All posts by teleskees

Life and Meaning, Meditations, Psychology, Sociology, Truth and Perception

MUSING FOR FRIDAY 17TH, AUGUST 2018

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“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life.  It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”   Joseph Campbell
“Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy.”   Nisargadatta
“The fear of letting go prevents you from letting go of the fear of letting go.”    John Burdett, Novelist

Damn it has been a good week.  I just have to say, “Life is good and I really cannot complain too much.”  Yep, I know, there is still death and destruction in the world, that is the nature of our species and our existence since time immortal but there is hope too.  Nothing stays the same, everything changes, and there is hope that as the human species evolves that we will change in a way for the better….  And for some that is really hard to accept.  THE IDEA THAT THINGS CHANGE?!  Religion changes, science changes, societal norms change, all of life changes.  To believe there are things written in stone.  Too funny.  Someone that believes that, I mean truly believes that…. Well I think that they do not know their history all that well.  The one constant through all of antiquity, is change.  Nothing is permanent.  Absolutely nothing except “change” itself.

RIVER BEND PONDS OPEN SPACE

RIVER BEND PONDS OPEN SPACE

Thinking about change and how it is always happening can leave you feeling rudderless.  Like a boat on the water going in circles, or at the whims of the current.  How do you steer, what’s the goal, what’s the reason for life?  And if you find a reason how do you get there?  Some find a rudder in religion, some find a rudder with a specific cause, some never find the rudder and are the happier for it.  Joseph Campbell said it best.

“Life has no meaning.  Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life.  It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”

POUDRE RIVER FROM LEMAY BRIDGE LOOKING EAST

NORTH END OF THE POWERLINE TRAIL LOOKING SOUTH, POSSIBLE JUVENILE OSPREY?

Or maybe it is something from the Indian Guru of nondualism, Nisargadatta.  Maybe he had the right idea about the meaning of life??

“Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy.”

 

I could just go on and on, quotes by Mooji, Osho, Buddha, Mohammad, Jesus, etc.…  They are all trying to tell you how to get to a metaphorical Disney Land.  The question I have, were they ever there themselves?  Did they actually make the trip so to speak or was it just pretending and made-up?  I don’t really believe that anyone has ever had a full explanation for how to get there AND what it actually means to be “there.”  What is that?  What works for one person and culture, may not work for another.  As soon as you think that you know “what is the “RIGHT” way – then you might as well be lost.  We each have to find our own way and defiantly not expect others to follow the same path.  What hubris.

TRAIL APPLES ON THE POWERLINE TRAIL – GETTING RIPE!!

My path took a turn for the better back in 2008.  I did not see it as such but looking back now I realize how important that year was because of what I started doing.  The only thing that I wish I could do differently is go back in time, way, way back in time and start what I call the “practice” much sooner.  In 2008 I started to do “meditation” and now looking back I cannot believe that it has been 10 years!  Unreal.   The practice started slowly but has gradually built over time to the point that I try and do meditation each and every day.  Some days it is only 5 minutes and some I get close to an hour.  I believe that I am a much more relaxed and focused because of the meditation.  It has opened me up to new thoughts and ideas, exposed some of my more hubris inspired ideas and I like to believe made me a much more caring and compassionate person.  I really like reading about Buddhism but I do not consider myself Buddhist.  I look at it as a philosophy that has lasted the test of time.  And it does not require you to believe in “magical beings.”  This has been my path for the last 10 years and for me it has been a good path.   But at the same time, I realize it is just a tool, like a boat, to get across a metaphorical river and once you are across, then you may not need it anymore.  And that is OK too.

SUNSET FROM THE POWERLINE TRAIL

I have just been rambling on and on and on.  But I guess that happens sometimes.  Oh well, one last thing before going.  I have learned and am still learning the benefit of “letting go” and how hard it can be to do this sort of thing.  Especially letting go of the control.  Letting go of the anger, letting go of fear, letting go of old hurts, letting go of anything that is not really a benefit anymore, mental or material.  So hard to do.  I came across a quote by the Novelist John Burdett that speaks to this very well.

“The fear of letting go prevents you from letting go of the fear of letting go.”

Let that sink in for a bit.  And if you are like me, it really hits home.  I started to laugh after pondering this quote for a while – so true of us all.  And in a roundabout way a good reminder that “Nothing is Permanent”, all things CHANGE.

Well until next time.  Have a great weekend and hopefully I will see you out there!!

