ZenPocalypse

I admit, I’m just trying to be creative with my title, but the essence of it should make sense to you…

Diets, exercise, flexibility, mindfulness…

You can’t do any of these things temporarily and expect permanent change for the better. You need to work at these constantly and be in it for the long haul.

Starving yourself for a week won’t keep you slim forever. Hitting the gym every day for a month won’t keep you strong forever.

In the same way, meditating every day for a year won’t make you invincible to negative thoughts. Far from it.

You’ll have bad days and you’ll have good ones. You might have more good days if you practice mindfulness more often. But if you’re predisposed to negative thoughts… if negative thoughts have been a pattern in your life… don’t make mindfulness training a temporary thing!

Keep at it! You don’t want to lose your mindfulness “gains!” 🙂

Daily Gratitude

Today, I’m grateful for the new documentary by The Minimalists, “Less Is No,” on YouTube. Very well done. It’s all their important messages from years of podcasts and writings distilled into one, less-than-an-hour documentary.

… is one way to spend an extra five minutes.

You may get a dopamine hit. Or you may get anxiety.

Are there better ways to spend an extra five minutes whenever you get it?

How about reading a book? Meditating? Messaging a loved one a random “hello?”

We have many five-minute breaks within a day. How they’re spent is up to you.

Daily Gratitude

I’m grateful for lunch with my daughter today to celebrate her 20th birthday, despite it having to be socially-distanced and sans hugs.

“Words without action are like wheels without traction. It is how you live that counts.”

Geoff Thompson

This is me trying to live up to last week’s post. The best time to have taken action was the day after my post last week. The second best time is now.

As best I can now, I’m making good on my journey to “get better.”

Writing is not my forte. But I’m posting something now.

I’ve been listening to podcasts in stead of music.

I’ve started reading The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday.

I’ve meditated more days than not in the last week.

I’ve also gotten my exercise in…

I could go on more walks and get more sunlight, though our sunlight is limited this time of year.

One thing at a time. One day at a time. Moving forward.

Daily Gratitude

I’m grateful for the rain we’re getting right now. We certainly need it!

Today, I reboot. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t know how long I will continue running… But there are several things I did a couple years ago that I wholeheartedly believe made me a better version of myself.

Blogging was one of them…

Here’s a list of things I want to get back into, even as an experiment, so I can “get better” again.

• Meditate
• Read
• Write / Blog
• Listen to podcasts
• Go on long walks
• Get plenty of sunlight
• Exercise

Daily Gratitude

I’m grateful for my hurricane lantern which provides a nice, soothing glow as well as some warmth in my room on this cold December night.

Zenpocalypse… What a fitting name for a blog today.

I was blogging regularly-ish starting in January of last year. My last post was on September 24, 2019. I was about a month into my job at a fitness club (I’m still employed there). The post was about things “piling up” the point where you don’t want to deal with it.

For no reason in particular, I decided to write here again. The world is a much different place. A pandemic has kept us indoors for the most part. “Essential workers” as we now call them, have been extremely busy while many others have lost their jobs.

For a short while, when we all sheltered in place on March 17, 2020, it felt like a mini apocalypse. Stores ran out of many goods; hand sanitizer and toilet paper being among the most sought-after items.

Amid this chaos, despite the amount of crazy work, I felt a certain calm deep down. Perhaps that’s just due to the fact that I still had a job, unlike many.

Zenpocalypse… Finding the calm in the chaos.

Daily Gratitude

I’m grateful for the cool night air coming through my window cooling down my room that was heated up by a very hot day.

If a small task materializes that you can take care of in less than a minute, take care of it.

There are tons of these… Washing your cereal bowl you just ate out of, replenishing your pet’s water bowl with fresh water, responding to a non-urgent message, switching the clothes from the washer to the dryer, taking out the trash when it’s full. Okay, the last one may take about 2-3 minutes… But you get the idea.

What’s a bummer is when all of these tiny tasks pile up and say you’re going to be gone for a few days. Your cereal bowl will get crusty, your pet’s water will turn gross, you leave a friend hanging, your clothes in the wash may start to smell like mildew, the trash will overflow and start to smell…

When you have to do all of these it be quite a chore when you’re just trying to get out the freaking door. Try and set up your environment so you’re ready to roll at all times!

Daily Gratitude: My New Job

Financially, it’s a burden and making ends meet is a little rough. Mentally, it’s a 180 degree difference from my previous job. There’s possibility for financial improvement through certifications. Some of the tasks are mundane… The connections with people are great, despite being draining sometimes. But overall, I’m grateful to have this job.

