Today is the first day of nearly 14 days of market. Geronimo!
Day 3
Three Sources of Gratitude AND Meditation/Reflection:
Freedom of Speech/ First Amendment: By typing a blog, I am exercising my first amendment rights. The idea that your right to political speech is protected, no mater how unpopular, is something to celebrate. For this reason alone, political dissenters immigrated to the US and uprooted well-established lives because they could not express their views without fear of repression. (Cough, Cough… Russia, Iran, North Korea.. Cough, Cough) 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement student protest at Berkeley, which brought 1st amendment issue and political activism to the forefront of the national discussion.
Questions: It seems fitting to shift to one of the most vital forms of speech I appreciate, the question. I’m always asking them. My favorite story about questions my aunt Jane shares at the first Seder of each Passover. The moral of the short story is to ask good questions everyday. Why not? Recently I have become interested on how food and physical activity affect quality of life. When I was studying at UT, I had a black moleskin journal and I would jot down one question that applied my class ideas to the world I lived in. For instance, I would take Marxist thought and apply it to the pearl co-op. This short exercise animated my history education and I am thinking of applying the same metal exercise to work too. What I love about questions is that they necessitate an answer. That is, they bring focus to an infinite pool of information and highlight the issue that’s most important to you.
A Couch: I’ve gone nearly 25 years without own anything more than a desk, a nightstand and a bed. Either I had lived in a student-housing cooperative, lived in temporary student housing or I had roomed with someone with a couch (thanks Ben and Kathleen). I finally cracked and finally acquired a couch, which I am strangely grateful for. The anti-materialist in me still cringes, but the brown leather sofa makes my place feel like a home not a crack dean. For a long time, owning a couch symbolized complete rootedness that signified you can’t adventure in India if you own one. In my deluded mind, having a couch was like having a kid, but harder to moved down stairs. This of course is not true, you just had to ask what is the right balance? (See above question section)
Exercise:
I went to Ashtanga class again with Dad and experience the difference between a personal practice and one with an instructor. The main difference is you can’t cut corners. I think a personal practice and a teach taught class compliments each other and make for more consistent yoga practice. (Thanks for a great class Jeff!)
Intentional Act of Kindness:
I have continued editing personal statements for friends and have also created a list of must see attractions of Austin, Texas for a few friends from LA and Chicago.
charliesaginaw 