 

 

 

Book Review, Life and Meaning, Psychology, Religion

MUSINGS FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2018

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“Practice at any stage is just being who we are at that moment.  It’s not a question of being good or bad, or better or worse.” – From the book of Everyday Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck

Wow!!  This is my 14th post this year and that is saying a lot for me.  I hope that I am getting better at this and not boring you dear reader too much.  I like writing a blog and I am trying to make it a habit.  Funny how “BAD” habits come much more easily than the ones  you want to incorporate as good habits….  Well…. They seem to come a lot harder!! What is that about??  LOL- I did find  a book this summer that helps with this.  A book by the author Stephen Guise.

Stephen gives us a strategy to help develop habits that we want for lasting change.  I think that we do some of these behaviors already but because we don’t have a systematic way of doing them we don’t get lasting or consistent results.  In writing the book Stephen tells his own story of how he came to this realization and helps you to see how it can work for you.  From the book:  “A mini habit is a very small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day; a mini habit’s “too small to fail” nature makes it weightless, deceptively powerful, and a superior habit building strategy.”  He goes on to explain that the problem is not with you.  It is your strategy.  And this is where the trouble begins in trying to achieve a goal.  I first listened to this book as an audio book and was so impressed with its simplicity and message that I bought the paper back version so that I could read it again and to have for easy reference.  This is a down side of audio books – no easy reference.  You can find the book at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Habits-Smaller-Bigger-Results-ebook/dp/B00HGKNBDK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1533228099&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=mini+habits&psc=1

On a different note.  I did see in the news that the Attorney General of the United States – Jeff Scession created what he calls a “Religious Liberty Task Force.” The idea I guess is to protect religious freedoms.  But I am wondering whose religious freedoms and if your flavor of religious mythology does not go with my flavor of religious mythology does that give you the right to discriminate against me?  I believe that the quote from Rachana Desai Martin hits it on the head.  And this will be “Interesting” to see how this plays out in the future.

“This is just another in a long line of thinly veiled attempts by this administration to sanction discrimination in health care, often to the detriment to the health and rights of women, the LGBTQ community and other communities,” said Rachana Desai Martin, a federal policy advisor for the Center for Reproductive Rights.

I have come to believe that all religion is mythology.  People try to say that there is a difference but I think Joseph Campbell was right – “They are one and the same.”

 

I remember watching a lecture by him and he was talking about the “biggest religion on earth” and that got my attention because it was not what you thought it was going to be.  He stated, if I remember right, by saying that all religion is mythology.  And the “one mythology” that all cultures on earth believe in, all cultures accept, and the only one that has ever come true??  Then he pauses and keeps you in suspense for a moment…  He finally states:  “It is Science Fiction.”  And I am thinking What??  He then goes on to explain how SF is all mythology – it is all made up in the minds of men and women, just like religion.  The only difference is that all cultures at some point have practiced it, still believe in it and most of all, it occasionally comes true.  Every thing that we take for granted in the world today, from the technological to the social,  was once just a thought in someone’s mind.  Again you might be thinking What??  It does take a little time to get your head around it.  The first thing is to come to the realization that SF covers everything in life.  From the Scientific to the Social, not just Robots and Spaceships, but all of the human condition.  SF is the world’s largest and greatest unrecognized religion.  Oh well, interesting idea when you start to think about it.

You can find lots and lots of books on Amazon that touch on this thought.

Well I think that this is going to be it for me.  It has been a good week running but still a lot of smoke in the area from California wildfires.  I guess it could always be worse. So, until next time.  Adios Amigos!!  And I hope to see you out there!!

Exercise, Family, Life and Meaning, Meditations, Prius Hybrid, Psychology, Thankfulness

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 29TH, JULY 2018

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“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius

Well…. has this been another good week??  I guess they can’t all be good weeks…. Or can they??  That is a good question.  Everyday that I am able to get up and do the things that are important to me and others is a great day.  So, if that has occurred on a majority of the weekdays then I believe it has been a very good week.  Life is good and I cannot complain too much is something that I write in a journal each day and it never gets old.  I think that it is a good reminder in a way that things could be so much worse.  I believe that most of the limits, problems, boundaries that we find in our lives are self-created.  And it is in how we use our minds that helps us to navigate these self-created issues.  One of the first things that I do each day is to try and remind myself how great it is to just be alive.

Afternoon bike ride this week along the Poudre Trail.

I think that we all have the tendency to look beyond ourselves to try and find “something or someone” to help us to be happier or to blame, but reality is that you and only you have the power to make yourself free.  It is not “out there” it is within you and only you.  For me I am still learning this lesson, but the first step was the “realization” that it is only you.  And that starts with the mind….

