears during peak rush hour times. It is not uncommon for passersby to rap a quaint honk of the horn and give a friendly wave as they roll by.

The simple joy that this man exudes inspires me. All feelings of road rage dissipate once I see him wagging his wrist and greeting all cars that drive past, as if he were a Disney princess on a stagnant float. I wanted to know his secret to happiness. What kept him smiling after all the decades he’s endured?

On a particularly beautiful afternoon, I parked my car, gave the man a hug, and thanked him for always bringing a little light to my day. Through his thick spectacles, he smiled and shared a bit of his soul with me. From his plastic shopping bag, he pulled out two Peanuts’ desk calendars and proceeded to recite the short cartoons aloud, like a story. He explained that every day, he visited his girlfriends in the care center and shared a laugh with them at the humorous quips of the day. He placed the calendars back in to his plastic shopping bag, gave me one more hug and sent me on my way, my heart a bit lighter than it had been.

No doubt, this man has suffered the same hardships of life that everyone must face now and again. Being human, I’m certain he’s experienced anger, sadness, frustration and rage at one point in his life or another. But, despite all the challenges he inevitably conquered in his life, he has managed not to lose his smile. It may be possible that this man might have a few loose screws in his old age (heck, I know I already do!), but his happiness is nevertheless sincere. He shares this sage wisdom as he stands cheerfully waving on the side of the road, charmingly spreading a bit of joy to everyone that passes by.

Puppy Love

Today, I have a new found love for my beautiful, peppy, half-senile dog, Biscuit. A wonderful family has so sadly lost their furry family member and the outpouring of love, support and prayers towards them have brought me to tears. It is so clear that this four-legged creature was so much more than a pet- he was truly a son, a brother, a companion. I was reminded of the fleetingness of life, whether it be of a puppy or my own, and vowed to not let a day go by where I hug my Biscuit and tell her how much I love her. She gives me so much joy and sometimes I like to believe she has brought my family closer than we ever could have become without her. So, to my Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier that snores ever so loudly in my ear as I try to fall asleep, I love you with all my heart. I promise to use my feet to take you on long walks and my hands to rub your belly just how you like. I promise to use my muscles to throw your favorite squeaky lady bug toy and my arms to hug you forever.

Setting My Intention

The Mind-Body Gratitude Project will include daily posts focusing on the things that I am grateful for, in awe of or have inspired me, drawn from personal experiences, observations and interactions. My intent is to be constantly humbled to the things I have, as it is all too easy to focus on the negatives in life. I hope to encourage positive thought, an attitude of gratitude and focus on the good things that give life meaning and purpose.