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”

Suzy Kassem

I’ve struggled with self-doubt all my life. Still do.

It’s certainly killed a fair share of my dreams.

As I enter the latter half of my life, I can’t help but wonder where I’d be had I overcome any doubts and pursued dreams of becoming a touring musician, Foley artist, traveling photographer, martial arts instructor, among other things.

Today, I dream of helping others. Improving their lives physically, mentally, emotionally, or all of the above.

It’s difficult to think I can do this when I struggle with doubt myself. (You see the doubt kicking in already??)

Partially due to circumstances, I’ve taken a first step toward this new dream. It was a hard step as it meant a 74% pay cut. But I’m trying this path for now and expect some failures before I find fulfillment, and I’m staving off any doubts.

Daily Gratitude: Bootcamp

I participated in my second Bootcamp at the gym at which I work. It was a little easier than the first time, but it still kicked my ass. I’m pretty sure I was the second oldest participant, but having about 20 years over most participants. I’m grateful I can still keep up and get through the class!

Popular notions state that we should all seek balance; That once we find balance, our lives will be great. And yet we never really find “balance.”

We often trick ourselves into thinking we’ve found this wonderful thing called “balance.” That our lives are forever transformed us into unflappable beings impervious to the stress of our chaotic lives able to keep our work and personal lives in perfect balance.

Truth is things may be good for a time, but life happens and life is messy.

What does work is to seek balance. Accept the fact that life is more a balancing act than some balanced state you can achieve allowing you to coast through life from here on out.

Sometimes work requires you to work a little harder and longer. Sometimes your family really needs you and you need to spend real quality time with them. Point is, different things require more attention than others at different times and that is perfectly normal.

So don’t seek balance (noun). Instead, balance (verb) your life as life requires and embrace the fact that life is a constant balancing act. Framed this way, you may find yourself less discouraged that “balance” (noun) is impermanent.

Daily Gratitude: A feeling of fulfillment after a long day

I was asked with little notice if I could come into work early yesterday. I did. During the extra long shift, I was asked by another colleague if I could cover her shift because she was ill and I was her last resort. I did. So I had a closing shift and an opening shift a few hours afterward. Less than two hours after the end of my opening shift, I had my regular shift.

I’m grateful to have made it through the day and not feel resentment for working extra hours. It’s not that I can do this all the time, but there was a sense of fulfillment in having been able to work as I get acquainted in this new industry that I’m so far enjoying.

There aren’t many things that don’t require some kind of maintenance.

There are the things we use: Our cars, homes, appliances, even our computers require maintenance.

Our bodies require maintenance as well. We try to eat well and exercise to become as healthy as we can. But like our cars, we can’t expect that we’ll stay in shape without maintenance. We need to continue to exercise and eat well just as our vehicles require oil changes and tune-ups.

Our minds also require maintenance. We may have come a long way to get our minds in the right mindsets to be successful and healthy. Bad thinking can come back really quickly if we don’t take the time to maintain what we have achieved.

Take the time to reflect, journal, meditate… whatever self-care helps to maintain a healthy mindset and attitude and you’ll be better off than taking that one meditation class that makes you feel good for a week.

Daily Gratitude: Lunch with Lorelei

I stopped by my daughter’s workplace knowing she had to work today. I wasn’t expecting anything more than to say hi and buy some produce. It turns out she had a lunch coming up. We had a nice poke lunch which she treated me to. Grateful to have been able to spend some time together!

What is it? What is one thing you can do today to improve your situation? Take a walk? Start a job search? Talk with a friend? Read up on something? Rest?

It doesn’t have to be a big thing. It should be something you can do without fuss or complication.

Be it for work, health, relationships… There’s always something you can do to improve it. In fact there are a multitude of things you can do. But sometimes, we get to thinking of all the things we “have” to do to improve a situation that we create a project out of it and simply don’t get started.

Figure out what one thing you can do today and see if starts a ripple effect into the next thing you can do, and the next. Even if it wasn’t the “right” thing, it will lead you to the next thing.

Daily Gratitude: A Good Bootcamp Workout

I participated in a Bootcamp class offered by the fitness club at which I work… It kicked my ass! There were moments when I had to slow down, catch my breath, and pause long enough to regain some strength. It has been several years since I’d done a bootcamp class. I’m grateful for having participated. I will be back for more!