“Only a Buddha can realize a Buddha” – From Mountain Record of Zen Talks by John Daido Loori.

 

 

On a different note, by the end of this week we are close to the 4-month mark of using the new car.  A Toyota Prius Prime, a gas / electric hybrid.  I think that we are at 5000 miles already.  And all I can say is WOW!!  The efficiency of the vehicle cannot be over stated.  In the last month Janet has been driving it to work, around town errands, AND we have put ZERO gas in it.  The last time we filled it up with gas was coming back from vacation June 26th.  I believe that was just West of Laramie, Wyoming on I-80.

Work for Janet is here in town as are the errands.  So, she charges the battery every second day or so and voilà – no gas needed!!  Cleaner air, decreased dependence on foreign oil, fewer issues with resource extraction, and a much cleaner environment.  In my humble opinion there is no reason to ROLL BACK any gas mileage requirements.  Every car coming out in the next few years should all be Hybrids or a the very least “Gas – Hybrids.”  Yes, the power grid would need to be upgraded, but that is all achievable with current technology and would provide thousands and thousands job.  Every new home should be required to have solar power installed to help in this endeavor.  And rebates on Solar for homeowners with existing homes.  If you can give millions to the oil and gas industry in subsidies then you can gradually shift that money to the homeowner to help install solar power.

The “CAT DOOR” charger!!  LOL

Running this week has been a little bit limited due to work on replacing a roof/deck over the garage.  But it still has been good.  I am lucky to live in an area in Fort Collins that has great trail access.  One of my most convenient and favorite running trails is the Powerline trail.  The trail is composted of a hard path surface but also a side by side soft path dirt surface.  Very nice for those of us that prefer to run on dirt trails.  The other great thing that I have come to enjoy about it are what I call trail apples.  Someone years ago, planted about 20 apple trees along a section of this trail.  They are small but very flavorful.  Everything from tart to sweet and this time of year they are really starting to ripen.  So, it is a kind of treat to run this trail,  pause and pick a handful to eat and continue running.

Deck and Roof replacement!  It will be nice when finally done.

Trail Apples!!  Lol

I did not get to run the Never Summer 100k this weekend due to unavoidable work issues.  (Could not get the time off) So I will concentrate all my effort on doing the Run Rabbit Run 100 in September.  I have never run 100 miles before and I am anxious and curious to see how that feels.

I hope that everyone had a great week and in saying this I want to send you all a little loving kindness for the week to come:   May you be free from danger.  May you be happy.  May you be healthy.  May you live with ease.

Until next weekend – Adios amigos!!

Friends, Life and Meaning, Thankfulness

MUSING FOR FRIDAY, JULY 20TH, 2018

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“Each moment in time we have it all, even when we think we don’t.”  Melody Beattie

 

Well it has been a good week again…  Dang what can I say this has not been just a good week but a good month so far.  I would like to say that the weather and air quality has been perfect but that would not  be the truth.  It has been a little too hot and the Ozone and Particulate matter from the fires and automobile exhaust has  made quite a mess of things if you like to be outdoors.  I think that would be the only fly in the ointment so to speak.  And I guess if that is all that it is then things really have not been too bad.   I have been putting in some running miles and it has been a little difficult because of the heat.  A little too hot for my taste.  But good “hot weather” training.  You never know what you will find in an Ultra, especially a mountain Ultra.  Could be cold, just right or sometimes blazing hot.  So, this “hot weather training” is a good idea.  But not a favorite one!!  LOL

In order to get away from the heat on the Front Range, I have been doing some running up in the Rawah Wilderness Area.  It is an area about 65 miles West of Fort Collins.  The total acreage is about 76,000 acres.  All siting at 8500 feet to well over 13,000 feet.  Lots of mountain lakes and about 80 to 90 miles of hiking or running trails.  This was the first Wilderness that I ever camped in when we moved to Colorado in 1987.  Almost 31 year ago.  When I look at the picture below of me and my friend Greg it just does not seem that long ago, but dang it will be 31 years this November?!  I was 25 years old in that picture.  Where did the time go?  Crazy!!

1987 and I had hair!!  We went on to do 4 more camping trips in the same area over the years.  With the last one being in 1992.  This was a trip that I looked forward to each year usually around October.  Fortunately, I kept a picture from each one.  Always in the Rawah’s with good friends.

