Parkour

You must have heard of it or seen glimpses of it by now, but perhaps you didn't know that the art form of Parkour is more than young, athletic angst without a skateboard. Apparently, Parkour is more a philosophy of life than an afterschool calorie burner. David Belle, founder of the art form defends it from the critics who would call it "urban acrobatics." For him, Parkour is a way to overcome obstacles in life, not just jumping from building to building. Get a taste of belle at his best with this video. Finally, the French invent something we can all enjoy. = )

(And as an added treat, enjoy the comedic ravings of "parkour experts" Rabbit and Nimrod.)

The Laws of Normalcy

Are you aware of the force that pulls you constantly to the earth's surface? The force that binds you to the crust of this sphere we call home? We call it gravity and its power is undeniable. Man has fought it for almost as long as he has existed. Human mind has tried to reject it, tried to break free from it's hold, and for moments, at least, has succeeded. Man takes flight and challenges the clouds for supremacy. But eventually gas runs out, wind dies down and gravity is more persistent than we are. The old axiom rings true again and again that what goes up must come down. We are settled on this earth for ancient reasons and since no one has come up with better reasons, we stay here. It is probably no accident that when we die we fall not just down but often into the earth.

Normalcy is similar to gravity. Powerfully compelling us to find a status quo and stick with it. To define ourselves with a pattern or projection of what we are like and what we can expect from life. If it worked for generations before us then it will work for us. If this is the way I've always done something then this is the way I will continue to do it. Or if not to define ourselves, at least we define our schedule, our eating habits, our work and other peripheral activities that we can then point to and call 'ourselves.' We are almost always looking to even out the ride, settle into an efficient pattern to get us where we are going. We all want smoother sailing to get us through our journey. The stronger our patterns for our lives the fewer questions we will be forced to ask and the more we can take on assumption. And assumptions streamline the process of everyday living.

Let me ask you a question: Have you ever witnessed a moment when another human being, either through traumatic events or personal discovery, realizes that their life could be different? Sometimes even should be different. And for a shining moment they reject the pattern they have thus far chosen and start off on another path entirely, living their life with boldness and clarity? I have seen it. May have even lived it. And I have noticed time and again that despite the revelation, no matter how great, the tendency to ebb back into the pattern of previous living is incredibly strong. Sometimes the point of clarity was vivid enough to last a lifetime and it remains a fixed point of change. But more often than not, the point of clarity dims as it recedes into the past.

So, why this essay on normalcy, I hear you ask. Change is difficult and often unwanted. Change is helpful and often unexpected. And when we are handed our chunk of change in life we get to make a choice: we can absorb it into our current life pattern or we can choose to change our life pattern to fit our new circumstance.

And I was curious... Which do you do?

My Left Foot

What if we really could walk on the ceiling? What if rainbows were solid and worked like escalators? What if you decided every morning what color your skin would be? What would happen if limes were bigger than coconuts? What if your house was made of jello? What if you could inhale enough helium to hover three feet above ground? What if your thoughts trailed behind you like toilet paper on the shoe?

This Toosh'll Pass

You ever wonder about people who obsessively complain over one part of their body? Die-hard I-hate-my-butt fans for example or gee-aren't-my-legs-chubby enthusiasts? People who never lose an opportunity to remind themselves that their bodies do indeed have flaws?

Or maybe you are one of these people. You can't stand those extra ounces of fat under your arms, your chin depresses you in all photos you've ever seen, or your esophagus looks funny in the mirror (aha, you are paying attention!). Yeah, it comes to all of us once in a while, the "what's wrong with me now" game we play.

I do it too. (I don't particularly like my profile, I have a birthmark on my cheek, and no matter how skinny I am my stomach always sticks out {which I have secretly come to like *shhh* don't tell anyone with a Y chromosome}.) But I'm thinking of not doing it anymore. Playing the I'm-somehow-ugly game. I'm thinking of turning over an old leaf and carefully putting down the gun of self-loathing instead of picking it up and pointing it at my own precious little lumpy-shaped head. I'm thinking of not waiting till I'm older and wiser to be completely comfortable with my body, my laugh... my anything. How's that for a mid-year's resolution?

Sounds good to me. : )

All The Love You Deserve

Found at Suck.com

looking out or looking in?

I sometimes liken the world wide web to a window which looks out on all the world. But at the same time it is also a window looking into a tiny box on my desk. I am both looking in and looking out.

It's all in how you look at it I suppose.

A Nerd's Nerd

On my way downtown to watch an international film I happened to see a group of four men wearing red helmets and riding segways. They were reaching top speeds of 5 mph and would stop frequently to be admired or to praise their two-wheeled rides to strangers and passers-by. I smirked. How silly of them, I thought, to be wearing helmets and traveling in a pack of four. How much nerdier can you get?

Just then I realized that I was wearing a "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt on my way to watch House of Flying Daggers and Ang Bok. At the library. Alone.

