You can learn a lot from the time spent next to someone on a barstool. In fact, some of my favorite, best and most intimate talks were under the influence and with the inebriated.
I have a soft spot for occasional drunks like myself. I don't hurt anyone, and I'm a lot more responsible about it now than I was in my more self-destructive formative years.
Alcohol is a drug, and as such should be treated with respect and a healthy dose of discretion (and moderation.. sometimes) but it also has its merits, and is not without certain positive attributes. One of which is the lowering of our carefully constructed defense mechanisms, that are often times put up to keep others from ever entering the fortress.
Now, you can take that statement any way you like but for my purposes I'm talking about letting people in emotionally. So often we're all shut in and shut off from other people; can't trust anyone, don't know who to trust, you've been hurt too many times and are scarred now, whatever the case the story is the same for most all of us in some way. Alcohol gives us a little window of opportunity to let our hair down and open our hearts without fear of judgement and really, when you're drunk you could really give a fuck less.
Shouldn't it be like that more often?
The meek grow mighty (and occasionally unruly, unfortunately), the quiet become chatty or perhaps the chatty revert and begin to listen for once. Results are not typical and it's not the best drug of choice for a lot of folks but for the rest of us, it's nice. Just be nice to yourself and give it the respect it deserves and let yourself open up a little. Try it, you might like it.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
9.29.13
So tomorrow it's back to work, after having off the last four days and it's been quite lovely, I must say. I did a lot, a little and at some points, not a dam thing at all but take in oxygen to fill my lungs. The days come and go, filled with whats meaningful: life, love, friendship and real work: gardening, gathering, cooking, concocting, relaxing. Yes, sadly in this day and age it does take a lot of work to relax. Too much.
This isn't going to turn into a rant on how backwards our priorities are as a culture because we all live it every day, it's more about me being grateful, something I don't often do. It was a good four days that I am truly thankful, not to god or any other deity but just thankful.
Whether or not I truly believe that life is a gift, there are certainly those more tender moments where I romanticize the idea that it is, despite everything. To my mind, nothing has any intrinsic value to it but what we put on it, so if you think it's a gift, it is, and so with a curse; you know, all that power of positive thinking shit. It is not without its merit, that's for sure. Just don't get too carried away.
When it's good, just sit back and enjoy it; you can thank whoever you want.
This isn't going to turn into a rant on how backwards our priorities are as a culture because we all live it every day, it's more about me being grateful, something I don't often do. It was a good four days that I am truly thankful, not to god or any other deity but just thankful.
Whether or not I truly believe that life is a gift, there are certainly those more tender moments where I romanticize the idea that it is, despite everything. To my mind, nothing has any intrinsic value to it but what we put on it, so if you think it's a gift, it is, and so with a curse; you know, all that power of positive thinking shit. It is not without its merit, that's for sure. Just don't get too carried away.
When it's good, just sit back and enjoy it; you can thank whoever you want.
Friday, September 27, 2013
losers take all
There was so much more that I had wanted to say with this piece when it popped in my mind earlier, something about the ongoing struggle for contentment, and my deep empathy for the chronic malcontent in life but now, later on in the evening of the same day, the thoughts don't hold as much force or color. But, while we're on the topic, we might as well carry through with it.
I, personally, believe that contentment is the single hardest thing to come by in our day and age. Sure, a lot of people are really successful, and lead what appear to be rich and happy lives filed with joy and memories but all this is fleeting. There is no lasting value to even the best things in life. To truly be content with that, we must accept the impermanence of life itself, we must reach an agreement within ourselves, our real selves, the selves we go to sleep with every night whose unconscious displays all the dreams of our subconscious; the self we cannot escape from, no matter how much we drink, smoke, eat or who we surround ourselves with. At the end of the day we're all alone, is what it comes down to, and a lot of folks have difficulty in accepting that.
It's not a bad thing at all, and in fact is probably pretty normal I would have to think. Sometimes I wonder if my occasional divorce from human emotions renders me "abnormal" but I think it's all very subjective, like a lot of things. For some, possibly maybe but for me, it's just another part of who I am as a person, the enigma not even I understand and will spend a lifetime attempting to navigate the labyrinth in the dark with a pen light.
Out of this deep aversion to acceptance of certain hard truths of life stem many chronic malcontents, who for the most part I greatly empathize with and for, because in many ways I am one. However, there is a line that needs to be drawn in the sands of time at a point, and that point comes down to a person's understanding of the life equation. There's those who know and accept life is shit, who bumble around clumsily, seemingly making the same mistake innumerable times BUT all the while remaining aware of the certain trap door life poses to us. Then there are those who have some inkling of the many unpleasantries we are surrounded by and surround ourselves with but choose to deny it in some sort of childish ignorance that at times comes off very contrived; not a bad thing but inevitably a setup for a great many failures somewhere alone the line.
Now, what can be done of this? Nothing, really; sadly, it is what it is and it comes largely down to choice: Those who choose to ignore will continue to put on the strong face to get through the day but cry themselves to sleep at night, alone within themselves and not knowing where to turn. Many types turn to religion, because it is easily accessible and familiar.
Frankly, I don't care what a person believes in if it gives them strength, so long as it is for their reasons alone and not from the pressures of society or anyone else. To hell with everyone but yourself. Be true, follow what you feel to be true in your heart and stick with that. Santosha, or inner contentment, is thus born; a renunciation of the need to require, the elimination of want. To have all that one needs within them.
Additionally, those who know and accept the impermanence are not guaranteed an easier life, per se, just for their knowing this. In fact, in many ways it makes things much more difficult because then one comes face to face with all the ugly defense mechanisms and machinations we humans put up in battle against the sadness, our loneliness. The individual can see through these farces, in others as well as themselves, and learns that there is no place left to run anymore, no place left to hide. All the good spots have been taken by artful dodgers, holed up securely with their insecurities. A bit over-dramatic, perhaps but all the same, none of the vices we held as our temporary refuge and residence do it for us anymore. There's nothing left but to struggle on and accept. And accept we must; we have no choice but to.
So, friends, I have no solutions for any one of you. I myself am a little of the former and a little more of the latter, as we area all a mixture in differing degrees. All I can tell you from my limited but compassionate experience is to be yourself, and "do you". Learn how to make yourself happy first and the rest will fall into place.
I, personally, believe that contentment is the single hardest thing to come by in our day and age. Sure, a lot of people are really successful, and lead what appear to be rich and happy lives filed with joy and memories but all this is fleeting. There is no lasting value to even the best things in life. To truly be content with that, we must accept the impermanence of life itself, we must reach an agreement within ourselves, our real selves, the selves we go to sleep with every night whose unconscious displays all the dreams of our subconscious; the self we cannot escape from, no matter how much we drink, smoke, eat or who we surround ourselves with. At the end of the day we're all alone, is what it comes down to, and a lot of folks have difficulty in accepting that.
It's not a bad thing at all, and in fact is probably pretty normal I would have to think. Sometimes I wonder if my occasional divorce from human emotions renders me "abnormal" but I think it's all very subjective, like a lot of things. For some, possibly maybe but for me, it's just another part of who I am as a person, the enigma not even I understand and will spend a lifetime attempting to navigate the labyrinth in the dark with a pen light.