1989 Pictured left to right – Herb, Chip, Myself and Greg

1990 Pictured left to right – Standing Chip, Greg and Herb. Kneeling – Myself.

1991 Pictured left to right – Standing Chip, Herb, Greg, Dan and Mitch.  Kneeling – Myself.

1992 Pictured left to right – standing Bill, Mel, Dan, Greg. Kneeling Herb, Myself, and Chip

Funny how things change, I do not remember the reasons why we quit doing them.  But we did.  I am not upset that we stopped doing them, I am just glad that they occurred, very thankful!!

A wise person once told me, situations like this are what you call “moments in time” and need to be viewed as such.   Fleeting, transitory, ephemeral, brief moments.  And that in and of themselves makes them special.   When I look back at these pictures, I realize that is what they were.  Just special moments in time. They happened so quick…..

Well that is about it for me this week.  Take care and have fun out there.  Go do a hike or run in the Rawah’s!!   Maybe I will see you on the trails!!

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review

MUSINGS FOR WEDNESDAY 11TH, JULY 2018

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It has been a good start for the month of July.  I hope that everyone had a great 4th!!  May the rains come to Colorado and the West to help with this year’s fire season.  It has already started out with a bang.  Hopefully the monsoonal moisture will kick in and put the fires out before they do too much damage.  It is interesting to note that fires have always been a part of the forest landscape.  It is only when people have moved into these areas that were once uninhabited or at best temporarily inhabited that it has become more of an issue.  It has been estimated that there are about 100,000 wildfires or forest fires each year.  This includes areas that you might not consider “Forested” but more like grass lands with low bushes and tall grasses.  Think West Texas and Western Oklahoma.  These fires clear anywhere from 4 to 5 million acres of land in the U.S. every year.  (This information is from NGS).  What this tells me is that if you live in a forest or a wildland area, it is not a matter if a forest fire will happen, but when.

Well on a different note.  I finished up a couple of books in the last few weeks and I think they are worth mentioning.  The first one is called “The Stranger in the Woods” – The extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit.  By Michael Finkel.  This one was published in 2017.  It is the story of Christopher Knight, who lived as a hermit in the Maine woods for 27 years.  In this time frame he did not have a conversation with another person.  Finkel tells the story of this unique individual and in the process explores the possible reasons and history of people that became “Hermits.”  This is an easy read and well worth a look for a quick summer book while on vacation.  Humans are very social animals, so I find it fascinating when one of the tribe wants to go off the reservation and disappear.  You can find it at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Woods-Extraordinary-Story-Hermit/dp/1101911530/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530810054&sr=8-1&keywords=the+stranger+in+the+woods

The next book is called “The Hidden Life of TREES” – What They Feel, How They Communicate.  By Peter Wohlleben.  I have a minor in Botany but have not really kept up with any new research in the plant world other than bits and pieces here and there.  So, I was curious about this book when it came out in 2016.  I have to say that after reading it “AMAZING.”  I don’t think that I will ever walk through the forest the same way again.  It is almost like something out of the movie “Avatar” by James Cameron.  Wohlleben talks about the forest as a true social network.  That trees talk with each other, share nutrients with those that are struggling and warn each other of impending dangers.  He goes on to make the point that their behavior can be likened to human families.  And on an environmental note, he talks about the best practices in harvesting trees and how our current system could be made much better and more humane for the trees.  This was a real eye opener for me.  Just the fact that the trees could be considered more than just a thing?!  An actual living, breathing, thinking entity.  Think of “Treebeard” in Lord of the Rings!  Just crazy, it puts the forest in a whole different “light.”  You can find the book at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discoveries-Secret/dp/1771642483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531110619&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hidden+life+of+trees+by+peter+wohlleben

The last book is called “Reality is Not What It Seems” – The Journey to Quantum Gravity.  By Carlo Rovelli and Simon Carnell.  I am always on the lookout for books that help to make sense of the quantum world.  I had not read this author before but his name popped up in Amazon’s recommended books.  And I am glad that I took a chance on this one.  This book came out in 2017.  Rovelli is an Italian Theoretical Physicist and seems to have a way with words when it comes to helping the curious layperson with complex subjects.  Rovelli gives a brief history of the two Modern Physics redoubts, The Theory of General Relativity and Quantum Theory.  Both can be very hard to understand for the layperson.  The rest of the book is about Quantum Gravity and Information Theory.  I have read other books and watched videos on these subjects and still not quite understood what I have read or watched.  I did not feel this way with Rovelli.  And this is where the beauty of the book comes into play.  I highly recommend this book if you want to “START” to know more about these subjects.  They are very complex and can be confusing.  Even Einstein had trouble accepting some of these ideas.  You can find the book at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Reality-Not-What-Seems-Journey/dp/0735213933/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531115291&sr=8-1&keywords=reality+is+not+what+it+seems+carlo+rovelli&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&dpID=51T0lHa9wkL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Well that is about it for me this week.  Had a great trail run up to Blue Lake yesterday.  Lots of water crossings, which I take as a good sign that not all of the forest in Colorado are in drought conditions.  Take care, have fun out there and see ya next week!!

