For about the last eight months or so, I have been vigorously exercising. Usually I'm jogging in downtown Charlottesville or near University Hall at the track. If I am not doing that, then usually I am in the gym in my apartment clubhouse lifting weights. I started exercising for some good and bad reasons. The good reasons were that my doctor told me that my cholesterol was moderately high (at 24 that didn't sound so good), I felt lethargic a lot of the times, and I was extremely stressed by work and life in generally. As well, I was admittedly trying to quit smoking and exercise proved to be better than any patch or gum.
The bad reasons why I started exercising was because of the vanity around how I felt about my looks. Tolle teaches that part of being conscious is accepting your only true identity that of a formless being. There not only has to be transcendence of wordly and shallow standards of beauty, but also of the form itself. It's hard for humans to think of ourselves as anything other than the physical, tangible form we present to the world. It's hard because we are infinitely shallow in the way we see one another and ourselves. Of course, the concept of self is the problem. The problem, according to Tolle, is that the self obsesses over detachment, alienation, conformity, defiance, acceptance, and popularity in relation to the world. We engage in this battle with "our self" when "our self" can only be what it is right at this very moment. We dress "our self" in nice clothing, carry nice bags, drive nice cars, and marry another self who dresses in nice clothing, carries nice bags, and drives nice cars. We do things to satisfy our desire to be in physical harmony (or so we think) with the world, whether that involves defining success in terms of status and money or whether that manifests in the clothes we wear and things that we buy because we want to send messages about how others should perceive us.
The goal of exercise should not to look for security in having chiseled abs, bulging muscles, or an ass you can bounce a penny of off (what a remarkably visual and humorous metaphor), the point of exercise is to be oneness with Consciousness. It's not about who's looking at you at the gym (emphasis on the physical form) or that you'll find Mr. Right (concentrating on some future moment instead of the present one). Because we exist as forms, we can't escape the reality of having a body to feed and take care of. In fact, because of consciousness, we appreciate much more deeply the role that we have in ensuring that our physical form is well-maintained, well-fed, and well-used. Certainly, "well" here does not same the same meaning as it does in our glutinous, over-consumptive society. To do things "well" for your body is to do things moderately. Just as too much food is not good for the body, too much exercise can also put undue stress on the body. It's about striking the right balance.
Also, when we exercise it gives us the opportunity to open our senses. In one respect, exercising can awaken you to what's around you. One day during vacation from work recently, I was running through downtown Charlottesville, which I often did, but this time, I was so concentrated on taking in my surroundings....listening to the birds, smelling the air, looking at the architecture of buildings more inquisitively, paying more attention to the people around me...that I discovered all these places that I never knew existed downtown. I went into a shop that sold nothing but cupcakes! I visited an antique shop, which so fit my fancy because I love antique shops. I also dined at this remarkable restaurant run by a couple from Eastern Europe. They served the best eggs that I ever had! In fact, the entire city is becoming an entirely new experience for me. When I jog, I don't usually have a destination in mind, I'm just in the moment and let my senses lead the way.
Here's some recent pictures of things that I saw while running this weekend.
Stumbling upon this fountain in Darden Towe Park was such an experience. I got such a thrill out of the sound of the water, the various shades of green, and the sense of serenity from the music of Nature.
This reminded me of Tony Morrison's Bench project to commemorate African American history.
“There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves; nothing that reminds us of the ones who made the journey and of those who did not make it. There is no suitable memorial or plague or wreath or wall or park or skyscraper lobby. There’s no 300-foot tower. There’s no small bench on the road.”
Also, it is obviously a place that invites you to just sit and reflect. You can't see, but the sun was also about to set. In the background, right behind me, was a vast ocean of rolling mountains.
This was very odd. From a distance, I saw a boat that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. In fact, it seemed as if it was floating on thin air. I wondered only momentarily is this area had been filled with water at some point and the boat just left behind. As I approached, I realized that it was some kind of hands-on museum constructed for kids to commemorate the expedition with Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea, York and others to the Pacific Ocean. I'm so glad that I stumbled upon it.
Here's is the other side of the boat.
When I took this picture, it was such a peaceful moment. Even though there was stillness of nature all around, the kids playing volleyball reminded me of the importance of play, camaraderie, and fellowship.
Very similar picture, but this time it's soccer. You can hardly see the folks in the picture, but just watching them play, I knew they were happy. I felt that they were really in the moment and not taking it a second for granted. Their happiness made me feel even happier and content.
Love this picture. The reason why I took it is because of the house (white dot) in the midst of the forest. For me that was odd, interesting, and even ironic. Perhaps, the irony comes out of the humor I felt in seeing this one lone house.
I just imagine what one of these weeds might say with a human mind, "Take a picture of me! I'm right here!"
For next few pictures, I'll just let you take it in.
I was about to leave the edge of the lake when I turned around and saw my footprint in the mud. It dawned on me, "Do I know what kind of footprint I am leaving in the world?" That moment reiterated lessons about how we should treat our fellow human beings, how we should treat Nature, and how never to lose sight of how small things can make a big difference.
Now, we turn to the city.
I love graffiti. It's about the self-expression. The audacity to do it on someone else's property. It being an act that comes from voicelessness in society.
This is Beta Bridge. A widely recognized acceptable form of free speech for students. I wonder what makes this so different from the above picture. Still, doesn't it just make you feel alive (and a little dirty)?
Someone(s) even tagged the hydrant! Hilarious! The first thing I thought about when I saw this was that it looked like a dog. Not sure what I was thinking, but there you go.
Could you have asked for greener grass or a better backdrop?
As I said before, I love graffiti, especially graffiti with humor. I didn't know this, but apparently yippe means several different things. And to think that I thought it was a take on yuppie.
"Yippies are essentially the 20-40 year olds who drive their Priuses to Starbucks and camp out sipping their soy lattes while on their Macbooks blogging over the newest iPhone application or the best local co-op. They're the in-betweeners. Not quite sell outs, not quite social rejects." (Wikipedia)
Upper class hippee youth brought up by wealthy parents but dresses up in hippy clothes and smokes alot of weed (Urban Dictionary)
1. So messed up from some hard core dope u are bouncing off the walls (Urban Dictionary)
2. Hyper from drugs (Urban Dictionary)
I could condemn this sign, but hell why not laugh!
That's a driveway. Love the college humor.
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