Rest day: the joke is on me!

    I laughed to myself as I drove home around 7 p.m. tonight - not from PRFitness, but instead from a blur of department stores and thift stores in search of uniform shorts for my ever-growing children.  Earlier in the day, I had decided to call give myself a "rest" day.  My head exploded Friday night into what I thought was allergies, but now believe might be a cold/flu.  I did a CrossPit workout on Saturday and then hit the trails with the goddesses on Sunday, but neither went quite well.  So, I listened to Coach Chris who told me to "rest" and stay away from the gym to get some energy back.  But then I listened to guilty mom "my poor kids have no shorts and it is 62 degrees" and drove like a crazy woman in rush-hour hell to find one pair of shorts for each kid that pass muster with the uniform code.... So I had to chuckle -- because it never too late for more lessons about life in balance.  Off now to truly rest - feet up and everything! Hope you all find time for real rest!
:)

I am the other talking belly button....

... as if you couldn't guess! Sherri's post is spot on: Life happens, and you deal with life -- not the drama of it! As each of us go through this process, my hope is that we remember to embrace the process and not always the results. I feel like I hug it a little closer and tighter to me each time I get the chance to step back and reflect.  Sometimes I'm in a groove, and sometimes my belly button is doing the talking ...

"The most sacred place dwells within our heart, where dreams are born and secrets sleep, a mystical refuge of darkness and light, fear and conquest, adventure and discovery, challenge and transformation. Our heart speaks for our soul every moment while we are alive. Listen... as the whispering beat repeats: be...gin, be...gin, be...gin. It's really that simple. Just begin... again."
~ Royce Addington
It really is that simple, sometimes we make it so hard. Begin. Continue. Or Begin Again.

Wishing all of you well,

Kelly

Thinking about perfection ...

I've been thinking a lot about the exhausting struggle to be perfect (or at least look that way) that Chris brought to light on Saturday.  It's funny, my 9-year-old daughter can tell me what perfect is (not getting in trouble at school, always looking good and getting everything right), but she can't tell you where or how she got that idea.  Or how she came to understood that perfection is a good or great thing - something she needed to work toward and feel badly about when it was not attained.....
The message needs to be scrambled, revamped, relevant. Maybe, it's about perfect moments.
     The sweaty bliss of a good run or intense workout. 
     The unbridled laugh the unleashes your heart and mind from all the day's weariness. 
     The sweetest face of a child, asleep and dreaming at last.
     The gorgeous meal you cooked and savored. 
They are all so perfect, so real and so easily forgotten in the quest for the 100 percent/people-pleasing madness of doing it all, so perfectly...
For what it is work, check out this movie: http://www.lovethismomentmovie.com/
The music may be cheesy and the graphics kinda Hallmark-esque, but the message rings true to me.
I am thinking of you and wishing all of us perfect moments...

Read this, loved it, had to share it ...

Living with Certainty

Many things in life can bring feelings of uncertainty - especially the things we want to accomplish. There is risk in any endeavor.

How can we live with certainty in a world where we so often hear that nothing is certain? Are there ways to begin new tasks with a greater certainty that we can overcome challenges?

Yes, and here are some helpful tips...
First, believe that you will succeed, and clearly imagine what you will accomplish. Feel and express heart-felt gratitude for your future success. Focus your mind intently on your desired outcome.

Second, keep moving forward. There is greater risk in not taking action, for then failure is the only certain outcome. In the end, only the actions taken will lead to the life you desire. Rest if you must, and then continue moving forward.

Third, control fear by focusing your actions on your desired outcome. Action alone will not bring success if it is misdirected or ill timed. Make sure each action, no matter how small, is directed and purposeful.

Fourth, trust in your God-given abilities and past learning experiences to guide you in the right direction. If one path turns out to be "certainly wrong", take other paths until you find one that is "certainly right." Then, you will turn challenges into stepping-stones. God gives us dreams to fulfill that make us stronger - not only after we have achieved those dreams, but also during our achievement of those dreams.

Fifth, give your dreams the appropriate time to manifest. You might want to start a new career, live in a different place, get a college education, enhance your wellness, create a new piece of art, or spend more time with your family. You might have a goal that could positively affect thousands of people, or it might be a small yet significant change in your life. Some dreams need weeks, and some dreams need years; each has an appropriate gestation time. Patient action and focus will allow magnificent blossoms of achievement to appear.

The poet Rumi once wrote, "A new moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to one slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe. What nine months of attention does for an embryo, forty early mornings will do for your gradually growing wholeness."

Certainty is not something external to us; we won't find certainty by searching for some thing that is certain in this world, for all things in this world are as impermanent as our recent February snow. As John Locke suggested in today's quote, certainty depends on our inner awareness; it is a state of mind we choose to adopt. Certainty is an internal flame, which we quench with doubt or fuel with faith.
No matter what you want to do, you can transcend your fears and move confidently in the direction of your most cherished dreams. If you believe, control fear with focused action, trust in your God-given abilities, and give your dreams the time they require, you can look forward to a bright and thrilling future - living with certainty.

Save the Children USA and Save the Children International

   

Quote for the week, er, for a lifetime ...

Life begins when you do ....

Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Laugh. Play with abandon.
Practice wellness.
Continue to learn.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Lead or follow a leader.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.

 Mary Anne Radmacher

Miss you Saturday!

I am sorry to miss tomorrow's meeting! :(
We will be out of town celebrating Chinese New Year with 10 beautiful girls and one silly son!
I am thinking of all of you in your struggles and triumphs and wishing you love and strength!

What a way to start the day!

   Jason or "Dr. J" taught the first 6:30 a.m. class today at PR Fitness! It was great - I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles to get a workout in at the end of the workday! I was never good at working out in the morning, but then one day I told my body (right, Chris?) that we were going to do this, so that I could have more evening time with my family. My body agreed, and worked! Now I love the feeling of sitting at this computer at 8 p.m., and knowing that I packed in a great early workout and was able to make a yummy black bean chili for the family!  With time to spare!
Have a great week, folks!