 

Life and Meaning, Psychology, Vacation

MUSINGS FOR TUESDAY 3RD, JULY 2018

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“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”  –  Socrates
“Hope is the expectation that something outside of ourselves, or someone external, is going to come to our rescue and we will live happily ever after.”  –  Dr. Robert Anthony

Well it has been a good week.  Nice to be back from vacation.  Very nice indeed.  Northern Colorado is a great place to live, to call home.  And that is a very good thing to say.  I realize that I am lucky to be able to live in a place like this.  And after this last vacation, I have a new appreciation for it.  Things are not always “greener” on the other side as the old saying goes.

Before going on vacation, I came across this quote by Seth Godin and it really hit home.  When Janet and I were planning our road trip there was part of me that did not want to leave or to take the time away from what I was already doing.  So, this quote got me to thinking.  Have I created a life that I don’t need to escape from?  Is my life situation so good that it is like being on vacation?  Good questions!

So I asked and what did I find??  I came to the conclusion that my life is closer to this ideal of Seth’s than I realized.  It is not perfect by no means but it is close.  And I really don’t have a firm idea of how I got here?  That is the crazy part.  I feel like I am in the song from the Talking Heads: “Once in a Lifetime” asking myself “How did I get here.”  LOL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsSpAOD6K8

I can tell you that my life has not always felt this way.  There was a time that the feeling for the need to escape was very real.  Palpable  in fact.  It has only been in the last couple of years, in reflection, that this craving has subsided….  Maybe it was the keeping of a journal or the practice of meditation or a combination of both??  I don’t know.   But I have come to the realization that  we all should ask ourselves these questions.   What is the famous quote by Plato or Socrates:  “An unexamined life is not worth living.”

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Doing a “google” search of vacation images, it was not hard to come up with many that had to do with escaping your current life, even if it was only for a moment….  And until till I came across Seth’s quote I probably would not have thought anything about it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I believe that travel is great, even essential to personal growth and development.  To see and be with family.  To experience sounds and sensations that are new and foreign.   So, I encourage you to take that vacation.  To fully enjoy your time away.

But when you get back, ask yourself are you escaping from something?  What is it?  How could you change things so this might not be the case in the future?  It makes me wonder if we as employers and employees have created a work  environment, a culture, a way of life that is much more toxic than we realize.  That it became normal to “need” that escape?  And is it just part of the “Capitalistic – Consumeristic Society” that we live in.  Has it gotten totally out of control?  Always have to have something new?  Go someplace different?  Spend, spend, spend and more spending…To keep up with the proverbial “Jones” so to speak?

The above one by Budge Travel looks good on the surface but in a sneaky sort of way.  “Say, we are not escaping??  What are you talking about??  Just don’t let life escape you!!  You would not want to miss out!!!”  Wow…  Now that is some marketing!!

So, in this short blog I hope that I have spurred you to ask those questions and to look for the answers.  I am not really sure what they are for me.  But I am asking myself the questions.  And I think that will make all the difference.

Well that is about it for me this week.   Have a Happy and safe Forth of July and I will see you next week.

Prius Hybrid, Vacation

MUSINGS FOR MONDAY 25TH, JUNE 2018

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.  So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.” – Asian Proverb

Whistler, British Columbia – Fitzsimmons Creek

Well just got back from vacation.  Great road trip but it feels good to be home.  Decided to go to the Pacific North West.  Made it all the way North to Whistler the Ski Area in British Columbia.  Went through Glenwood Springs – Colorado, Ogden – Utah, Prosser – Washington, Monroe – Washington, Bellingham – Washington (our longest stay), up to Whistler for a day and then retraced most of the route back home.

Glenwood Springs, Colorado – Hot Springs

Ogden, Utah – Catholic Church

The longest stay was Bellingham, Washington – this was about 5 days.  It reminded me a lot of Fort Collins.  Brewery after brewery after brewery.  Bike trails, hiking trails, great restaurants.  And you have the ocean at your doorstep.  It was good to see new places and experience new things, meet some interesting people, and see some of the family that we had not seen in a long time.  The road trip was 14 days in length and covered about 3500 miles of driving.

Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham, Washington

We decided to take our new car, a Toyota Prius – Prime.  A gas hybrid.  And this was a kind of eye opener to what battery powered cars are capable of.  Out of driving 3500 miles our gas mileage averaged about 64.2 miles per gallon.  Which is really good but if there were more “convenient” charging stations, the miles per gallon would have been way higher.  Probably in the 100mpg range.  This was traveling between 65 to 80mph depending on the state laws, fully loaded.  Janet and I packed way too much!  LOL

The weak link in electric powered cars is the charging stations.  There are a lot out there but they are not all convenient.  Every motel, very grocery story, every park, every movie theater, every downtown parking area, every restaurant, etc.…  Needs charging stations.  Any place that you are going to park for an hour or more.  Out of a full fourteen days of driving and exploring we only ended up charging twice.  And the main reason for this was “convenience.”  We found one charger at a downtown public parking area in Bellingham Washington.  This worked out great to go out for dinner, shopping and just walking around while the car charged.  The second one was in a Grocery store / shopping center parking lot in Park City.  Again, this worked out great to load up on groceries, drink a little coffee and to do some other local exploring.  Not one motel that we stayed at had a charging station.  What a perfect place if you are traveling.  You could charge the car each night and it would be ready to go the next AM.  The Toyota got about 50 miles on the battery with in-town driving and about 20 miles on the battery with highway driving and the air conditioner on.  We did a lot of in-town exploring with the car at each stop and figured that at least 500 miles of the trip could have all been on battery power with access to more charging stations.

Views from Mount Baker Ski Area, Washington

I used the app called Plug-Share and it did a great job of helping to find charging stations, but again in a lot of situations they were not convenient.  The technology is out there to vastly reduce the use of fossil fuels.  It just needs to be put in place.  Tesla has a lot of charging stations and seems to get the idea of convenience.  A large Fred Meyer Grocery Store in Monroe, Washington had seven Tesla charge stations in the parking lot.  But unless you own a Tesla you cannot use them because of the amperage.  Tesla’s are superchargers and if we tried to use one it would “melt” our battery.

Anacortes, Washington

Again, a great trip.  Hope you enjoyed this short overview of it.  There were a lot more pictures and things to say, insights and reflections to share.  But I figured this was enough.  Hope everyone has a great week.  See you next week.  Adios amigos!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family, Vacation

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 17TH, JUNE 2018

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Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there.  May you have a wonderful day doing whatever it is that brings you happiness.

Just hanging out in Bellingham Washington.  Always a change from the scenery of the Rocky Mountains and Plains of Colorado.  There are days that I wonder what it would be like to live closer to the Ocean.  To have that option and luxury of owning a boat?  But then I think of the old quote “The best day of my life was when I got my boat and the second best day of my life is when I sold it!”  I own an RV already and I have also heard this quote for an RV.  So I get it.  Lol.  I think that I will just stick with the RV and let others own the boat.

Mount Baker in the background.  Still seems like a lot of snow on it!

We are on day 7 of a 14 day road trip.  I think that you need to do more than 7 days because the first week you are just getting the hang of it.  If I had the time and money I would probably even add another 7 days but that does get a little expensive.  And just getting the time off can be a problem for most of us.  But if you have the opertunity I highly recommend it.  Get out of your  routine, stop at the small places along the road, walk the city, the neighborhoods, talk with the people you meet along the way.   Sometimes you might get lucky and learn something.

Today is also our 35th wedding anniversary.  Damn just wondering where did the time go!!  And how did we get so lucky??  When so many others don’t make it this far?  Just want to say Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife who has put up with me for this long?!  How have you done it??  Lol

Well that is probably going to be it for me this week.  Looking forward to heading into British Columbia in the next few days and visiting Vancouver and the resort of Whistler.

Book Review, Exercise, Meditations

MUSINGS FOR SATURDAY 9TH, JUNE 2018

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Plunge Your Whole Life into What You Are Doing

“Just as when you sit in meditation you just sit, when you sleep, be aware of the totality of your whole being going to sleep.  When walking, you just walk.  When you eat, you are right there just eating.  Plunge your whole life into what you are doing at that very moment and live that way.  So, we train ourselves to engage our whole being in what we are doing.  Whether sitting or eating, you are not engaged in discursive, wandering, or deluded thoughts.  All of you—environment, body, and mind—is right there.  Whatever you do, whatever the task at hand, your whole life is there at that moment.

