Keeping Pace

Keeping Pace

a panache of words

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I have a collection of blog feeds coming to my RSS reader. The topics I follow span a wide range of interests including ashtanga yoga, cooking, photography, parenting, grieving and (of course) the few remaining Running Blog Family (RBF) blogs to which my blog writing and reading began with. Many of the blogs listed in my RSS feed have not posted in several years but were favorites of mine. I keep them there just in case they dust off their blog and post something for me.

There is one blog that’s unique writing style stands out from the rest. Although the topic might not resonate with many, the writer’s words are as mesmerizing as a frosting so delicate in sweetness that it hastens the swallow.

This writer sprinkles in a word or two in nearly every post in which I am prompted to look up in order to fully appreciate the thoughts she has shared. Different from other times when I come across a new word, her beautifully chosen words make me want to know exactly what she has said (even when I can infer the meaning from the context). Today, I decided to scan through the past 5 or so posts to retrieve some of the tasty words she has teased me with. I quickly came up with a list of words which, as I reviewed, I realized that the word itself isn’t all that inviting without the perfectly pictured presentation.

  1. Alacrity
  2. Cimmerian
  3. Idyllic
  4. Redolence
  5. Moxie
  6. Reticence
  7. Panache
  8. Reductionary

Nonetheless, I look forward to finding ways to incorporate some of these words into my own writing — which you may or may not find pleasure in reading.

Woozle Effect

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We were in search of wall murals for our latest IG yoga challenge when YaYa told us about a secret place tatted up with graffiti. A quick internet search revealed a little history, the location, and one other fact. Technically, access to this [not-so]-secret place was off limits.  In other words: Trespassing. Still, articles posted by radio stations and the like seemed to be inviting the curious cats to check it out.

Often fascinated by graffiti, I also wanted to check out this secret place. I invited theMAN to come along with me – although it went against my rule-following persuasion. We planned a trip mid-day to eliminate any doubt of the intent to simply check it out.

The place was cool but there were definitely a few sketchy areas where an unlucky fall would not fair well. I could only imagine kids drinking at night then trying to safely traverse the embankment or heading into this tunnel with a train coming. I found that even I got sucked in, forgetting to weigh the dangers more heavily than the coolness. It was like a woozle-effect of sorts.

There was a specific part of the trail which I’d seen in photos and was seeking to find. The graffiti in that section is more beautiful than all the rest.   It would be the location of my IG challenge pose for a backbend; the arch in my backbend would align with the arch of the bridge above. I never did find this particular spot and the day for the backbend has come an gone. I did find another cool location here to stop-drop-and-yoga.

There’s a part of me that really wants to go back…and another part of me that says “once is enough.” Most likely, I’ll listen to the second.

The Giving Tree

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I think happy thoughts EVERY time I pass by this tree stump at the local open space (aka “the ranch”). I did the majority of my marathon training here when we lived a few cities over from where we now live. The trails are well groomed, the surroundings are lush, and the hills are steep.

It’s been a while since I last visited but theMAN and I decided to change it up and do our weekend hike here instead of closer to home. It was a nice change. Due to the amount of rain and the base soil (I am guessing) the trails at our local open space seem to have taken a more severe toll near home. At the ranch, the trails were mostly dry and the path was still relatively smooth in contrast to our usual trekking spot where they are similar to the rough and choppy surface of photos of the moon which I’ve seen. The payback was that the hard ground was not as forgiving to the legs.

This tree stump is on the valley floor where the crowds are heavy and families with young kiddies can walk to a little working farm to see the farm animals who have emerged into the world in the past couple of months. Often, kids are playing on it: climbing on it and hiding inside the middle of it. The surfaces (sides and top edge) are smooth to touch from the little, and big, hands always touching it.

The tree is like the giving tree in one of my most favorite children’s book. It gives freely without expectation. It never asks when I will be back to visit and always brings a smile to my face when we meet up again. [Read more…]

Sacrifice and Selflessness

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Over the past few days, the news has been saturated with protest and violence. It’s really frightening but I hope that things will settle down so that the country can find some peace.

In the meantime, the day has come to honor the veterans who have served our country. This morning, I heard that one of the biggest Veteran’s Day parades was to be held downtown. My first thought was that I hoped that none of the folks actively protesting the presidential election would ruin this event for our veterans. I think that would truly be a shame for these men and women deserve to be honored.

Not only have these veterans sacrificed years of their lives being away from loved ones, putting off college and career development, among other things, but many of these veterans also suffer from mental health issues as a direct result of what they have been exposed to during their time of service. A recent study covering the period of time from 1999 to 2010 revealed that roughly 22 veterans were committing suicide per day.

That’s staggering!

veterans-day-celebration_memorial-park_2016I hope that if you come in contact with one of our vets, that you will be gracious and kind.

And thank them for their service — today and everyday.

 

Zootopia

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Have you seen the movie “Zootopia”? OMG! It is a BLAST of good fun.

There is a yoga scene in the movie that inspired this juxtaposer play. You see, although all the animals in the zootropolis have evolved to wear clothing, the yoga studio is a “naturalist” environment.

The way the actual scene plays out if hysterical.

Anyway, I was inspired to don my yoga shorts (the ones that rarely leave the 4 walls of my room) for this shot. I posted it to the yoga mysore page but then wondered if I offended people with the angle of the shot (taken to match the animals). So I took it down.

The words that went with the post went something like this:

When you feel apprehensive about wearing your shorts to yoga class then suddenly realize that you’re actually overdressed.

Get it?

Zootopia Yoga

*sigh*

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