Day 2: Potable Water, Twisting and Wikipedia

Day 2 January 13^th

So the honeymoon is over and its time to keep writing and keep appreciating! Thanks for reading!

Three Sources of Gratitude AND Meditation/Reflection:

Potable water- Access to clean water nearly anywhere in the developed world is mind boggling once you step back and examine its significance. Imagine you have a time machine and travel back to the Middle Ages and explained to a serf that these round pipes deliver as much water as you could possible consume, so much so that  future people even use otherwise drinkable water in the front of their dwellings for the sole purpose of making the grass appear greener. They would completely freak out. But you don’t need a time machine to find these places, only a plane or bus ticket, to find countries where drinking tap water will make you ill. With this thought in mind, I went to the sink in my kitchen filled a glass of water to the brim and realized, wow, this is in the immortal words of Joe Bidden, this is “a big f%*^&#$ deal!”

Coffee– To me, coffee is a swirl of productivity, creativity, and leisure. It also tastes awesome. Oddly enough, I don’t drink coffee to wake up in the morning; I enjoy the undertones, flavors and different roasts. I am a recovering coffee snob. Not only am I grateful that I did not need to endure the equatorial sun to harvest the ripest beans to bring to market, I also did not have to roast it.  Yes, I am very grateful for the luxury of coffee.

Wikipedia-Wikipedia is nothing short of remarkable because the sum of human knowledge is just a few clicks away. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet of curiosity. The fact that dedicated volunteers the world over maintain and edit the pages for the sake of the advancement of human knowledge maintains my faith in humanity. Detractors say that Wikipedia is full of waco information or kids trolling on the Internet, but after reading the Wikipedia Revolution I learned that the folks at Wikipedia have crafted some very formidable systems to counter false information. We are quickly approaching the day where it wont some matter who you are or what you have, you can teach yourself about nearly anything. I am equally thankful for https://www.khanacademy.org/ and http://www.codecademy.com. What is cooler than democratization of information? Nothing.

Intentional Act of Kindness:

Behind the bakery counter at the local Wholefoods, Jill works diligently with a smile. Since I put the cookie monster’s appetite for carbs to shame, Jill has seen my face quite a bit. She always gives me samples and tells me with remarkable gusto about the best new cookies and breads. Three week ago I wrote a review about how helpful and friendly she was. Later Jill told me, as I contemplated between and loaf of French bread or a scone, that she had been given a bonus because of my note and others positive feedback over the last few months.

Exercise 

I went to the Dallas Yoga Center, my dad’s second home, to try out one of his favorite classes. Side note, Dad was looking at a ‘30 Days of Yoga Challenge’ where you go to class 5 days a week for a month and before he could inquire, someone interjected ‘Harry, you already do that.” I guess there are worse vices.

Unlike Ashtanga, which is very structured, this class was more free form in that Nicole asked us before class, “So, what do you want to work on?” Someone said twisting and in about a minute the 12 of us were on the floor twisted like pretzels. It was awesome and I feel taller this morning.

Day 1 — 30 Days of Gratitude

Howdy folks,

I recently became inspired to keep a daily blog for 30 days tracking sources of gratitude in my life, a way to track the precious details that are easily overlooked and under appreciated. Special shout out to Bijal and Rachel: Rachel, for showing me Bijal’s blog, and Bijal for writing about what she is grateful for. Bijal, hopefully imitation is the highest form of flattery. With the goal of increasing my capacity to appreciate all the people and moments in my life, I thought that writing and sharing them would keep me writing for 30 days.

Three Sources of Gratitude AND Meditation/Reflection:

Gospel music—As you likely know, I did not grow up in the Black Baptist church, nor do I boast a particularly good voice outside of the shower, but I am grateful for gospel. For me, it’s the music that says no matter how hard it has been there is always hope. The choir is not just like any other band, it’s a community making a supplication to a higher cause. It’s the kind of music that makes you react and participate—there are no spectators when Aritha Franklin is wailing. I remember when I studied the Black Civil Rights movement how music played a crucial role in the pursuit of racial equality in USA. Every time I hear ‘Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘round” chills shoot through my spine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIX6btGIn8w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Z1trynEHs

Breathing–It seems so oblivious it should not count, but the ability to draw a deep intentional breath of air is one of life’s greatest simple pleasures. Through yoga and karate, I have begun to discover that breath is the bridge between mind and movement. For instance, while performing sun salutations today I began to tap into the power of ujjayi breath and the moves began to flow in a way that was both purposeful and seamless, or what John Stewart would call “Your moment of Zen” After 10 full deep breaths, I can feel the oxygen flood my body and a growing sense of calmness.

Showing Up— It means being present in mind, body and spirit.  At the last moment I drove down to a wedding party in Houston for some of my closest friends. Despite 4 hours of driving each way and some snails pace h-town traffic, I was there. I saw their faces and reconnected with friends from the co-op that I had not seen in over a year. ‘Being there’ was completely worth the gas, time in the car, 5 AM wake ups ect. It will always be easier to stay at home and catch up on Parks and Rec on Netflix or any other reason to stay put, but showing up for your friends when it’s the most inconvenient will ALWAYS mean more. Shout out to Dan Treadway for flying in from NYC just for it and to Danny and Teel for letting me ‘show up’ on Teel’s couch.  As the great Woody Allen said, “80% of success is showing up.”

Intentional Act of Kindness:

I have been helping edit and brainstorm some of my friend’s admission essays and personal statements to various programs and schools. I always enjoy hearing people stories.

Exercise:  

I have begun to get back get back into Ashtanga yoga. Each morning I do 10 sun salutations and then move into the standing sequence, then sitting, and after back bending. As mentioned in the gratitude section, I love how Ashtanga is predicated on deep intentional breaths. Also, the inversions are really fun.