I have this theory that everyone is a nerd in some area. We all have that thing that makes us a little too excited, talk a little too animatedly. Some subject about which we know a little too much. Even posers are nerds. The desire to always look hot and poserly is what makes them nerds.

Well. I have to get back downstairs to watch the second feature.

"Just tell them that if they vote for you all their wildest dreams will come true."

Because they will. Live long and prosper.

Aytch-Ay-Pee-Pee-Why

Thinking about happiness - that bright, exotic bird that we all think we see through the foliage almost always out of reach - I asked everyone in time and space to explain it to me. They did. I promise, from this day forth, to stop thinking about it, since it is something I already have.
See for yourself:

Happiness is never stopping to think if you are. ~Palmer Sondreal

Some pursue happiness, others create it. ~Author Unknown

Happiness is like the penny candy of our youth: we got a lot more for our money back when we had no money. ~Mignon McLaughlin

Eden is that old-fashioned house we dwell in every day without suspecting our abode until we drive away.~Emily Dickinson

The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mode of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change; happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up. ~Charles L. Morgan

Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it. ~Don Herold
Happiness is... usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults. ~Thomas Szasz

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate. ~Thornton Wilder

Misery is almost always the result of thinking. ~Joseph Joubert

Always remember to be happy because you never know who's falling in love with your smile. ~Author Unknown

Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you've been up to. ~Author Unknown

If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it. ~Andy Rooney

So long as we can lose any happiness, we possess some. ~Booth Tarkington

As people spin faster and faster in the pursuit of merely personal happiness, they become exhausted in the futile effort of chasing themselves. ~Andrew Delbanco

There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction. ~Salvador Dali

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne

Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. ~Norm Papernick

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. ~A.A. Milne

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin

If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time. ~Edith Wharton

Happiness is a form of courage. ~Holbrook Jackson

Life is a Dish Best Served Fun

A reader asked today how one could go about enjoying life more. He or she apparently has not spent a lot of time thinking about this. Which is ok. He or she probably spends time thinking about other things that are equally important, but which for the moment cloud his or her enjoyment of life.

Well, since we're all here in this rowboat with nothing to do (particularly) for the next few minutes, let's throw out the question and see what we can come up with together. I'll go first.

How can Anonymous go about enjoying life more?

Well, first we need to know what exactly it is that Anonymous is doing too much of. I am a firm believer that when your life revolves too much around one finite arena it begins to feel stuffy and closed. We humans are marvelously big on the inside. Amazingly huge. It is difficult for anyone to remember all the cool aspects of one person at any given time. We sometimes even forget cool aspects of ourselves.

So, Anonymous, I'm afraid you're going to have to fess up and tell us what it is you do too much of. Whenever you're ready... we'll be waiting.

Next, we need to know what Anonymous is doing too little of. Obviously there are a myriad things that Anonymous may do infrequently or not at all so let me specify. We need to know what it is that Anonymous is good at or loves to do, but, for the moment (or the last several decades) Anonymous has not done. It could be several things. It usually is. List 'em out. Look at 'em.

Then, Anonymous, you need to take a look at your relationships. This is always a fun one, because we humans are so damn complex at any one time and we either put too much expectation on those closest to us or too little expectation. Finding balance is tricky. And even trickier is not blaming those who are close to us for our unhappiness. (We all do it. From time to time. Because it's easy and it feels right at first. But those of you who have really traveled that road will recognize these words: Dead End.)

Right. So you take the handful (or bucketful or thimbleful) of relationships you currently have in life and you look at them. Have any of them gone cold? Like dead fish. Are they starting to stink a bit? Corroded? Mildewed? How important are they to your life? (Please remember to look at relationships individually not as a lump of social obligations. I have exhibited very poor judgement in that arena in the past - baby/bathwater, you know how it goes.) Ask yourself one question: can I do something nice for this other person today? If you're currently angry with them then ask yourself if you need some space or if you need to tell them. If you just haven't kept in contact, then jolly well call them and have a ten minute chat. (And I know this is harder for guys than for girls, Anonymous, but I'm not taking any excuses.) The effect this will have on your life is like opening a window in your soul and letting the fresh air in.

So, to review:

1) What are you doing too much of? What is dull, dead and repetitive? Can you cut back on it or at least change the environment around that repetitiveness? How can you make it different?

2) What are you not doing enough of? (I assume you bathe regularly, but if not, please put that at the top of the list. You will feel better almost immediately. And speaking of which, one of these days try walking into the shower with all your clothes on. I highly recommend it.) No, seriously, there is probably something you really like/d and don't do nearly enough of currently. Figure out what it is and how you can put more of it in your life.

3) People: who, what, why, where. Take everybody's pulse and then think of something nice to do for them all. It helps. Especially since hopefully at least one of them will do something nice back which will make you feel even gooder.

4) And lastly, it is important to remember that sucky days are inevitable and should be taken with a grain of salt and an awareness that this will all pass and eventually THINGS WILL GET BETTER. They always do. (Things also always get worse, I'm sorry to say. I know it's not a very happy thought, but there it is. It's all a matter of which side of the cycle you're gonna focus on. I focus on the upside. Supposedly this makes me an optimist, but I think it's just laziness. Worrying burns calories and I burn enough doing absolutely nothing.)