Some people may interpret plunging your whole being into the practice or into the task at hand as a very tense approach.  This is incorrect.  By putting your whole being into whatever you are doing, you are also being relieved from doing anything else at that moment.  Therefore, when you are doing that one thing, that is all you have to care about, and you can do it in a very relaxed manner and attitude.  In this light, you will better understand the meaning of engaging your whole being in the present task.  This is the relaxed and reposed attitude to practice.”

Excerpted from:  The Method of No-Method:  The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination by Chan Master Sheng Yen

 

Life has been good this week and I cannot complain too much…  Worked Monday and Tuesday at the day job (night shift) and now I am off for a little bit and that is a good thing.  Taking a little vacation with Janet.  We both decided to do a road trip and use the new car.  Should be fun.  I will post pictures in the next Blog post to let you know how it is going or not…  LOL

Well…. started to do a little bit of walking and running this past week.  And it felt great to get out.  I was happy that the injured hip did not seem to give me too much pain and I will continue to build back up slowly over the next couple of weeks.  Thinking about this, I am wondering if I just pushed it too much with the Yoga while doing hip openers?  I think that might be the original cause.  Get a small muscle tear or micro tear that you really don’t feel much but then put some running on it… and voila’ you have a full tear?  Funny it all comes down to moderation.  Too much of this or that and not enough of something else and damn?!  Your injured!

Soooooo, going forward I plan on this, one or two days, of a 9-day training cycle, do some Mountain Biking.  Yoga only on 2 days during the training cycle and not every other day (like I was doing).  And to gently ease back into harder running on trails.  Sounds simple….  Right?  Right?  Ah… the best laid plans of mice and men!!  LOL

Still bummed about missing the Dirty Thirty Ultra.  But better early in the season than late.  I really want to see if I can accomplish two distances this summer, first one is the 100k (July – Never Summer 100k) and the second is the 100 miler (September – Run Rabbit Run 100).

Love the quote that started today’s blog.  It struck a cord with me these past few weeks.  So hard to keep the mind focused.  We have many, many distractions in this day and age.  Especially living in a first world country.  To be so fortunate, it presents incredible opportunities and if not managed correctly it can be a curse.  One way to help with this is the practice of Mindfulness and Meditation.  For about 5 years now I have been practicing both.  And that is what it is – a practice.  There is no endpoint.  You don’t have to be Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, etc.….  To practice.   Mindfulness meditation works with all religions and it works with no religion.  It will over time improve the quality of your life.  It has mine.  So, I would feel remiss if I did not share this with you.  If you are a little bit interested or even just a little curious one of the best books out there to get started is called “Mindfulness in Plain English” by Bhante Gunaratana.  I have read it a couple of times now and that is saying a lot from me.   Funny, here is a tradition that goes back 1000s of years and it is more relevant today than ever before.  The link to Amazon is https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-English-Bhante-Henepola-Gunaratana/dp/0861719069/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528561458&sr=8-1&keywords=mindfulness+in+plain+english&dpID=516m8PpEPYL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

This book can help start you on a path that will or could, if you let it, change your life.  No matter what walk of life you are from.  No matter what your background might be.  It only requires a small amount of time each day and a willingness to be patient.  It is not a get-rich-quick scheme for life.  But a slow, steady progression that with time is immensely rewarding.  Have you ever wondered why there is a waiting list to get into a Buddhist Monastery or Nunnery? They give up all worldly possessions.  They have nothing.  Even your next meal is not guaranteed.  And yet, there is a waiting list to get in!  Now contrast that with a prison, three meals per day, TV, Radio, Reading material, Education, Health Care, Conjugal visits in some cases, etc.…. but no waiting list to get in?? LOL

From the book: “Meditation is called the Great Teacher.  It is the cleansing crucible fire that works slowly but surely, through understanding.  The greater your understanding, the more flexible and tolerant, the more compassionate you can be.  You become like a perfect parent or an ideal teacher.  You are ready to forgive and forget.  You feel love toward others because you understand them, and you understand others because you have understood yourself.  You have looked deeply inside and seen self-illusion and your own human failings, seen your own humanity and learned to forgive and to love.  When you have learned compassion for yourself, compassion for others is automatic.  An accomplished meditator has achieved a profound understanding of life, and he or she inevitably relates to the world with a deep and uncritical love.”

Well, with that thought, I think that is it for me this week.  Hope everyone has a great weekend. Adios amigos!!

