My Secret and Sacred Bird

My secret and sacred bird now flies
To meet the Spirit's vacancy.
All chaos of life today dissolved;
In me a surge of ecstasy.

Gold flames within my longing heart
Invoke the cosmos' Parent-Sun.
A tapestry of Truth unseen
Bursts forth within; the Play is begun.

Excerpt from My First Friendship With The Muse by Sri Chinmoy.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The first time I realized I needed to improve my health and fitness, I was on my way to class and running a few minutes late. As I approaching the building I ran up about 10 steps. After which I had to stop for a few minutes to catch my breath. Here I am, in my early 20s totally out of shape and huffing after 10 steps! Fast forward approximately 3 years later and over 113lbs lighter and I am the complete opposite of that picture. I work out 6 days a week sometimes twice a day and I have ran over 300miles in the last 7 months. Yesterday after a full body conditioning workout I experienced a prick in my side. That prick after a few minutes gradually became a throbbing pain disallowing me to lift my right hand above my head or bend. I went to a chiropractor today for the first time and after a few seconds of inspecting my spine he knew it was not aligned. He was able to tell me that I am very active...too active. As a result of all the yoga, running and weight training I have become so flexible that my spine is too loose. He went on to explain that being inactive and having a tight spine is not good, but being overactive with a loose spine was just at bad, simply the opposite extreme. He then pressed my spine and neck into place with various techniques (the loud cracking noises were a little shocking). He suggested I focused on the energy being released and not the sounds (which reminded me of a Steven Seagal movie). This was followed by a full body massage with a Thumper; the most powerful massage machine also used to treat horses. It was unbelievably deep and amazing, he left for about 10 minutes to allow me time to bask in the after effects. After the treatment he gave me a few posture tips and suggested a follow up in a week for one more treatment. If there is a Thumper involved, I am there! Everything in life requires a balance. Progression isn't only based on high intensity. It's smooth yet gradual, fluid and also consistent. Lesson learned. Sometimes it's takes a quick spinal shift to experience a simple mental alignment.

Song of the Day: Jill Scott "Golden"

Geography of Love

I walked along the isles of the bookstore, browsing, gliding my finger tips across the spines. Waiting to connect with a title by way of gravitational pull. I stopped. A book seemingly out place, perched against the other neatly stacked books as if it was the one waiting. Its cover spoke, "Geography of Love". I listened, and without further inquisition I added it to my purchases.

________________

I spent most of yesterday at the coffee shop indulging in cafe lattes and mochas while reading the book 'Geography of Love' by Glenda Burgess with Yo-Yo Ma faintly playing in the background. I was hooked, and could barely pry my eyes away from the pages. I couldn't. I wouldn't. I didn't, until I knew the entire story from start to finish.

I was moved to the very core of my being and cried as I turned each page of the last few chapters, reading with a sense of pause and knowing of what was about to come. My eyes swelling with tears even now as I reminisce on that journey. My emotions catapulting into uncontrollable tears as Ken interacted with his children in his last moments. Even I was confounded by my own reaction since I would be considered more "emotionally reserved". A buried inner soul yearning of a fatherly connection of this magnitude had surfaced. Something I hadn't given much thought over the years. In that moment I felt somewhat cheated as if I missed out on something, but, at the same time overwhelmed with a deep feeling of love as I relived Ken and Glendas private family moments.

The intensity of the latter part of their story didn't overshadow their initial meeting of the hearts when they first met and got to know each other. If anything it set the premise for a magical union etched in love, passion and reverence. This story was more than a man battling cancer. It was an ode to the love he expressed and received, and to the strength he embodied as a man, a husband and father.