Out of this deep aversion to acceptance of certain hard truths of life stem many chronic malcontents, who for the most part I greatly empathize with and for, because in many ways I am one. However, there is a line that needs to be drawn in the sands of time at a point, and that point comes down to a person's understanding of the life equation. There's those who know and accept life is shit, who bumble around clumsily, seemingly making the same mistake innumerable times BUT all the while remaining aware of the certain trap door life poses to us. Then there are those who have some inkling of the many unpleasantries we are surrounded by and surround ourselves with but choose to deny it in some sort of childish ignorance that at times comes off very contrived; not a bad thing but inevitably a setup for a great many failures somewhere alone the line.
Now, what can be done of this? Nothing, really; sadly, it is what it is and it comes largely down to choice: Those who choose to ignore will continue to put on the strong face to get through the day but cry themselves to sleep at night, alone within themselves and not knowing where to turn. Many types turn to religion, because it is easily accessible and familiar.
Frankly, I don't care what a person believes in if it gives them strength, so long as it is for their reasons alone and not from the pressures of society or anyone else. To hell with everyone but yourself. Be true, follow what you feel to be true in your heart and stick with that. Santosha, or inner contentment, is thus born; a renunciation of the need to require, the elimination of want. To have all that one needs within them.
Additionally, those who know and accept the impermanence are not guaranteed an easier life, per se, just for their knowing this. In fact, in many ways it makes things much more difficult because then one comes face to face with all the ugly defense mechanisms and machinations we humans put up in battle against the sadness, our loneliness. The individual can see through these farces, in others as well as themselves, and learns that there is no place left to run anymore, no place left to hide. All the good spots have been taken by artful dodgers, holed up securely with their insecurities. A bit over-dramatic, perhaps but all the same, none of the vices we held as our temporary refuge and residence do it for us anymore. There's nothing left but to struggle on and accept. And accept we must; we have no choice but to.
So, friends, I have no solutions for any one of you. I myself am a little of the former and a little more of the latter, as we area all a mixture in differing degrees. All I can tell you from my limited but compassionate experience is to be yourself, and "do you". Learn how to make yourself happy first and the rest will fall into place.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
the monkey breaks loose...
...of his cage but realizes he has no more freedom than before, the steel bars enslave only his physical form; he could escape any time he liked, or remain locked up and yet always be free so long as he allowed himself to be so mentally.
it doesn't help to question the existence of the bars, because you know they are there, can feel and smell them, but why they are there, that is the true question.
it doesn't help to question the existence of the bars, because you know they are there, can feel and smell them, but why they are there, that is the true question.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Burning off impurities.
It's actually the name of an album by Grails but as I was inverted in down dog, it seemed fitting for a way to describe my own practice of yoga: A method of burning off impurities, to be left with the purest essence. I'm almost positive the title is more of a reference to the culture of drugs but it's hard to tell; it can be a very fine line between drug use and spirituality, and if you need any examples of that then look no further than the 60's and 70's.
My thought process also led me to pondering how these yoga "superstars" from India came to be so huge and developed their own systems within the practice of hatha yoga. I'm talking about Iyengar, Pattabi Jois (Ashtanga), Bikram, etc.
Each one has their own theories on the practice, each of their practices comprises a complete system fo complete rejuvenation of all bodily systems. I, however, have a rebellious streak and lack a guru of my own, so I'm kind of left to my own devices, which means that my rebellious mind gets the best of me and sooner or later I reject everyone else's system in favor of my own (whatever that is).
I usually end up doing my own practice, though while still following basic guidelines from these other schools of teaching. It's not perfect but I try my best to keep things balanced and interesting. Too much experimentation has always been my main detractor from finding lasting success i.e. finding something that works and sticking with that, rather than constantly jumping around back and forth, searching. But, having said that, perhaps I have not found that something (read: practice) that works for me yet.
If there's one thing all these methods of thought and different schools of teaching can agree on, it's that it is a continuous journey, and the only way to achieve anything is to keep practicing. I translate that to include even my more neurotic or experimental moments and phases.
I have no desire in creating my own "system" of yoga; I just want something that works for me, that feels complete for me and not just like I'm following someone else's instructions because what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. Shit, even the Buddha said not to take his word for anything and to find your own answers.
I'll go with that.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
It all starts with one.
There's something to be said for working in a psychiatric hospital, and I've learned a few things in the short three years Ive been there, and learn more every day. When I first started, I actually pretty much hated it but I realize now it had more to do with not being over, or able to get over, my own personal bullshit; I carried it with me everywhere I went, and as such, was not a very good person (by my stringent standards).
So, now three years later, the teachings of life are becoming apparent to me, and I'm actually starting to enjoy my job there; it's certainly unlike anything anyone else does in a day, and abnormal is the norm. It's exciting, entertaining, seldom boring, and there really are a lot of great people there, both staff and patient. There's always going to be those certain few who push our buttons but those are the ones we stand to learn the most from.
Whether you work in an office building or a psych ward, life is tough and people can really get on your fucking nerves but everyone has their baggage they carry around with them; it's just more apparent with some, and less appealing to us than others' whom we relate to more. Try your best not to judge, don't poke around in other peoples' business and tend to your own, because it doesn't tend to itself.
Despite my cynicism, I really do love people, and I love helping them; it's not always accepted or appreciated, and sometimes people just aren't at the point where they're ready to hear what I have to say but it still feels better to say something real and genuine and uplifting to someone, even if they shut you out, then to say nothing at all and let the cycle of bad or harmful behavior knowingly continue on unchecked.
You can't save everyone but you can at least try to save one.
You can't save everyone but you can at least try to save one.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
odd thoughts and side notes
1. So I'm doing this three day training at work, what it is about is unimportant but what is, at least to me, is how EVERYONE comes in and sits in the exact same seat they did the day before, and tomorrow will be no different; it's like we've already mentally nested up and everyone just either feels comfortable most where they originally sat or they just don't want to upset the social balance of things by moving into another seat, even though there are no names or claims on them.
2. It's funny to me how some of my posts get such high hits (views) while others, and some where I really pour my heart out into, some of my most personal ones, get so little. I'm sure it has much more to do with timing and visibility than anything, just think it's interesting. Or maybe I try too hard sometimes? I'm not writing for popularity but I do keep up on the traffic levels, mainly out of curiosity.
3. Human beings have a strange relationship with pain and suffering. We do everything in our way to avoid pain, and end up causing ourselves suffering and go out of our way to revolt against suffering yet cause ourselves so much pain in the process. Work, relationships, family, friends, life... some we choose, others are chosen for us. Again, just seems funny to me. Life is funny, people are funny.
I guess it takes a certain kind of humor or personality to understand the humor in it but its all just one big, cosmic joke it seems. Just keep laughing world, and it'll all work out in the end.