Well, that's a rough version of my own philosophy and obviously not as tailored to Anonymous as I would like. I need to know more about him/her before I could confidently offer valid advice to his/her situation. Everybody's different, Anonymous. Your happiness is gonna look different than my happiness which looks different from ... somebody else's. The best part of enjoying life more is spending time thinking about what will make you happier and then doing it. Wheee! Doesn't that sound like fun?

Ok. Who else...

Never give up!

if all of us were right right now

this world makes me mad and sad and lost and lonely and just being in it sometimes overwhelms me and the choices are endless but the losses are too and if just once I did do something right from the gut free from constraints no fear and it was the right thing whatever that means and I broke free from some conundrum I seem to get into and life wasn't about inhibition, moral choices, consequences, destructive forces, deception, weakness, faith and hope if just for once life was a solid tangible thing like the color blue or umbrellas. one simple function, one simple role, one choice - and we all made that one choice (which would no longer be called "choice" obviously) all the time, every day so we got it right and there was no risk and no doubt and no fear and no hesitation and no scream building in the back of your head as you feel your resistance and resolve dissolve inside of you. would it be better?

I need a hug. where's a nephew when you need one?

strange urges

Have you ever been up high on a cliff or ledge of some sort and been overwhelmed by a horrible urge to throw yourself off into whatever abyss lies below you? Just the fact that the choice is yours to take your life into your own hands and all that would be required is a small physical motion of stepping forward - a movement you make every day of your life without thought or consequence - that thought alone spins your head and makes you grasp the ledge tighter and take a step back. Has that ever happened to you?

You know they say everything is connected and that you can't tease apart the brain and its compartments. They are interwoven. And the way you face a physical landscape like a cliff is how you would face a psychological or abstract landscape of similar proportions. A huge decision that you know quite well could crush or destroy you is right there in front of you... just waiting. Available. And it is sheer whim that you don't leap into the void and destroy yourself.

Although sometimes you do jump (usually because you have convinced yourself that something in you or more likely in someone else will catch you, save you, or snatch you out of the air and wisk you away from imminent danger.) and only after you have fully committed do you realize what you have done and wish and wish for the ledge you are leaving far behind. Man, life can be a buggaboo sometimes.

It's Show Time, Synergy!

So I have been wondering lately, what is the purpose of my life? What is the driving goal here? Or what's my overall effect supposed to be? When all is said and done, will I have "achieved" what I was set here to do? Was I set here to do something? Can I pick it out myself? I mean, is the something set in stone or is it flexible? Do I have to pick something at all? Or can I just sit back and enjoy the show without letting a bunch of people down? Do I have a moral obligation to "be all I can be" or can I sit on the sidelines without being lectured to in the afterlife? Will I have failed if I didn't do some "thing" that as of yet I don't know about? Was I supposed to have figured it out by now? Am and I being docked points for every minute, every second I spend frittering away my grand destiny?

Sigh. I think my dingy has gently floated past the last safety buoy and I am on my way out to sea, wondering if it's too late to consider getting a motor.

... and I can't even spell "dinghy" right.

"You're not going to make a virtue out of that, surely!"

Did you ever stop to ask yourself, "What are virtues anyways?" I mean we know that patience is a virtue, but is it the only one? Who decides what is or isn't a virtue? Where do virtues come from? Why are they called virtues? How many are there?

And since I didn't know, I did a little internet research:

1) First link in Google: The Virtues Project seeks to "support the moral and spiritual development of people of all cultures, by helping them to remember who they really are." By that I take it to mean that being unduly optomistic about human nature is a virtue. This site lists 52 virtues. And indeed, patience is one of them.

2) This Italian website lists all of the original virtues with their latin origin. 41 including patience. I think that first website is making stuff up. (It's funny how many of these words show up in politics and nowhere else.)

3) A third website has fewer virtues (12), but will sell you a cheesy poster to help you remember which one you picked. And probably need to work on. Patience doesn't have a poster most notably.

The etymology of virtue comes from the latin for manly fortitude or courage. St. Thomas defined virtue as "an essentially good habit."

There are four Cardinal virtues (from Greek philosophers): prudence, temperance, courage, and justice.
There are three theological virtues (from St. Paul): faith , hope, love.
There are seven Contrary virtues to counteract the seven deadly sins (as presented by the Catholic church): humility (pride), kindness (envy), abstinence (gluttony), chastity (lust), patience (anger), liberality (greed), diligence (sloth).

4) I also found out that The Virtues are a band. I was visitor #16440 to their site. Rock, rock on, Virtues!

5) And last but not least, here someone has pitted beer against tea in a battle of virtues. I think this technically doesn't count as a virtue, but it is a good example of how the word gets thrown around.

Random photo of the day:

Something about the way she holds the dog makes me uneasy.