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise, Family, Injury, RVs

MUSINGS FOR SATURDAY JUNE 2ND, 2018

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“Take wrong turns.  Talk to strangers.  Open unmarked doors.  And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing.  Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out.  You’re curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off.  There are so many adventures that you miss because you’re waiting to think of a plan.  To find them, look for tiny interesting choices.  And remember that you are always making up the future as you go.” – Randell Munroe

Well it has been a good AND bad week.  I will start with the good….  Getting the RV ready for a little travel this summer.  And it is always somewhat of a process.  Our RV is a thirty-foot class C Diesel Bigfoot.  We have owed it for about 12 years now.  As a family, when the kids all still lived at home, we took two really long trips out to the West Coast. They were both 25 to 30 days in length.  The two older daughters got really good setting up camp each time we stopped.  Of course, I always got the part of hooking up the sewer. LOL There were some good times in the RV with the family!

It seems like that was just yesterday but in reality, the last big family trip occurred about 10 years ago.  Dang where did the time go?  Oh well what are you going to do?  Since that time, Janet and I have done much smaller trips, and a few longer ones in which we stayed in just one place.  One of my favorite spots is at Tiger Run Resort just outside of Breckenridge proper.  I think I could spend the whole summer in this high mountain environment.  Check out there website even if you don’t own an RV.  They rent small chalets.  You can find them here at:  http://www.tigerrunresort.com/

In hindsight, I sometimes think it might have been better to own a trailer or fifth wheel.   Not only do you get a camper so to speak but a pickup that can be used every day.  And there is not as much maintenance required.  Because it is a motor home you have the transmission and motor to maintain if you are not using it year round.  So far, my plan each year has been to start the engine every 30 to 45 days and drive it.  I store it about 12 miles away and this helps in that process.  I usually try to drive it each time about 30 to 50 miles just to lubricate the engine and transmission.  So far it has worked well.  As of 2018 it only has about 20,000 miles on it.

Funny, ever since we got it back in 2006 I have been thinking about getting a bigger one.  I know this does not fit with the 5-wheel idea, but….  A part of me really wants to own a big class A at some point.

A big diesel pusher.  I think that would be so cool.   I have become one of those that likes to go to a new place to camp so to speak and then I want to be there for a while to just explore the area.  To really get to know the new location.  And this idea really fits in with a much bigger RV.   Well…. maybe someday??  Who knows!!  LOL

I have pulled a car behind it since I have owned it.  The first time with a tow dolly and a Chevy Aveo.  And that was always a process, driving up on the ramps, hooking up the Aveo, making sure the straps were tight, etc.….

Now I am pulling a Subaru Outback with a manual transmission, that can be pulled with all four wheels on the ground.  And so far, it has worked really well.  I am happy with it.  A lot less effort needed than using the tow dolly.    I just need to practice with it more often to get used to it.  This may be one of my goals this summer.  To get really comfortable pulling the Subaru behind the motor home.

 

Well, now for the bad news.   The next Ultra is this Saturday or was supposed to be.  I had some right hip pain while finishing a run last week.  Did not think too much about it and it did not bother me over the weekend at work.   Did a 6-mile walk with Janet on Tuesday and still felt pretty good, just a little soreness in that area.  On Wednesday – went for a short run at about 50% effort, just to see if I was going to have some pain to that hip still.  Well I got about three miles into the run, stopped for a bathroom break and that was it.  Damn, the right hip area actually became painful.  Never really had this happen.  Painful enough that I did not feel I could run at all and even walking was hard.  Luckily, I was not too far from home.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS), liac crest, Gluteus medius, Tensor fascia latae, Gluteus maximus,Vastus lateralis, Iliotibial band, Tibia tubercle, Patella, Inflammation of the iliotibial band (ITB) causes outer knee pain and possible pain in the hip, MendMeShop TM ©2011

My best guess is that it is an Upper IT band injury or Iliotibial Band.  Most of the individuals I have seen with this injury complain about it in the knee area, but it does run all the way up to the hip.  That is where my pain is, right at that upper Red Dot in the picture.  And it does feel like the Tensor Fascia Latae muscle that connects to the IT band is also sore.  Not sure how I did it.  But my best guess is not enough cross training this year and I may have injured it initially doing Yoga.   Oh well – no matter how I did it, this will be a slight set back, I hope….  Nothing to do but to give myself time to recover and regroup.

Bummed about the Ultra.  It is called the “Dirty Thirty” and I have run it before.  50k distance or about 32 miles.  Great race and volunteers and I was looking forward to running it again.  Check out their web site at:  http://dirty30.org/.  Well time to heal instead and look forward to next year for this one.  My main races this year are the Never Summer 100k and the Run Rabbit Run 100.  And I want to be as healthy for them as possible.  Well that is it for me this time.  I will post again next Friday or Saturday!!  Adios amigos!!