2. It's funny to me how some of my posts get such high hits (views) while others, and some where I really pour my heart out into, some of my most personal ones, get so little. I'm sure it has much more to do with timing and visibility than anything, just think it's interesting. Or maybe I try too hard sometimes? I'm not writing for popularity but I do keep up on the traffic levels, mainly out of curiosity.
3. Human beings have a strange relationship with pain and suffering. We do everything in our way to avoid pain, and end up causing ourselves suffering and go out of our way to revolt against suffering yet cause ourselves so much pain in the process. Work, relationships, family, friends, life... some we choose, others are chosen for us. Again, just seems funny to me. Life is funny, people are funny.
I guess it takes a certain kind of humor or personality to understand the humor in it but its all just one big, cosmic joke it seems. Just keep laughing world, and it'll all work out in the end.
Monday, September 16, 2013
To search for something whole..
As I'm in Ardha Matsyendrasana tonight, I'm struck with this feeling of wringing out a dirty rag; the body itself the metaphor for the rag which is being wrung out, as this posture ultimately does just that. This insight led me to further meditation on the themes covered in Enlighten Up!, though I don't understand anything any further than what I did before.
I don't know what the fuck any of it means, to be honest. Some days it all seems so clear and then others it's like the bottom drops out on you. It is, if nothing else, a daily practice (yoga) and as such, falls in with the normal ebb and flow of everyday life just as well.
But what does it mean?
-Does it really matter?
Here's where the conflict begins: I, myself would love nothing more than to undertake my own personal journey into the world of yoga and my own spirituality but it's just like our Western minds to try and understand everything, to put a goddamn label on something that can't be labeled with words alone. It's largely a feeling, like being on the verge of something so big yet having no ability to describe it in any way. Sometimes words can only do harm.
I don't honestly care what it is, or what it means because it's going to be different for everyone. I know that it makes my body and mind feel good and it gives me a sense of purpose in my life, and that's all the reason I need to keep up the physical practice. As for everything else, well, I guess that will all come in its own time, now won't it?
The word 'spirituality' gets thrown around a lot, I know; I'm not proud of it either. But, regardless of a person's level of development in that area, we all exist within a physical body, a shell. This body is moving parts and squishy things. It is affected by what we consume, and what consumes it. So, you can be as spiritual as you like but without a healthy vessel for it to be channeled through, it's a bit like pissing in the wind. It works both ways, though. Vice-versa. It's a very holistic relationship between the two of them, physical health and spiritual health: One prepares you for living in the present while the other prepares you for living forever.
I let myself do some exercise other than yoga asanas tonight; I actually lifted some weights for the first time in a month or so, and it felt good. That's yoga. Breathing is yoga. Everything is yoga.
It's all around us, in everything we do, as long as we do it with our whole being: Mind, body and spirit.
I'm hit with something Nick (the antagonist of the documentary) is asking of a reclusive OG ashtangi in Hawaii: Nick asked Norman (the OG), "...as i'm twisting myself into a pretzel, I'm wondering to myself...what the hell does this have to do with enlightenment?" To which Norman answered almost immediately, "Nothing."
Wow. And he's right. But it is a tool, and you can choose to use it or not use it; really doesn't matter either way just so you keep practicing whatever it is that you practice that makes you feel whole. Leave the rest at home.
I don't know what the fuck any of it means, to be honest. Some days it all seems so clear and then others it's like the bottom drops out on you. It is, if nothing else, a daily practice (yoga) and as such, falls in with the normal ebb and flow of everyday life just as well.
But what does it mean?
-Does it really matter?
Here's where the conflict begins: I, myself would love nothing more than to undertake my own personal journey into the world of yoga and my own spirituality but it's just like our Western minds to try and understand everything, to put a goddamn label on something that can't be labeled with words alone. It's largely a feeling, like being on the verge of something so big yet having no ability to describe it in any way. Sometimes words can only do harm.
I don't honestly care what it is, or what it means because it's going to be different for everyone. I know that it makes my body and mind feel good and it gives me a sense of purpose in my life, and that's all the reason I need to keep up the physical practice. As for everything else, well, I guess that will all come in its own time, now won't it?
The word 'spirituality' gets thrown around a lot, I know; I'm not proud of it either. But, regardless of a person's level of development in that area, we all exist within a physical body, a shell. This body is moving parts and squishy things. It is affected by what we consume, and what consumes it. So, you can be as spiritual as you like but without a healthy vessel for it to be channeled through, it's a bit like pissing in the wind. It works both ways, though. Vice-versa. It's a very holistic relationship between the two of them, physical health and spiritual health: One prepares you for living in the present while the other prepares you for living forever.
I let myself do some exercise other than yoga asanas tonight; I actually lifted some weights for the first time in a month or so, and it felt good. That's yoga. Breathing is yoga. Everything is yoga.
It's all around us, in everything we do, as long as we do it with our whole being: Mind, body and spirit.
I'm hit with something Nick (the antagonist of the documentary) is asking of a reclusive OG ashtangi in Hawaii: Nick asked Norman (the OG), "...as i'm twisting myself into a pretzel, I'm wondering to myself...what the hell does this have to do with enlightenment?" To which Norman answered almost immediately, "Nothing."
Wow. And he's right. But it is a tool, and you can choose to use it or not use it; really doesn't matter either way just so you keep practicing whatever it is that you practice that makes you feel whole. Leave the rest at home.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
You are what your deep, driving desire is
It's been a great weekend, already passed by now. Lots of stuff to fill my life with, and all things I want; it doesn't get much better. It sometimes gets frenetic, at least in my mind but we embraced a method of streamlining our thoughts, ideas and aspirations. Sometimes a person can just do too much, and spread themselves and their creative energies too thin; after all, there is only so much time in a day and I would imagine this affects a lot of people similarly.
There's always more we want to do, could do or at least think we could do; the reality is often different. You have to wake up early, drive here and do this, spend so much time in point A then take the time to drive back to point B, then do what you set out to at home and every other thing you need to do in a day's time, and by then you're tired and need a nap and the day drags on and you don't stop because you have so much more to get done and if you don't you feel unfulfilled or unaccomplished or whatever. But that's bullshit, unless your life or livelihood somehow depended on it. Otherwise, it's just typical of that rambunctious little mind of yours being naughty and playing tricks.
My girlfriend and I watched this documentary, Enlighten Up!, which is in my appreciation of it a road trip journey of a skeptic through the world of yoga. It didn't get entirely favorable reviews but everyone's a critic. If you have ANY inkling of interest in practicing yoga, do practice but want to learn more or do practice and still are not so sure why you practice, like myself, then please give it a watch; it's interesting and inspiring and I feel we all benefit from Nick's (the "subject") journey, even if you don't practice yoga. It won't bring you any closer to understanding just what IT is, as it is a lifetime learning process but it does contain a lot of great insight as to what it's all about.
It is not what we have come to know it as. This may or may not be of any importance, as it's not so much about what you do but why you do it. That pretty much sums it up. Seems simple enough, right? until you start to think about that. Yeah, it's heavy stuff and I love it. I feel like having watched that, and I will many more times you can be sure, has brought me a little closer to myself as to why I practice, and what it is I'm trying to get out of it.
