Hi folks,
I like to celebrate my birthday without too much fuss
Firstly, I must say that if someone tells you that they KNOW what is going on in this universe of ours, then they most certainly do not (play on words from quote by Richard Feynman). There are many windows onto our world, including Art, Science, Religion, and Politics. I tend to avoid the subjects of politics and religion on this blog because they are emotionally charged, often accompanied by a personal bias that can lead to projection rather than the actual reading of my content. I guess this is a potential problem with all writing, in that people interpret what you say in so many different ways. Yet, that is also the beauty of writing in that readers might see more in what you say than you see yourself, take it, and cause it to flourish somewhere else as a positive contribution to the human world. You just never know where words will take you next, like the road that Bilbo Baggins and later Frodo set out upon with a group of dwarfs in ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ by Tolkein, respectively.
At Andy's recent art show people saw religious motifs that escaped me, as I don't think like that. Great art Andy, Thank You!
I recently attended an Art show, which highlighted the work of my friend, Andy Fleishman. Interestingly, some people at the show saw religious motifs in some of his works of art, where I saw patterns that occur in one form or another in nature. My personal opinion of Art (and Science for that matter), is that it expresses and resonates with concepts that are embedded deep within the history of our genomes, memomes, methylomes and the like, and that is why we react to them so strongly on an emotional level.
Before going on, I must clarify my own stance on religion and politics: I am a “clueless, locally politically-involved, scientifically-trained, emotionally under-evolved, spiritual, dynamic tensionist,” and you can make of that what you will.
When I was growing up my mother was, at least temporarily, a Jehovah’s Witness. I remember standing on doorsteps (stoops) with my mother towering above me handing out Watchtower and Awake, and talking endlessly while I froze – I think my brother was there too. People quickly hide when they see these folks coming, but I respect the fact that they ‘put their feet where their mouths are.’ It is not for me in part because they don’t celebrate birthdays, the reason for which is nicely clarified in the Chez Ollie.
The FitOldDog Safe Exercise Wheel is a clockwise cycle, starting at the top, with reward or celebration as a critical final component of each cycle.
I do like to celebrate all sorts of things, including my birthday, so I do! This blog is all about encouraging safe exercise for better health, and I really don’t think it matters what your religion or politik might be, exercise is still generally good for your health, and it is through celebration that you will stick with the program. There is a cyclicity to life, including your training-racing season, and celebrating the completion of another year is a critical motivational component of the training process, especially the reward part. I think that the worlds religions, customs, languages and art add great richness to our lives, but the cycle of planetary motion, birth and death, are a big part of life, so celebrate and then work at it again for another year, as long as you can make it work for your personal belief system.
The study of the world’s religions can be quite fascinating, though I do find the subject a bit too homocentric and speciesist for my taste. An understanding of human religions and their respective histories can explain many odd things about the world, which makes it valuable, as understanding can lead to empathy, which can lead to kindness.
Finally, I think that you should smile every day, but maybe a little more on your birthday – how’s that?
-k @FitOldDog
Today’s workouts:
| Workout PLAN: COACH Chris Hauth | |||||
| move |  Rest |
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You’re one week early with the birthday.