So.. I scheduled today’s other post like a week and a half ago. Nothing tells you how much of a big whiner you are than your past self whining at you today! I’m doing a lot better now. I started the rapid fit program with Dez this week. I have one word for it: brutal. The diet is totally doable, and I enjoy it for the most part but the exercise requirements are a bit crazy. It’s only day 3 but I’m worn out. I’m not going to stop though, mostly because I feel like I am capable of doing anything and having the energy to do so after this kind of day. Yesterday was pretty typical. I woke up, went to work, did one pretty harsh workout at boot camp, and then went to the park for an additional hour of running/walking. Then even though I thought I’d be destroyed, I found myself with the energy to run to Barnes & Noble, JoAnn Fabrics, Publix and back home to cook myself dinner and be in bed by 10pm. I even plowed through a book until 2am or so and then went to sleep. Rousing myself by 8am was actually kind of easy. I even spoke to my mom about wedding finances over the phone yesterday without wanting to go outside, lay on the asphalt and have a tantrum.
This is the power of an amazing workout.
For some reason God only knows, I keep forgetting that adding 1-2 hours of P90x type activity + time alone in the calm solitude of nature adds nearly 4-6 hours of energy to my day. The days I’m most useless and letting my emotions dictate how I feel are the days I haven’t gotten my workout in.
I need to cling hard to my exercise time. It’s the only time during the day that I can clear my mind of everything. The extra hour in the park is like time with God. I am alone, with the birds and the trees and the wind as my only companions and I am drawn easily into a spiritual communion with God. I lay my fears, worries, anger, and solitude out in front of him. I don’t get answers or anything, but I definitely feel a sense of relief, and my sense of aloneness in these situations dissipates. It’s been pretty great. It’s solidified my day so far.
I took this picture with my phone walking up a hill at McDaniel Farm Park, where I was Monday. Seriously, thank you Gwinnett County Parks and Rec.
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I get that! When I was in middle school, my parents moved to the house they’re in now. It’s on a lake, and I would always escape (from my family, haha) and go down the woods to the lake by myself (or just me and dog and the cats that followed me from the house). I would spend hours down there by myself feeling some physical distance from everyone I lived with and loving it. I especially loved it in the summers when the water was lower and the sun’s rays would make the red clay bank on the other side of the lake glow like fire during sunset. I think I needed it most in the summers before I could drive because I would be stuck in the house all day, and I was about as different from my parents and siblings as I could get. Like you, it was an escape from everything in my life and made me feel closer to God. I could vent a bit out there, even if it was all in my head. And then I could breathe again. I felt like God got me out there. Then when I turned 16, it was when I drove. I could just get away and think. Tom lived 30 minutes away, so I always had plenty of time to myself while driving to and from hanging out with him and our friends. It’s amazing the way God creates us all differently and how different things help us feel closer to Him. For Tom it’s music. For you, it’s clearly nature. Kind of neat. =)
Nature’s pretty awesome.
Music is really good too. Immersing yourself in the vibration of the strings is pretty awesome. I played violin for a solid decade..and used to practice at time for hours.. and then just stopped. I keep thinking to pick it back up but I haven’t. :/ Not enough hours in my day yet. :/
Maybe I’ll just quit working one day and go be a liberal arts hippie for a while. Sounds like an appealing pipe dream from time to time. :)
There’s always retirement. :) Haha.