It's ok if you just like practicing yoga for the exercise: Health of the body is important as well as that of the mind or that of the spirit. But eventually it will come to a point, violently or non-violently, that you will come to realize that something is missing in your life; that nagging void you continue to sedate and fill in with temporary distractions and proximity infatuations, all of which only leave you alone in a crowded room again and again.
It's a vicious cycle but the wheel does not stop turning just because you've undertaken a "spiritual" path, oh no: In fact, it may get worse before it gets better. There comes a time for us all where we need to face up to ourselves and when the veil drops and we can no longer stifle, hide or run away from what we fear most, whatever that is. The answer can only come from you.
It all sounds cliche and a little outrageous, and you'd be right to think that. I still do, and I practice hatha yoga. But just why I do still puzzles me. I see the cult of yoga and feel my cynicism take over; I get frustrated how so many associate yoga as being breath and body but at the same time, that's all I practice myself. I really don't understand the rest of it and without a guru, I feel lost in a vast sea of deep spirituality.
Most times my pride gives me over to think that I know quite a bit about the subject when in reality, I know next to nothing, as about 98% of practicing yogis do I'm sure. Even with all the classic texts I read and have read, it's only words on a page; they mean nothing without full understanding of what it is they're saying. Think of it as a secret code that the initiated are adept at deciphering, while the others merely gaze over it for its beauty.
I want something real. I feel like I'm getting closer every day. I practice for me and no one else and I do it at home, because for me it is a very personal journey. It's also selfish, in some ways. To a certain degree, I believe it has to be, because no one else can do it for you. But, once you're on the path already, you can always incorporate others into it and spread that joy you feel in your heart to others. A selfish means for an unselfish end, if you will.
This is as far as my thoughts will take me for one night but this recent stirring within me will stay with me for some time. In many ways, I feel as though I have participated in the filmmaker's experiment, without the jet lag and devastation to my bank account.
Interestingly enough, the day leading up to watching this, I was unconsciously stricken to pick up my copy of The Upanishads from my bookshelf and read a few passages. I will leave you with one such passage:
"You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny."
9.15.13
S.B.
There's always more we want to do, could do or at least think we could do; the reality is often different. You have to wake up early, drive here and do this, spend so much time in point A then take the time to drive back to point B, then do what you set out to at home and every other thing you need to do in a day's time, and by then you're tired and need a nap and the day drags on and you don't stop because you have so much more to get done and if you don't you feel unfulfilled or unaccomplished or whatever. But that's bullshit, unless your life or livelihood somehow depended on it. Otherwise, it's just typical of that rambunctious little mind of yours being naughty and playing tricks.
My girlfriend and I watched this documentary, Enlighten Up!, which is in my appreciation of it a road trip journey of a skeptic through the world of yoga. It didn't get entirely favorable reviews but everyone's a critic. If you have ANY inkling of interest in practicing yoga, do practice but want to learn more or do practice and still are not so sure why you practice, like myself, then please give it a watch; it's interesting and inspiring and I feel we all benefit from Nick's (the "subject") journey, even if you don't practice yoga. It won't bring you any closer to understanding just what IT is, as it is a lifetime learning process but it does contain a lot of great insight as to what it's all about.
It is not what we have come to know it as. This may or may not be of any importance, as it's not so much about what you do but why you do it. That pretty much sums it up. Seems simple enough, right? until you start to think about that. Yeah, it's heavy stuff and I love it. I feel like having watched that, and I will many more times you can be sure, has brought me a little closer to myself as to why I practice, and what it is I'm trying to get out of it.
It's ok if you just like practicing yoga for the exercise: Health of the body is important as well as that of the mind or that of the spirit. But eventually it will come to a point, violently or non-violently, that you will come to realize that something is missing in your life; that nagging void you continue to sedate and fill in with temporary distractions and proximity infatuations, all of which only leave you alone in a crowded room again and again.
It's a vicious cycle but the wheel does not stop turning just because you've undertaken a "spiritual" path, oh no: In fact, it may get worse before it gets better. There comes a time for us all where we need to face up to ourselves and when the veil drops and we can no longer stifle, hide or run away from what we fear most, whatever that is. The answer can only come from you.
It all sounds cliche and a little outrageous, and you'd be right to think that. I still do, and I practice hatha yoga. But just why I do still puzzles me. I see the cult of yoga and feel my cynicism take over; I get frustrated how so many associate yoga as being breath and body but at the same time, that's all I practice myself. I really don't understand the rest of it and without a guru, I feel lost in a vast sea of deep spirituality.
Most times my pride gives me over to think that I know quite a bit about the subject when in reality, I know next to nothing, as about 98% of practicing yogis do I'm sure. Even with all the classic texts I read and have read, it's only words on a page; they mean nothing without full understanding of what it is they're saying. Think of it as a secret code that the initiated are adept at deciphering, while the others merely gaze over it for its beauty.
I want something real. I feel like I'm getting closer every day. I practice for me and no one else and I do it at home, because for me it is a very personal journey. It's also selfish, in some ways. To a certain degree, I believe it has to be, because no one else can do it for you. But, once you're on the path already, you can always incorporate others into it and spread that joy you feel in your heart to others. A selfish means for an unselfish end, if you will.
This is as far as my thoughts will take me for one night but this recent stirring within me will stay with me for some time. In many ways, I feel as though I have participated in the filmmaker's experiment, without the jet lag and devastation to my bank account.
Interestingly enough, the day leading up to watching this, I was unconsciously stricken to pick up my copy of The Upanishads from my bookshelf and read a few passages. I will leave you with one such passage:
"You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny."
9.15.13
S.B.
Friday, September 13, 2013
9.13.13, the continuing search for independence
Something struck me this morning while talking to my friend Sam; we were talking about the dream of mine to have a hot sauce or gourmet condiment company that gets all (or most) of their materials from their company garden. He asked, hypothetically, if it got big then would I expand the garden/farm? Because I certainly do not want to compromise quality for quantity, I said no; that's when the idea struck me.
This is probably not a new concept to a lot of folks but to me it was a revelation: instead of more and bigger farms, there should be more smaller ones of higher caliber. With smaller farms, you not only offer more jobs to the community, who will also benefit from this venture but it would be infinitely better in terms of quality control.
The thing is, we've all gotten too lazy. It's far too easy to run out to the store now then to plant a garden but, we've ultimately given up all our control over the matter and put it in someone else's hands, who does not necessarily have our best interests in mind. As demand goes up, so must supply but instead of setting up separate farms as off-shoots, they push the huge ones they already have to the max and modify seeds in a laboratory to keep up with said demand.
My dream for our future is to ultimately see more small (of course organic), farms pop up that have a tighter grasp of what they're doing and keep corporations out of agriculture. We were a farming society long before we were an industrial one, which still has its merit but so long as it no longer takes its toll on the Earth and renders the land we live off unfit to use.
