PhysEd

It's up to each of us.
Do we till the soil of our own gardens? Or do we shoulder the garbage of our past as punishment?
I know my choice.

Chile Colorado (Red Chile).
It's an all day affair. Started w dried pods this morning, made the sauce, cooked the roast, then cubed it up and tossed it into the pot to let cook together for awhile.
Tomorrow I make the refried beans and Mexican rice. The beans have to simmer 8 hours before they're ready to be smashed so another all day affair. But so worth the effort. 💯

I've had this pic in my photo album for awhile now. I think it's a masterpiece. The composition. The juxtaposition. Multi-layered contradictory narratives simultaneously vying for your attention, dangling threads, hoping you'll follow.
I used to have a quote attached. By the great comedian George Carlin. He said, "Just because the monkey's off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town."
It's natural and self-protective to place blame for our internal struggles on external circumstances. The idea that once I make more money, or once I meet that one person, or once I make the next level or get tenure or have children or…THEN things will be different, better. So we keep pushing and striving and waiting. Waiting for our life to begin.
You know, a person can waste their whole life waiting for life to begin.
What's that sentiment? A man only ever had but 2 choices. Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'.
Dialectical spelling and punctuation for effect. 💯

TLC with a BLT. Self-care with pork products is the best care! 🐷🥪

💯

That a big pot of Chili Beans. 😳
I'll divvy it up into quart bags and freeze it. Then when I want some I just take out a bag in the morning.
Usually I divide a pot of pintos in half and smash for refried beans, and turn the other half into Chili. But I was really jonesing for chili beans so…😀
Two ways I serve it: with a buttered flour tortilla, or with saltine crackers and sharp cheddar cheese. Yum!

Yerba Maté, or just Maté, is a drink made from the dried leaves of a plant indigenous to South America. It has a high caffeine level. Traditionally it is offered and shared as a social connection like tea is offered and shared. The hollowed out gourd and the metal straw w a filtered end is traditional and has personal value like a favorite tea set or coffee cup. It is always shared between friends, one gourd full passed around. At least, that was my experience.
When I was playing music on a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship in 2003, my roommate was from Argentina. One day, when we pulled back into port in Florida off boarding old passengers from one cruise and on boarding passengers for the next cruise, my roommate received a package. It was a bag of Yerba and his setup from home. He was so excited and he waxed poetic about the gourd/straw—obviously a very personal thing—the drink, and the tradition. Once we had embarked and the ship was under way, he "brewed" some Maté and shared it with me. Now, I'm a big coffee drinker, and a bit of a caffeine professional, brewing my coffee very strong. The more caffeine the better in my book. And so I had a high tolerance. Or so I thought.
I can remember taking the gourd and taking a big sip through the filter straw (the Yerba leaves are loose in the gourd, continually steeping and growing stronger) and almost immediately my lips began to tingle. Only a few shared sips into it I knew that I was hitting my caffeine max. 😳
I enjoyed it, but I think what I enjoyed even more was his pride of culture and country. It was very important to him that he was sent his Maté set up, and I loved to hear him describe Argentina, it's people, culture and history.
I met people from all over the world on ship, and learning about everyone's home and listening to them talk about it was the best part of the whole gig. I was struck by our similarities and came to love and celebrate the differences. We are all the same, but different. 💯

Experimenting. This is Coconut Banana Bread w Lime Glaze. I've added chopped walnuts.
Start with your basic Banana Bread recipe, then deviate. Severely.

I went with a 53lb KB and only a 10lb medicine ball.
12:50 time.
This would be a good one for Push-ups/Pull-ups, Squats/Handstand Push-ups etc.

I've often found myself letting bad memories diminish the good times, or even view good fortune with suspicion wondering, "Hmmm, I feel too good. What's going to happen?" It's taken some conscious effort and practiced mindfulness for me to let go and fall headlong into a good feeling, the future be damned. Of COURSE nothing ever lasts, but it's BECAUSE it doesn't that you shouldn't let a beautiful moment go un-embraced, or let a bad moment drive you to despair. Humanity's ability to remember the light that has brought it through its darkest times is our strength. 💯

In a study, two groups were told to think of a goal, something realistically achievable within 6 months. Group A announced their goals out loud in front of everyone, Group B wrote their goals down and kept them private. After 6 months the groups met again and shared their results. Group A, who announced their goals, had a significantly lower rate of accomplishment than Group B, who kept their goals to themselves.
What the researchers discovered was that those who announced their goal received positive feedback on their stated goal immediately from the group. They felt a sense of accomplishment even though they had not started to work toward the goal. The consensus from Group A was, "I left feeling really good about my goal, as though I had already achieved it. And after I felt less motivated toward needing to do it."
Group B, on the other hand, felt good about their choice of goal but left the room feeling determined to accomplish their goal and receive the accolade spontaneously and preemptively given to Group A.
While there are benefits to making a public declaration of a personal goal such as—external pressure, accountability, outside support, there are also drawbacks—fear of failure, of disappointing others or letting them down.
It's important to let people in our lives share in any journey, but there are certain desired accomplishments that are best kept close, a small burning ember that keeps you going with a fuel of someday making your proclamation to the world, "I did this!" When that time comes, it is all the sweeter for having done it.

Barring true sadness and bouts of depression, I find a smile on my outside finds its way to my inside.
You can't smile your way out of grief, nor should we, grief serves a purpose and not something to run from or be avoided. But in our everyday moments, when things are otherwise alright, there's something magical about a smile. And, like laughter, it's infectious. When I offer a stranger a small smile as we pass, it is almost invariably returned. And that smile amplifies the feelings of my own.
Such a simple act of kindness, a smile. But arguably one of the most powerful tools for positive change we have as humans.