Beginning, Only a 11 Day Delay
just the blog not the gym sessions
I wanted to get this page going and have delayed going to the gym. Delaying the gym is not the path to win the gym challenge. I'll fix that one Java script later. I will also be adapting the page as I go along. My first quandary is this properly a Shire Tale? It is about me, and I will never completely leave the Shire, so yes, settled, it is.
I call this the Unity Blog, because that has been my personal goal to come to unity, balance, and harmony as a human being. It is also the objective of our nefarious Internet and it's proliferating social media. We suffer an infuriating loss of privacy, any ability to live separate lives, or even the opportunity to pen thoughts under a pseudonym. I do not know whether to blame the NSA or Facebook, probably those Google geeks. These times make it nearly impossible to simply be friendly and innocuous, as you do in normal social interaction. Sometimes you just want to smile shake hands and move on. In our world it is easy to troll through a person's digital debris to find a rash comment left on a long forgotten comment thread. This will be be tossed out animating some one to outrage. Many examples but recently Jesse Meyers of Rolling Stone became the focus of code word hysteria by the media righters (communist hyperbole). I want to walk through life as a unified being. I do not want to be one thing to one person and a different person to another. In spite of being true to myself, I do not poke the bear at a family gathering by pushing someone's irrational button. I still believe in politeness, common courtesy, and innocuous small talk. Simple sociability becomes difficult in a society where some one is angered by knowing you think preventing crazy people from having guns is a good thing. I always suspect; they know many crazy people who are good friends and gun owners, so do not want to deny them a little fun. OK, now I have gone and made the gun --g ho crowd angry.
I want to be me in all aspects of my daily being. I do not want to be in conflict with people, but I must be true to myself as well. It is not that I am pointing out others as sinners like a street preacher hollering of coming doom. Conflicts arise while being sincere, loving, empathic, and serious about facts. Stating the obvious seems to draw me into conflict. I am hoping that filling my spirit with love will overcome those who can not tolerate complexity. I try to live in harmony with others, my own being, and the world. It is the focus of the sweat meditations I have been engaging in on a regular basis for the past eighteen months. The Unity blog is the documentation of these meditations. The collected wisdom or folly presented to you without the ugliness and stink of the actual sweaty sessions.
When it comes to naps always consult an expert, none better than a cat. Work when you work, sleep with you sleep.
Jan 21
Stats, facts, and fats
I have signed up for the Gold's Gym Challenge; the tee shirt says Challenge Accepted. It reminds me of a line in the Men in Black movie; none too bright hick says "you can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands", large nasty insect-like alien says "proposition acceptable." Hopefully the proposition for a none too bright old man will work out better at Gold's. I have not seen any large aliens at Golds demanding "The Galaxy." Eighteen months into the fitness path I have learned there is no magic to losing weight. If anything there are a number of jinxes out there to trip you up. One is your own body which loves putting in a hard hour on an elliptical, while keeping or gaining weight. The next jinx is you have made progress, your body does look better; do you want to be an obsessive nut job? Should you just say thank you and eat the delicious cookie being offered to you? Jinx three, healthy foods have calories. It does come back to food discipline.
Here are the stats from the sign up, weigh in.
Start of Challenge on January 9th, 2014
| Gender | Age Category: | Weight | Waist | Hip | Thigh | % Body Fat |
| Male | >= 60 | 227 | 43 | 43 | 21 | 22.4 |
Work outs now include more upper body and abs, plus the cardio. Meditations will explore the four dimensions of being. This blog is better as I edit and rewrite sections. I make a lousy blogger, low typing skills, stream of consciousness mental process otherwise known as barfing words on the page. I have no cutesy niche of the media universe to cover. Today, I spent more time rewriting yesterday's posting than doing today's post which may continue to be the par for the course, as I move on.
The best thing I found on the Internet today. United Methodist Bishop Woody White has been doing an annual letter to Martin Luther King JR. since the 1970's as his way of remembering and honoring the leader of American civil rights. You may enjoy it as I did today. Link I decided to embed it -- I have heard Bishop White speak in person.
Bishop Woodie W. White's 2013 Annual Letter to Martin Luther King Jr. from Joseph McBrayer on Vimeo.
I will try to keep perspective that all change takes time, requires continued commitment, and staying focused on the goal. It allows me to appreciate my in home Jillian as she reminds me calories abound in my food choices - even triscuits. I will tell Nancy to chill, even if she pushes me to win this challenge, I am not sharing the X Box.
I found my link of the day -- Nerd Fitness on Body Fat Percentage
Selfish, Self Focused, Selfless
or being way too far into yourself
Some people may consider me a selfish person, but most probably do not. I volunteer my time and my money; I try to put others needs ahead of mine. It is just my nature, but to be successful in this twelve week challenge I must be selfish. First I can not care what others may be doing I must concentrate on myself. I must be selfish of my time, wishing you had made it to work out will not be allowed, so when people want my time I have to put my schedule first. I become selfish in the sense that I become more aware and more within my self. It is necessary to be a little obsessive, a little narcissistic, and far too concerned with hydration. The secret is to not talk about it, even though it is foremost in your thoughts. Try not to make it the topic of every conversation. In your act of being selfish, some might call it self focused, remember the purpose of all this is so can you live more fully. Have more to offer the world when you do volunteer your time.
A part of the selfishness is the self motivation; no amount of encouragement or nagging by others can make you determined to make this a habit. Also it is how hard and effectively you work out when you are there. A trainer can keep you on form and efficient with your time, but only you can reach inside. Only you know whether you can work harder. I suppose if you are fit and attractive, you can flit about the gym read your iPad and chat on your phone, but if you are old, fat, and ugly you better drive yourself. No one cares to see that you are at the gym, you are not adding to the window dressing. I have come to be more within my self or self aware. I can almost tell you what my heart rate is, whether the heart rate sensors are picking up or not. I know when to back off and when to dig down. Even though, I do pay attention to the little benchmarks: how many miles, how many calories, and recently I learned about mets; I recognize some days I will do better than on other days, some days my weight will go up or down as if it is pegged to the barometric pressure. Whether you call it self focused or selfish, becoming more concentrated on your own priorities is necessary. Let me relate an insight about being unselfish. The most loving, giving, and unselfish people are actually the most selfish. Jesus said to seek God and love those in the world as God does, when you are God filled you are most attuned to your true self. You will be loving, giving, patient, and joy filled, others will say your are so unselfish, but in truth you will be among the world's most selfish human beings.
Forgottonia is a place where
you can endlessly wander the lonely roads, and never once miss the
fast lane. The name Forgottonia captures an image of a region, off
the beaten path, which is very true of Western Illinois.
Return
to Illinois Observer Index 