To go along with more small farms, it would be quite lovely to see communities come together, sharing their bounty with each other, like I imagine it used to be. What happened to us? We're connected more than ever but at the same time we've never been so disconnected from each other, and the ground we live on. We seem to have forgotten our roots and it's about time to brush up on our history before we become it.
There's a lot of good resources out there on homesteading and general self-sufficiency, as well as seed savers who refuse to let our true heritage go to waste. Here are a few:
My personal favorite seed company/village/philosophy/etc:
http://www.rareseeds.com/get-to-know-baker-creek/our-village/
Where are you getting your seed? See if it's safe!
http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/ViewPage.aspx?pageId=261
A good place to start with any questions you may have on any interests you can imagine:
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com
I also recommend this book: Robyn is an amazing and inspiring person and the book serves as, I feel, an indispensable guide to most of us who just have no idea where to start.
http://homesweet-homegrown.com/book
This is probably not a new concept to a lot of folks but to me it was a revelation: instead of more and bigger farms, there should be more smaller ones of higher caliber. With smaller farms, you not only offer more jobs to the community, who will also benefit from this venture but it would be infinitely better in terms of quality control.
The thing is, we've all gotten too lazy. It's far too easy to run out to the store now then to plant a garden but, we've ultimately given up all our control over the matter and put it in someone else's hands, who does not necessarily have our best interests in mind. As demand goes up, so must supply but instead of setting up separate farms as off-shoots, they push the huge ones they already have to the max and modify seeds in a laboratory to keep up with said demand.
My dream for our future is to ultimately see more small (of course organic), farms pop up that have a tighter grasp of what they're doing and keep corporations out of agriculture. We were a farming society long before we were an industrial one, which still has its merit but so long as it no longer takes its toll on the Earth and renders the land we live off unfit to use.
To go along with more small farms, it would be quite lovely to see communities come together, sharing their bounty with each other, like I imagine it used to be. What happened to us? We're connected more than ever but at the same time we've never been so disconnected from each other, and the ground we live on. We seem to have forgotten our roots and it's about time to brush up on our history before we become it.
There's a lot of good resources out there on homesteading and general self-sufficiency, as well as seed savers who refuse to let our true heritage go to waste. Here are a few:
My personal favorite seed company/village/philosophy/etc:
http://www.rareseeds.com/get-to-know-baker-creek/our-village/
Where are you getting your seed? See if it's safe!
http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/ViewPage.aspx?pageId=261
A good place to start with any questions you may have on any interests you can imagine:
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com
I also recommend this book: Robyn is an amazing and inspiring person and the book serves as, I feel, an indispensable guide to most of us who just have no idea where to start.
http://homesweet-homegrown.com/book
Thursday, September 12, 2013
9.12.13
Bjork is a force of nature; I thought of this taking my dog-child for a walk tonight. I thought of the video clip of her viciously attacking this Chinese reporter in an airport: Bjork had her child with, who was very young at the time. She was only carrying out motherly instincts to protect from potential threats, and I would feel very threatened by paparazzi lighting up flash bulbs in my face and prodding me with questions and microphones. That reporter is lucky.
I thought of my own placement of Scorpio in my natal chart, which I am grateful, for without it, I would be a spineless jellyfish lacking intensity and sexual desire. Whether or not you believe in astrology to be accurate or not is of no consequence because I believe enough for the both of us.
Anyway, as I'm walking Jameson, a Suburban passes at a rather high rate of speed and I wonder what I would do if a car were to come up or down over the hill at us, swerve and veer right into us, with myself jumping high enough at the last minute to just be vaulted in the air and landing relatively unscathed in the grass while JB takes it head on, splitting his skull clean open or possibly being trapped and drug under the car. I imagine his little legs twitching from underneath the wreckage with nothing but his pitiful whimpers and utter confusion to counter the deathly silence that follows a car accident.
It makes my blood boil to even think of it. Yes, I think of some rather morbid scenarios but in such a situation I feel a person is partially excused from their actions, due to nature having taken over. I am not condoning murder or violence in the least but extreme conditions demand extreme responses, and that, to me, is an extreme condition. For some, the flight response is more active but if you kill my kid (fur-bearing or not), I'm probably going to fucking kill you with my bare hands, especially if it's right in front of me as that would be.
I would simply cease to be anything but emotions and primal rage; I would see red, as the saying goes. A crime of passion. Temporary insanity. All that shit.
Sometimes I really feel like all of us, every single person, is just one fragile psychotic episode away from being institutionalized. I work with them, so I know that some people are truly just sick, but what about the rest of us? I mean, some would argue that Bjork is a little off to begin with but was what she did to that reporter really that far-fetched as to something you would do? Your first instinct is to protect your young; it's engrained in our DNA so much that no amount of primping will ever alter it.
I think we often forget or, at the very least, suppress our animalistic natures to the point that we begin to dissociate from it, and that's not necessarily good. That means we forget our humble origins and think much more highly of ourselves then we probably should. We're animals, people; human animals and it is what the fuck it is. Deal with it. We're not perfect and to dress yourself up every day and carry yourself in a way that says your shit doesn't stink is rather sickening, at times.
Domestication, civilization are great things but at the end of the day we live on a planet with other animals, and those animals live by a simple code called nature. But not to worry, we haven't completely lost touch with this code: we do still exact our power at the top position in the food chain by striping the land from these other beasts for our own purposes and killing every fucking thing that gets in our way; this we've come to label as progress, so it doesn't upset anyone.
The leaders of this human monkey movement keep their subordinates in the dark about important things by feeding them the things they think they want to hear, or what they want them to hear, all the while keeping the minions content with fat food and plenty of drink.
For the record, I apologize for the political/socio-economical diatribe, because I'm talking about nature here and she follows her own rules. I'm not saying to go out and start kicking peoples' asses or rip anyone's face off with your bare hands but if you do, under an extreme condition where you're acting out of some deeper drive or force for the protection of your own safety or that of others, then just know you have my deepest understanding and excusal.
You're exempt, in my book. And it's not just me; apparently Texas agreed with this father when he beat his daughter's attacker to death with his fists. He's not a criminal: He's a father, and he didn't do anything a single one of us wouldn't have done ourselves. We're all calm and collected and reasonable now, so of course dispatching the man seems rather brutal but just imagine yourself walking in on some creep raping/molesting your daughter, no matter what age she is. Nuff said.
No matter how you try and dress it up, suppress or deny it, you're a force of nature so just don't ever forget that; nature won't let you, anyway.
I thought of my own placement of Scorpio in my natal chart, which I am grateful, for without it, I would be a spineless jellyfish lacking intensity and sexual desire. Whether or not you believe in astrology to be accurate or not is of no consequence because I believe enough for the both of us.
Anyway, as I'm walking Jameson, a Suburban passes at a rather high rate of speed and I wonder what I would do if a car were to come up or down over the hill at us, swerve and veer right into us, with myself jumping high enough at the last minute to just be vaulted in the air and landing relatively unscathed in the grass while JB takes it head on, splitting his skull clean open or possibly being trapped and drug under the car. I imagine his little legs twitching from underneath the wreckage with nothing but his pitiful whimpers and utter confusion to counter the deathly silence that follows a car accident.
