Broadly defined, Brahmacharya is a self-disciplined life dedicated to learning all aspects of the “dharma” or “principles for righteous living”. This Dharma is comprised of personal responsibility towards yourself, family, society, humanity, the environment and includes devotion to God.
However, on another level, Brahmacharya also refers to an attitude of non-attachment to sensual pleasures – it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a walk on a pleasant day or purchasing that item you’ve been saving for – but more an attitude of not craving physical/transitory pleasures as a substitute for real happiness, which can only come from within.
So, those of you who have been reading along and those of you who are interested in reading my older posts, know I started this blog when I turned 40. It was a real watershed moment for me. I was divorced and reaching the age when having children was an option about to expire.
Epiphanies were happening fast and furious. I had thoughts (deep thoughts, people!) popping into my head on a regular basis that did not even seem to be coming directly FROM me, although they were about me. One of them was the thought, “Life may not have turned out the way you planned, but the way it turned out, means you can do anything you want with your life. Anything! ”
A simple plan to meet Doug’s wife over dinner evolved into brunch with old friend from junior high and now I may be bunking with one of my favorite people of all time (see Addicted to Vinyl) and his new girlfriend who are in town to review Sir Paul’s KC MO show.
World’s Collide? It’s almost never a good idea. Yet I charge forward. I can’t resist having many of my favorite people in the same place at the same time.
My cousin (see Mr. Pooper’s Day Out) and I agree that if we ever hit the lottery, we’ll build walled compounds with multiple dwellings and keep all our favorite peoples together. In our collective imagination – everyone would just LOVE that.
Do you keep your friendships in separate categories or do you mix them all up whenever you can? If you mix, how’s that workin’ for ‘ya?
Shortly after I became a member of Lifetime Fitness, I decided to re-explore Pilates. I took a few reformer classes in New York but didn’t stick with it.
I took a free exploratory class and although it was terribly difficult at first, I could also see how using the reformer would quickly build my strength and challenge my agility.
I pay an additional fee to Lifetime for these classes and I’m really happy with the result. I took the advice of my instructor, Wendy Evren, and spent my first 6 weeks using a mixture of classes and private lessons. The private lessons allow me to work at my pace, ask questions and concentrate on the moves I have difficulty with in class.
The PR for Pilate’s says in 15 classes you’ll have a new body. I want to be more specific. By class 15 you have increased agility, strength and endurance. I’m not losing weight going to Pilates but I am stronger and more flexible – my body hurts less day-to-day as I stretch and lengthen my muscles.
Here’s a pretty cool video that shows the kind of proficiency that I’m trying to achieve.
It’s been a whirlwind these last 2 weeks. I’m on my way back to Cleveland. Since the Farmer’s Market my employment situation has changed and may be about to change again.
If this all works out as I hope I’m going to have one of the greatest blog posts ever. I’ll call it “How Facebook Got Me a New Job“.
The Cleveland trip is a big one. I have to finish the move, do so maintenance on the house, have it thoroughly cleaned and ready for my renter to move in.
It’s a lot to take in – a great deal of change – but at least I can say that this train is back on track and moving on down the line. As it should be.
The Omaha Farmer’s Market is new to me. It’s not new to Omaha. It’s downtown location was the spot to buy fresh produce for a hundred years. It shut down in 1964, along with much of the downtown area. In 1994, just a year after I left for NYC, it was revived and they’ve done a great job.
Saturday the 8th after my 4th private Pilates lesson with Wendy, I made my way over to the first weekend of the Midwest Trade Days. The event will happen 4 times over the summer, not including the weekend that just passed, on June 4-6th, July 2-4th, Aug. 6-8th, Sept. 3-5th.
The venue was a little odd. It’s located on the edge of civilization, just past 168th and Giles. The paved road ends and you cross a small, one lane bridge to get to the parking lot of Scary Acres. It’s a smart move to try to extend what must be seasonal business for them, mostly haunted hay rack rides and the like. I guess I would have put a little more into the aesthetics if I were going to go for a change. It was weird to walk through the faux castle gate and shop under the gaze of the forgotten set of Psycho. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m just old enough to have been able to graduate high school without having to take a language. I’ve always regretted not learning Spanish when I was younger. Trying in my later years was a disaster. So, as I told Dusty that I was off to explore Omaha’s version of Cynco de Mayo (MAY-oh) she asked if Omaha celebrated some condiment festival. Then she corrected my pronunciation (My-oh).
Spring has sprung and there’s a whole lotta craftin’ going on. The weather’s been accommodating and has allowed me the luxury of cruising some local art fairs for interesting, hand-made goods. Read the rest of this entry »
Broadly defined, Brahmacharya is a self-disciplined life dedicated to learning all aspects of the “dharma” or “principles for righteous living”. This Dharma is comprised of personal responsibility towards yourself, family, society, humanity, the environment and includes devotion to God.
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