#striving
A most cherished gift of words from the person who makes me feel I may have finally striven enough.
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- From @dailystoic (Instagram).
Daily pool walking, diligent attention to my rehab exercises, hot-packs (yes even in the heat), and healing visualisation have brought me to a pain-free 5.6km trail walk yesterday and a 28km bike ride today. And yep; stretching and pool work are done!
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This year I resolved to ride purely for fun, companionship and coffee! Today fitted the bill perfectly: a 28km riverside coffee cruise with my friend Gretta. ☕
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What a wonderful feeling walking the local trails again on a beautiful Saturday. I took the opportunity to do my morning meditation in the peaceful, fresh-scented park. The sounds and smells of nature, the waft of a breeze, made it so much nicer; with just the occasional crunch as someone ran past.
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TA-DAAAA! Two walks in three days and the most kilometres since I herniated my L5 disc five weeks ago. Today I tackled 5.6km of inclines and declines on the Zamia Trail; and on Thursday I took the pupper for a 2km jaunt around the local exercise park. Hopefully I soon can join my GLU running buddies on a Saturday morning.
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Happy Year Of The Dog! Dogs are loyal pack animals so it is fitting that my projects this year look inwards to body, soul and abode.
The plan is to declutter the home, which is a seriously mammoth task. For me, this doesn’t mean a minimalist house in neutral tones - I like my colour, objects of beauty and art works - but it does mean clearing out a ton of junk, starting with the filing cabinets!
Work on the home of my soul - my mind - has already commenced with daily meditation. And if the body is a temple, then I have started spring cleaning by going alcohol-free and cutting sugar.
I was a bit late with today’s meditation - 7.00am is the banging and crashing hour and they start right on the dot! But the noise-cancelling headphones worked a treat!
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That beautifully-wrapped box is a gift, from me to me, and it is going to stay wrapped until my next 60 days alcohol-free are completed. The book is a ‘hollistic health journal’ - my 30-day AF reward to myself (which also happened to coincide with Valentine’s Day - vive self love!) I will use it to map my health goals and achievements over the next 60 days.
I’ve always liked journalling; planning, writing things down, ticking off lists, reviewing my progress. Who else enjoys this form of order?
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Once working late and having a bevvy at my desk would be dangerous… Coopers alcohol-free beer ftw!
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In the middle of last year, the penny finally dropped: there was a correlation between my worsening ulcerative colitis symptoms and my nightly wine habit. For the sake of my health, I decided quietly to do Dry July. But tragedy changed my mind and I decided to make it official. At the celebration service of a beautiful young woman cut down by cancer, her dad spoke of how she championed cancer support services, so I signed up to raise money. Charlotte’s parents gave out white pebbles with a blue heart at her celebration service; to remember her by, but also to keep close as we pursued dreams or goals, if it felt right. My Charlotte Stone became my alcohol-free talisman. I was dry 42 days until I reached my fund-raising goal. Since then, I’ve waxed and waned, but here I am again, having completed the @oneyearnobeer 28 Day Alcohol-free Challenge, and about to begin the next 32 days, before the 30 after that.
I am not saying I will never raise a glass of champagne in a toast again, but it will be a conscious, controlled decision, not a reflex. Quite simply, it’s a matter of life or death.
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“No-one outside ourselves can rule us inwardly. When we know this, we become free.” - Buddhist teaching. In other words, no-one else can ‘make’ us feel something. We choose how we react to the actions of others. (I always used to tell the kids that embarrassment and anger - often taking large proportions when you’re young - are a choice. This was self-serving so that they weren’t embarrassed by my antics. ) I feel this is an important teaching. I know people who blame others for their every negative emotion, and it’s true; they are caged.
The weather this morning was divine, so I started the day with a 25 minute guided meditation outside on the deck, followed by 45 minutes stretching. The meditation was 20 minutes but I had to turn up the volume and start again - who would have thought the distant roar of traffic would be so loud at 6.45 on a Sunday morning?
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Saturday night dinner prep and day 26 of my 28-day alcohol-free challenge. Six o'clock dinner prep was always my wine witching hour. I have resisted having even an alcohol-free beer until now because I wanted to break the connection with drinking anything! For that reason I stuck to just one AF Holsten. It was nice; crisp and dry. AF beers are low-carb that’s for sure!
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Everyone on the #oneyearnobeer forum has been talking about alcohol-free beer, so I thought I’d give one a go. A lot of alcohol-free alternatives are too sweet and sometimes, you just want a break from water, booch or herbal tea in the evening. This one was pleasantly dry and low-carb. Instant belch though - couldn’t finish the bottle.
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Pool workout done for the day, under Mitzy’s watchful eyes. Meditation and stretching next. Day 20 of my 28-day alcohol-free challenge will be ticked off come sundown. ✔
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I am a pragmatist who believes that one’s own efforts make things happen. But I do enjoy mysterious signs and the auspices of heavenly bodies. Wednesday’s super blue moon, blood moon & lunar eclipse - how portentous! - coincided with the anniversary of my mother’s death. I only noticed today that a rose had bloomed on the bush she gave me. It is not a prolific bloomer; the flowers are a fragile lilac pink and with a lovely subtle scent. Guess what? It’s called a Blue Moon. So, after suffering setbacks in December and January, I am taking it as a sign that the stars are going to align for me this month.
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A new month means reviewing my goals. I am in a different place than I was on the 1st of January. Since my back injury three weeks ago, my running goals have gone to the back burner. As things stand today, it’s unlikely that I will complete the Summer Trail Series, which is disappointing. But as I look properly, it is not as negative as it seems:
I have exceeded my temperance goal by going completely alcohol-free mid-month.
Stretching and meditation are becoming a daily habit that I must cement in place.
⚖ I have managed to lose a bit of weight. I am going to have to shrink portion sizes now that I am not exercising intensely.
I have gotten back on the bike and into the pool. These will be my go-to exercises, as even walking hurts.
☠ I need to rework my posture; draw the coccyx to the floor, soften the lumbar spine; stay out of rigid extension; release all those muscles locking up my SI joint. This will be HARD.
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There is nothing like getting out on the bike on a golden summer morning. My injury means I must keep it short, flat and easy. After so long off the bike it was my butt that was hurting after just 16km!
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