It makes my blood boil to even think of it. Yes, I think of some rather morbid scenarios but in such a situation I feel a person is partially excused from their actions, due to nature having taken over. I am not condoning murder or violence in the least but extreme conditions demand extreme responses, and that, to me, is an extreme condition. For some, the flight response is more active but if you kill my kid (fur-bearing or not), I'm probably going to fucking kill you with my bare hands, especially if it's right in front of me as that would be.
I would simply cease to be anything but emotions and primal rage; I would see red, as the saying goes. A crime of passion. Temporary insanity. All that shit.
Sometimes I really feel like all of us, every single person, is just one fragile psychotic episode away from being institutionalized. I work with them, so I know that some people are truly just sick, but what about the rest of us? I mean, some would argue that Bjork is a little off to begin with but was what she did to that reporter really that far-fetched as to something you would do? Your first instinct is to protect your young; it's engrained in our DNA so much that no amount of primping will ever alter it.
I think we often forget or, at the very least, suppress our animalistic natures to the point that we begin to dissociate from it, and that's not necessarily good. That means we forget our humble origins and think much more highly of ourselves then we probably should. We're animals, people; human animals and it is what the fuck it is. Deal with it. We're not perfect and to dress yourself up every day and carry yourself in a way that says your shit doesn't stink is rather sickening, at times.
Domestication, civilization are great things but at the end of the day we live on a planet with other animals, and those animals live by a simple code called nature. But not to worry, we haven't completely lost touch with this code: we do still exact our power at the top position in the food chain by striping the land from these other beasts for our own purposes and killing every fucking thing that gets in our way; this we've come to label as progress, so it doesn't upset anyone.
The leaders of this human monkey movement keep their subordinates in the dark about important things by feeding them the things they think they want to hear, or what they want them to hear, all the while keeping the minions content with fat food and plenty of drink.
For the record, I apologize for the political/socio-economical diatribe, because I'm talking about nature here and she follows her own rules. I'm not saying to go out and start kicking peoples' asses or rip anyone's face off with your bare hands but if you do, under an extreme condition where you're acting out of some deeper drive or force for the protection of your own safety or that of others, then just know you have my deepest understanding and excusal.
You're exempt, in my book. And it's not just me; apparently Texas agreed with this father when he beat his daughter's attacker to death with his fists. He's not a criminal: He's a father, and he didn't do anything a single one of us wouldn't have done ourselves. We're all calm and collected and reasonable now, so of course dispatching the man seems rather brutal but just imagine yourself walking in on some creep raping/molesting your daughter, no matter what age she is. Nuff said.
No matter how you try and dress it up, suppress or deny it, you're a force of nature so just don't ever forget that; nature won't let you, anyway.
finding independence in a dependent society
Admittedly, I'm not yet ready to go off the grid. I suppose this needs a little backstory: I'm currently reading a book called 'Off the Grid', which in my interpretation is essentially the quest for true indepependence in living free from resource wastefulness, society and "The Man"; it also echoes another closely-held book in my collection, which is 'Walden', by Henry David Thoreau.
Off the Grid is something of a modern-day interpretation but it is also something else on its own. It is nothing but inspiring, especially to one such as me, who lives on the mental fringes of rebellion and spiritual nomadism nearly every day. But in the tangible realm, things are not so simple to pull off; it takes careful planning and ingenuity. None of which I lack, just not in the needed proportions at present.
One day, it would be nice to at least have a second home, a refuge of sorts, that exists free of "the grid" and the greed of what society is becoming. The dream is of self-sustainability, self-reliance; to have there be small pockets of sustainable communities nation-wide, sharing, trading, co-existing. After all, we're all in this together.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
9.10.13
Helping one of our consumers clean out her closet yesterday, after it having been deemed a safety risk, it struck me that less truly is more. Now, I have my own hoarding tendencies so it was especially poignant for me to witness this and help out through the process, just seeing all the reasons a person can come up with to justify hanging onto things they didn't even know they had. The dust was incredible and my sinuses suffered for the rest of the day; had I known it would have been such an undertaking, I would have brought my bandana to cover myself up.
For some people, the junk is all they have; it's in their minds, their hearts, strewn all over their floor and spilling out of closets. Terminal clutter. I personally know how easy it is to just let things accumulate because you think you may find some use for it later but you don't; if you had a use for it, you would have used it right away. I also know how difficult yet liberating it can be to finally get into that mindset to clear that shit out, once and for all. Everything must go. Either have someone help you out or be vigilant and just start tossing, because you'll continue to find every excuse to hang onto what you don't need.
Maybe it's just loneliness, or filling some void inside yourself. Maybe it's just laziness; you say, "Oh, I'll clean it tomorrow", while the dirt keeps piling up. It's unhealthy in every way, shape and form.
The amazing part, to me, was realizing in that moment how little we actually need on a day to day basis. Sure, it's nice to have a wardrobe and it's certainly wise to have a well-stocked refrigerator but we generally always just have way more shit than we need. 700 TV channels, too many socks, thousands of CDs... all these things are nice but we can only do one thing at a time!
Our society seems to have taken the stance in opposition to the Depression-era days, when people really didn't have anything. Was life better then because they had less? I can't say but can only speculate that, no, it was not because there was no choice in the matter: things really were that bad that there wasn't much and what was cost too much to afford. So now, we have GMO's to ensure huge-yielding crops and excess in every other way imaginable, as some sort of security blanket; the hard truth is that when the time comes to go with less, more people will be map-adjusted to knowing how to deal with that.
I'm not saying to get rid of all your material possessions, because I know I'm as materialistic as they come and I love my books and music and would be lost without my laptop. However, there are conscious choices we can make every day to take the path of less is more. After all, the saying goes, "Waste not, want not".
Some suggestions: Eat less food but of a higher quality, and drink more water with your meals. Unless you're a professional athlete or bodybuilder, you won't miss the excess calories. If one is good, two is not always better. Re-use, Up-cycle, all that stuff people blab on about every day; it's for a reason. Buy smaller houses. Build smaller houses (obviously I have no family of my own, so if you do then you do what you need to, just keep in mind that some rooms exist only to catch clutter, it seems. Do you really need a bathroom for each person? The water usage and waste increases exponentially the more heads you bring in to the equation). Build bigger gardens, keep smaller yards. Plant more trees (it's all less mowing you have to do anyway, so who really loses there?)
Just a few things we can all do to pitch in and do our share. Think about it.
For some people, the junk is all they have; it's in their minds, their hearts, strewn all over their floor and spilling out of closets. Terminal clutter. I personally know how easy it is to just let things accumulate because you think you may find some use for it later but you don't; if you had a use for it, you would have used it right away. I also know how difficult yet liberating it can be to finally get into that mindset to clear that shit out, once and for all. Everything must go. Either have someone help you out or be vigilant and just start tossing, because you'll continue to find every excuse to hang onto what you don't need.
Maybe it's just loneliness, or filling some void inside yourself. Maybe it's just laziness; you say, "Oh, I'll clean it tomorrow", while the dirt keeps piling up. It's unhealthy in every way, shape and form.
