Connecting Neighbors & Health

I am not guaranteeing an awesome post every day. 5 days a week. You probably already figured out my posts aren't awesome already. lol. So I had a morning off and what did I do? I walked 12 miles. That's not to brag. It's just an opportunity I took to get to know my neighborhood and a few others a little better. I decided to walk all the streets around me I hadn't walked before.

It was a good time. I got to meet some interesting people and I got in some good exercise. You know in the States I kind of knew one of my neighbors. He was a nice elderly gentleman I shared a fence with. But you know it was months before I even realized he died. We were pretty disconnected from them. Here I know more neighbors than I ever have before. It is great. And I communicate less because my Thai isn't that hot.

Make that a workout one day. Take a few hours and walk streets in your town you never walked before. Stop and talk to neighbors. Take 4 hours and let it rip. What a great way to energize your body and your soul. Connecting your life together in one workout. The family can walk with you as long as they are able. Who knows, you might even enjoy it. Have a great day.

Pulling Punches and Crossing Over to Crazy

So I am convinced. I am convinced more than ever that there comes a time when you just have to make a decision. We treat our lives as normal. We think, "Well I'm here. That's nice". We were meant for so much more than eeking out an existence. But for so many of us (including me) we just do enough to get by and have lost our hearts. Our passion. Ourselves.

Life is amazing! Isn't it? I mean here I am. I exist and it is awesome. What an amazing privilege. Don't get me wrong. Crap happens and tragedy strikes us all at some point, but that is something to hold on to as well. We are alive and experience it all. What a gift to get to experience life, love, hope, tragedy, but for so many of us we are paralyzed or numbed by it all and we pull up short in grabbing life and living it fully. I know I do.

I know I up and moved my whole family to Thailand. Some would say that is grabbing life and living but to be honest I still pull punches at times. I don't say what's really on my mind. I don't choose the adventure or the unknown. Even our move to Thailand was well researched and planned out as much as possible. I sit back at times and look at life and say, "I can never do that." Or I say, "Good for them, they took a risk and it worked (or it didn't)." But I don't make those choices. I play it as safe as possible. I push my limits to a point and say "that's far enough." But I have stifled the fire in my belly. We have been conditioned to stifle it. What about you? Not to be reckless...well maybe reckless. We worship "safety" and "predictability" and in the process we lose a piece of our soul.

I want my soul back.

I want to embrace this life I was given and live it. I have met amazing people in my life. They chose to live their lives by their rules and live it passionately. They don't seem to follow the dictates of their culture. I want to love people unconditionally. I want to believe I can do more than I ever thought I can do. I want to be the person God made me to be and not shy away from it. I have been pushed by those around to share my thoughts more. I tend to pull punches and say just enough. I tend to make different choices, but I don't cross the line to where people will think I'm crazy. But then isn't it more crazy to live life full of "what if's"? Surely there are worse things than failing. Like never trying.

I love my life. I love my family. I love everything about it. But I still think I am not living my life the way I was made to live it. I suffer for it. My family suffers for it. Because it steals my joy, my hope and love. So I have decided to embrace 3 things unashamedly.

1. Jesus. I want to be more like him. Honestly, who wouldn't?
2. Unconditional love for all people with no "but's" or (insert cliche' line here that makes us feel better).
3. That I have been given the "want to" to do some crazy things. Things I don't think I am physically able to or mentally tough enough to. And maybe I'm not, but I sure want to find out.

Ok. Enough talking about it. Good day.

And here I thought I was going to talk about the virtual partner option on my Garmin... maybe tomorrow.

Running Into a Vision of What Should Be

So I had a wonderfully bizarre experience yesterday. I joined my running group for our Sunday morning run. We ran for 17.9km (11 miles) in Lumpini Park. Some ran faster and some ran slower but we all made it. It wasn't until after the run that I had a chance to reflect and wanted to share a few thoughts with you.

I don't assume anyone who reads this blog is a Christian, but indulge me for a moment to make a comparison. Part of my journey is the connecting of faith. Even if you don't follow Jesus, it might help paint a picture anyways. In the same way I try to understand Buddhism, this might be a good way to start to understand what it means to follow Jesus.

It reminded me of what church should be. Not the building we tend to file into on Sunday's but what church was meant to be. Church was a word that represented a people, not a building. On our run, sure we had a goal. We wanted to go 7 laps around the park. We accomplished that goal, but what was amazing was how it got completed.

Two of us are pretty slow so we pull up the back of the pack and finished maybe as much as 30-40 minutes behind everyone. But for the first 5 laps, one of the fastest guys stayed back with us. He offered conversation, advice, thoughts and we just spent time getting to know each other. We felt bad for holding him up but he actually came back for us and wanted to do it. As others lapped us they would tell us good job and we would mutually encourage each other. As they lapped us, another guy hung back with us and we spent time with him and listened to his story and were inspired by his passionate life. Afterwards many of us stuck around and chatted and ate together (those who could hold down food).

Man, that is what this journey of faith is for me. It gave me a picture of what church should look like. People from all different nationalities and backgrounds with a common vision and journey heading in the same direction, sharing life and encouraging others to join us no matter who they are. Instead of looking out for ourselves we encouraged each other and even some sacrificed their ability to leave others in the dust for the sake of community. That's what this group is for me on Sunday mornings. It's church or how I would envision it.

(Sorry Bangkok Runners if this seems crazy. lol.)

Oh and Monday Morning Weigh In: Down to 114kg (250.8lbs)

Lost This Week: 0.8 kg, 1.8 lbs

Total loss: 5kg (11lbs)

Connecting My Soul

There is alot to be thinking about these days. I got alot on my mind. One thing on my mind is the connection of the spiritual and the physical. And to be honest, I think it is a false dichotomy. I believe that everything in our lives is spiritual. You might say, "Wait, I'm not into being spiritual". Too late. We are connected to something bigger than ourselves. That is part of the journey for me in my quest for better health. I believe that working out, family, work, faith, friends, mowing the yard, doing taxes are all connected. It is all a spiritual act. It is just a matter of us opening our eyes, hearts and soul to see it as such.

I am a follower of Jesus. Not everyone who reads this post is a follower of Jesus. No worries. I won't get preachy on you. That is not my point. My point is, our lives are connected to something bigger than ourselves. We must recognize that. It is part of our quest towards wholeness. This is what I am learning. When I am struggling in the pool, running 10k, doing the dishes, spending time with my family or riding the bus, it is all holy ground. I must recognize that God is with me and every moment is sacred. So the way I treat my body, my family, my enemies, myself is all a direct reflection of the health of my soul and my connectedness to Jesus.

My endevour to be physically healthier is not a separate endevour from my pursuit of Jesus. It is the same pursuit.

That is what I am connected to. What are you connected to outside yourself? Give me some feedback.