Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

I pose this question: how easy is it to become wrapped up in life?

The ordinary.

The mundane.

The routine.

The everyday.

The struggles.

Truth time: for me, this can happen rather easily. I often must--very consciously--force myself to step back and see the great value in the routine, ordinary, everyday life.

Working in Human Resources there are those moments when spontaneous conversation necessarily leads more into talk of what it means to be human and alive, rather than discussions about work. Today was just one of those times when I needed to have a general (and valuable) conversation about re-focusing priorities, putting one foot in front of the other, and taking each day as it comes. This general topic at the end of my work day was a reminder for both myself and another person as we shared different sides of our current perspectives and place in life.

I hurried out to my car to drive across Omaha and pick up Lily from daycare, continuing my ordinary, everyday, life-routine. But now, I was thinking about this person and the value of Carpe Diem and seizing the day, regardless of whatever life throws our way.

My regular and ordinary evening continued as Lily and I arrived at home. We let the dogs, Charlie and Lady, outside. I started cooking while firing up iTunes on the laptop. Lily and I discussed what we wanted to listen to and I randomized my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs. I must say that Lily also is forging a great appreciation for DMB. This makes me proud.

We were snacking on pear slices to stave off our hunger before dinner. Lily in her happy, carefree style, was dancing and swaying to the changing beats of the various DMB songs, munching on pears, and sipping water.

The third song was Tripping Billies by Dave Matthews Band.

"Eat, drink and be merry" is one of the common refrains in the song, giving me pause.

How true.

Carpe Diem: eat, drink, be merry.

Let the rest be.

I gazed at my dancing, happy daughter. She had much to teach me in that moment as she shoved a pear in her mouth, shoulders shimmying, a smile creeping across her face.

Often when Lily and I listen to Dave, I say "inappropriate" when the racy lyrics happen, which, let's face it, are often. Trippping Billies is no exception. Dave Matthews shed some light on the lyrics of this song on VHI back in the late 90's, saying it was about he and a group of friends on the beach after dropping LSD and "tripping". Apparently he also made a reference to "Puff the Magic Dragon," when talking about the song, which obviously--in true Dave Matthews style--is a slang reference to drug use and smoking marijuana. While never having ever "tripped billies" in my life, I still am a DMB fan despite many songs and lyrics focused on drug use.

Clearly inappropriate!

However, Lily and I danced away, eating (pears), drinking (water), and being merry because--as the rest of the song goes--"we will die."

Beyond Dave being on the beach tripping, the broader point of the song is to seize the day, enjoy the company of those around you, because it is just too easy to become wrapped up in the ordinary, mundane, routine, everyday struggles of life.

Cheers to life. And shamelessly rocking it out to Dave Matthews with a 15 month old.

Random racing ruminations: Week 12, Viewing the unfavorable favorably

After getting back out on the sidewalks last weekend, this week turned into another string of days without running.

Tuesday I had a five mile run planned. It didn't happen. I put in a long work day and equally long night working.

Wednesday I finally got the chest cold people have been sharing with each other the last month.

Thursday I had another five mile run planned. I woke up in the morning with a horrible cough and sore throat. Then I topped it off with another extended day at work.

This weekend I will not be running either. I considered the "neck" test of running or resting: any illness above the neck like stuffiness and runny nose it is generally safe to still run, but any illness below the neck like chest cough, tightness, or body aches mean it is better not to run. Essentially I'm sidelined again.

I'm frustrated. Frustration has been the theme for the week, in my running life, work life, and generally in life feeling that I'm not accomplishing much. Often, a little perspective hits you right when you need it and that happened for me Wednesday. My barber, who has been cutting my hair for over six months, was just finishing my haircut when he asked, "How did you get that scar back there?" I explained to him that the scar he saw at the top of my neck is just the beginning of a long, disfigured line of disfigured tissue that runs entirely down my neck, traveling the length of my spine, ending half-way down my back.

Typically I don't think about that scar much these days. It is me. I've become accustomed to the neck and back stiffness and pain. It's significance hasn't carried much weight in my thoughts lately. But as I recounted my car accident and the extended healing and surgeries afterwards to my barber, he shared his life or death car accident experience. In that moment, my perspective shifted back to many years ago when life took on a different meaning. Coincidentally yesterday was the anniversary of that monumental event.

So I should be grateful. I only have a chest cold. I shouldn't be frustrated that I haven't run this week, because soon I'll be out running again. I'm reminded there is much in life I must view favorably, even when my feelings are less than favorable.

Random racing ruminations: Week 16, Take a break

The weather forecasters predicted some very warm weather for a January in Nebraska. After a run this week with temperatures in the upper twenties, when I heard today's high was going to be 45 degrees I planned to take advantage of the opportunity. Luckily my work is located on a beautiful lake with a paved trail around it. I haven't had a chance to go down the hill to explore this amazing area, and since it gets dark at 5:30p.m., running during the day on the trail around the lake seemed like a brilliant idea.

During my lunch break, I quickly switched from business casual attire to running attire. There was something about the atmosphere and nature that must have aided in me shaving a minute off of every mile.

The run was a nice break from what was an ordinary work day.

Breaks are important. They allow our minds to drift and wander. And when our minds rest, that is when we are the most creative. A lingering mind is an opportunity for our brains and spirits to catch up with our fast preoccupation with what is next. Take a break for solitude. Take a break to speak with a co-worker you haven't had a chance to get to know. Take a break to laugh. Take a break to daydream. Take a break to do something just for fun. Take a run.

WEEK 16
(3.26 mile run)
Temperature 38 degrees
Mile 1 = 8:58
Mile 2 = 9:19
Mile 3 = 9:04

An earth video... perspective taking and something called the "overview effect"

After this week, I feel the need to write about perspective. Our habits of mind, what we choose to focus on, and how we think about life and people with whom we interact filters everything. We all (myself included) can easily become warped into our own limited worldview, failing to acknowledge the true greatness of potential surrounding us.

Sometimes it is healthy to step outside of ourselves, then calmly and consciously dwell on what it is we fail to recognize because we are too hurried, stressed, jaded, closed-off, or solidified in the every day of our own existence. By letting our minds wander into spaces not normally considered, a certain peacefulness can set in. Maybe a revelation will take hold. Our way of being with others and interacting in the world can be altered--if even slightly--to push us towards a different, more fully nuanced understanding of living.

Astronauts are a selective few who have an opportunity to experience living in ways most never will. There is a very cool video called "Overview" documenting what they understand since they have looked upon the earth from above. The video comes from the Planetary Collective, which is a group of people who want to explore the big questions and ideas that face our planet. The synopsis about the video from the website is this:

Astronauts who have seen the Earth from space have often described the ‘overview effect’ as an experience that has transformed their perspective of the planet and mankind’s place upon it, and enabled them to perceive it as our shared home, without boundaries between nations or species.

The pictures from space are breath-taking. The accounts of the astronauts make me slightly envious. But mostly, after watching it, the video has me thinking how easy it is to have a blinded perspective.

OVERVIEW from Planetary Collective on Vimeo.

The video is lengthy. But even if you have to pause it, walk away, and return to continue watching, you will find that it was a valuable use of your time.