The amazing part, to me, was realizing in that moment how little we actually need on a day to day basis. Sure, it's nice to have a wardrobe and it's certainly wise to have a well-stocked refrigerator but we generally always just have way more shit than we need. 700 TV channels, too many socks, thousands of CDs... all these things are nice but we can only do one thing at a time!
Our society seems to have taken the stance in opposition to the Depression-era days, when people really didn't have anything. Was life better then because they had less? I can't say but can only speculate that, no, it was not because there was no choice in the matter: things really were that bad that there wasn't much and what was cost too much to afford. So now, we have GMO's to ensure huge-yielding crops and excess in every other way imaginable, as some sort of security blanket; the hard truth is that when the time comes to go with less, more people will be map-adjusted to knowing how to deal with that.
I'm not saying to get rid of all your material possessions, because I know I'm as materialistic as they come and I love my books and music and would be lost without my laptop. However, there are conscious choices we can make every day to take the path of less is more. After all, the saying goes, "Waste not, want not".
Some suggestions: Eat less food but of a higher quality, and drink more water with your meals. Unless you're a professional athlete or bodybuilder, you won't miss the excess calories. If one is good, two is not always better. Re-use, Up-cycle, all that stuff people blab on about every day; it's for a reason. Buy smaller houses. Build smaller houses (obviously I have no family of my own, so if you do then you do what you need to, just keep in mind that some rooms exist only to catch clutter, it seems. Do you really need a bathroom for each person? The water usage and waste increases exponentially the more heads you bring in to the equation). Build bigger gardens, keep smaller yards. Plant more trees (it's all less mowing you have to do anyway, so who really loses there?)
Just a few things we can all do to pitch in and do our share. Think about it.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
"We must cultivate our garden"
I think I finally got it tonight, I think it all clicked now. I'm talking about yoga in the broadest sense of the word, far away from the mat.
Maybe it was digging carrots out of my grandparents' garden, getting my hands dirty and unearthing these lovely creations which in turn give us and other living creatures life. Maybe it was re-connecting with my family members and not being such a fucking hermit all the time (I mean, they live right down the road so it's not like I have a viable excuse not to, given that I drive past them every day).
It's those two things alone that mean anything in this miserable existence: being in the presence of those you love and cherish and living within your means, living in harmony with the planet that gives us life.
And it's these two crucially important things I take for granted every day. Well, i don't want to anymore.
I'm not saying I won't go back to my hermit-y ways, because that just seems to be a part of my condition but I can at least poke my head in once in a while; it's not gonna kill me. We're only solitary creatures by choice, ultimately; in some ways, we need that human interaction. It's healthy. It's the original and only true form of social media.
And as for the gardening trip I'm on, well, that's not going away anytime soon. I don't want to advance or evolve anymore if it means losing touch with what makes me human, with where we came from as people. Self-sustainability is the dream but it seems to get further out of touch every day, at least on the global scale.
I may not be able to save the world at large but I can damn sure make it my goal to maintain a rich home-life to retreat to; I can live my dream every day, and that alone gives me hope, gives some purpose and meaning to this whole crazy thing.
Now, as for the time spent on the mat, I think I got that too tonight: It's about that time on the mat, with you and your breath. It's about synchronizing the whole of you with your breath. Mind, body and spirit flowing in one smooth direction. Some days it's just plain torture but when you get it, oh boy... you get it. Well, tonight I got it.
It's serious soul fuel, the best hour of my life in some ways.
Day seven of the five day yoga challenge told me that the challenge is never over, no matter how long you make it and that you never stop learning. As with life, it's a journey, not a destination and I'm just along for the ride.
Maybe it was digging carrots out of my grandparents' garden, getting my hands dirty and unearthing these lovely creations which in turn give us and other living creatures life. Maybe it was re-connecting with my family members and not being such a fucking hermit all the time (I mean, they live right down the road so it's not like I have a viable excuse not to, given that I drive past them every day).
It's those two things alone that mean anything in this miserable existence: being in the presence of those you love and cherish and living within your means, living in harmony with the planet that gives us life.
And it's these two crucially important things I take for granted every day. Well, i don't want to anymore.
I'm not saying I won't go back to my hermit-y ways, because that just seems to be a part of my condition but I can at least poke my head in once in a while; it's not gonna kill me. We're only solitary creatures by choice, ultimately; in some ways, we need that human interaction. It's healthy. It's the original and only true form of social media.
And as for the gardening trip I'm on, well, that's not going away anytime soon. I don't want to advance or evolve anymore if it means losing touch with what makes me human, with where we came from as people. Self-sustainability is the dream but it seems to get further out of touch every day, at least on the global scale.
I may not be able to save the world at large but I can damn sure make it my goal to maintain a rich home-life to retreat to; I can live my dream every day, and that alone gives me hope, gives some purpose and meaning to this whole crazy thing.
Now, as for the time spent on the mat, I think I got that too tonight: It's about that time on the mat, with you and your breath. It's about synchronizing the whole of you with your breath. Mind, body and spirit flowing in one smooth direction. Some days it's just plain torture but when you get it, oh boy... you get it. Well, tonight I got it.
It's serious soul fuel, the best hour of my life in some ways.
Day seven of the five day yoga challenge told me that the challenge is never over, no matter how long you make it and that you never stop learning. As with life, it's a journey, not a destination and I'm just along for the ride.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
on the celebrity of cooking..
Please. Get off your high horse and come back down to Earth.
I never understood the celebrity fascination thing; I was never and still am not all that concerned at all with what so and so is doing, and frankly I could give two shits. You really should not either but I'll refrain into that whole argument, because it would be one-sided and the rest of my deal here will be opinionated enough so as it is.
I had a revelation, which is not really a revelation to anyone other than myself, in my at times extremely pretentious or out of touch with reality moments, when I was eating the arugula salad I prepared with the best bacon fresh off the slab and a homemade French dressing: this is good shit. That's the best I could ever hope for.
You can eat classy while still being down to Earth. i don't want my dishes pined over and picked apart; I mean, if you want to do that you can, it's just not something I'm into. Same with drinking craft beer: I smell either hops or wheat or barley or whatever. I really do not see where you area getting figs, oatmeal, lemongrass.. IT"S A FUCKIN' BEER! DRINK IT, for christ's sake. You may be asking yourself if I like tastings then? Hell yes I love tastings. I love to taste it going down my throat, and going back for another.
Maybe it's simply a matter of perspective; I certainly have my moments of contemplation lost deep in the brewing arts when presented with a masterpiece but at the end of the day, it's still just food and it's still just beer. Or wine (don't think that you're safe either, winos). There are always folks out there who need their egos stroked and who like to show off how brilliant they are but generally these things are just made by people who enjoy it as much as we do.
The very definition of a labor of love.
So, yeah. I use fancy ingredients for salads that are not Iceburg lettuce but so what? Try it. If it's good, it's good; who gives a rip what it's called or who made it? Don't fall into the trap of commercial branding: there is life outside of Food Network, believe it or not and they're not doing anything you yourself are not capable of, I promise. Anything they can do you can do better; you just have to want to.
Friday, September 6, 2013
The spice of life
Today I went to a Chili Pepper Festival with Rachel in Bowers, a quaint little town on the outskirts of Kutztown, PA, deep in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Driving there, one is flanked on either side by sleepy little houses and people growing things everywhere, using the ground to its fullest potential. A pumpkin patch here, corn fields there, and the piece de resistance being Meadow View Farm, who has a staggering amount of hot pepper plants you can pick your own from, as well as heirloom tomatoes and eggplants, aside from homemade jams and jellies, smoked and dried garlic and peppers and flowers and plants. Needless to say, I love that area of the world very much.
Now, I'm inclined to believe that this town of Bowers doesn't have a whole lot going on, big town excitement-wise, during the rest of the year but this pepper fest is a big deal; it drums up a lot of business for the locals and not only that but a lot of the stands are selling products made locally, as well. Preserves, homegrown veggies, garlic, and there's plenty of food. I highly recommend the Thai Iced tea from a Thai food catering tent, whose name I forget at present.
Other highlights were the Torchbearer Sauces stand, a farm who brews real Apple Cider Vinegar (they also make themselves) with over a pound of garlic per gallon, making for a tasty, and healthy brew. Shoot it or cook with it, it's up to you! There's honey, and just too many other things to keep naming.
By far, I think it's fair to say both of our favorites was home sweet homegrown, a local company out of Kutztown headed by Robyn Jasko, who makes lovely things out of what they grow. Yeah, I bought a lot of stuff there: Robyn's book, which she signed to both Rachel and I, some hot sauce, home-smoked (and grown) garlic but the BEST, and I mean the BEST, was the home-brewed water kefir they had on tap. We decided on Ginger Pineapple, and it was light and fizzy and delicious, naturally carbonated and rife with healthy probiotics. I was pretty much in love.
It was just such a cool, cool day with some awesome people really just getting together to share a love of food, fun and all things spicy. Home made is always best, think globally, buy locally. Keep supporting those little guys; it could be me and Rach (ok, Rach and I) one day.
Now, I'm inclined to believe that this town of Bowers doesn't have a whole lot going on, big town excitement-wise, during the rest of the year but this pepper fest is a big deal; it drums up a lot of business for the locals and not only that but a lot of the stands are selling products made locally, as well. Preserves, homegrown veggies, garlic, and there's plenty of food. I highly recommend the Thai Iced tea from a Thai food catering tent, whose name I forget at present.
Other highlights were the Torchbearer Sauces stand, a farm who brews real Apple Cider Vinegar (they also make themselves) with over a pound of garlic per gallon, making for a tasty, and healthy brew. Shoot it or cook with it, it's up to you! There's honey, and just too many other things to keep naming.
By far, I think it's fair to say both of our favorites was home sweet homegrown, a local company out of Kutztown headed by Robyn Jasko, who makes lovely things out of what they grow. Yeah, I bought a lot of stuff there: Robyn's book, which she signed to both Rachel and I, some hot sauce, home-smoked (and grown) garlic but the BEST, and I mean the BEST, was the home-brewed water kefir they had on tap. We decided on Ginger Pineapple, and it was light and fizzy and delicious, naturally carbonated and rife with healthy probiotics. I was pretty much in love.
It was just such a cool, cool day with some awesome people really just getting together to share a love of food, fun and all things spicy. Home made is always best, think globally, buy locally. Keep supporting those little guys; it could be me and Rach (ok, Rach and I) one day.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Yoga Challenge
By now, a few of you know that I have a new site in the works; a real, actual dot com. So, the majority of my energy has been going towards producing content for that and the rest of life and thus, not writing as much on here but I have not forgotten you all. There's a lot of exciting things on the horizon..
One of which is a 5-Day Yoga Challenge I put to myself, the idea coming from a good hour long yoga session to twist out a hangover. Since I'm always bitching about scattering my energy by taking on too many athletic endeavors, I wanted to streamline and focus on maintaining a regular, consistent yoga practice that lives up to my ideals (or at least gets close).
One hour a day, five days a week of damn good yoga. Simple enough, right? Well try it, and see how many obstacles and mental roadblocks jump out of seemingly no-where to try and stop you. But, you must breathe through it and persevere and to the victor will assuredly go the spoils. I'm currently on Day 3 and there will be a comprehensive personal report for each day. Should be interesting.
I think this will be a thing I do from now on.. keep with short goals both to keep up with my desired level or physical fitness and to keep myself from getting bored with the same old routine always. One week I may combine Capoeira and dumbbells, another alternate different styles of yoga like I am now, or even running, since the weather is beginning to taper down to coolness once again.
Who knows, but you can be sure to hear all about my exploits friends..fear not.
As for the site, I have a name and a tagline but it will be a closely guarded secret until its launch, of which the exact date is still unknown. I'm shooting for either the end of this month (September) or the beginning of October. We shall see. So far so good, though!
As always, thanks so much for stopping by and keep checking back for more details!
-Shane
Monday, September 2, 2013
9.2.13
Well kids the party's over, it's time to go home. Time to re-hydrate, rest up and recuperate from a weekend of good food that's bad for you, good booze that's worse for you and questionable conversations that definitely entertain you. All in all, sounds like a good weekend to me but now it's back to reality. I think they have that statement backwards, though; reality is what constitutes those care-free days, it's the daily grind that is fantastical and I'll defend that position if it kills me.
A little spontaneity is good for the soul... Instead of cutting the fun short with some great people by having to be drab and socially responsible to drive back home, my girlfriend and I decided to stay and pitch a literal tent in the grass. Our decision was awarded by cold beer, mountains of food, completely uninhibited yet intelligent conversation and most importantly, love. The epic outdoor breakfast prepared over hot wood coals wasn't a bad incentive, either.
It's just amazing how you can meet some people you've never known before yet feel like you've known them all your life, and they take you right in. You fit. That, my friends, is a very real thing and having to cut yourself off from that to go back to voluntary slavery is the real crime.
But, we get through it; rinse and repeat. You go to work and try not to lose your shit and just do what you need to to make it through until the next time you get to go back to the one true reality, that little place where life and celebrating it together intersect. That's where you want to be.
A little spontaneity is good for the soul... Instead of cutting the fun short with some great people by having to be drab and socially responsible to drive back home, my girlfriend and I decided to stay and pitch a literal tent in the grass. Our decision was awarded by cold beer, mountains of food, completely uninhibited yet intelligent conversation and most importantly, love. The epic outdoor breakfast prepared over hot wood coals wasn't a bad incentive, either.
It's just amazing how you can meet some people you've never known before yet feel like you've known them all your life, and they take you right in. You fit. That, my friends, is a very real thing and having to cut yourself off from that to go back to voluntary slavery is the real crime.
But, we get through it; rinse and repeat. You go to work and try not to lose your shit and just do what you need to to make it through until the next time you get to go back to the one true reality, that little place where life and celebrating it together intersect. That's where you want to be.
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