Sunday Story...Be Here Now

Your body doesn’t lie. It carries with it every sling and arrow, every insult and injury, every time it was ignored and discounted. It is these traumas that arise when we begin to live in the present, in the here and now.

 

Your mind will deceive you or at least it will try. It will send you into the past which it has sanitized and made pleasant so you may stay ignorant of your injuries. Your mind will send you into the future where all the injuries and insults never occur.

 

The decision to live in the present is a decision to heal. A decision to force the mid to come to terms with the body and all it carries along. In the present, the past is just that…past. In the present the future holds no interest for there is nothing there yet.

 

In the present we cannot deny our shadow, we cannot ignore our imperfections and shortcomings; we can lie to ourselves no longer. Living in a world of projection (for the future), denying, and rationalizing (from the past) allows us to stay safe and comfortable. But none of this is the truth.

 

To tell yourself the truth, to face the facts of your experience requires you to be present in this moment, the here and now. This is the most difficult of tasks.

 

Be here now. Simple, not easy.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sundaystories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…Appreciation

You have welcomed my essays into your inbox for some time now. I am not sure I have ever thanked you for allowing me into your space. Thank-you. I am deeply grateful that you allow me the privilege of sharing my thoughts with you.

 

The practice of gratitude is one of the most powerful practices you can maintain. Deep gratitude is a gift to you. It will increase the serotonin in your body, help you with a positive mental outlook and keep your mood upbeat.

 

Spending 10 minutes in the morning and writing down 3 things you are truly thankful for will help create a sense of accomplishment even though you haven’t done a thing. These three things can be anything but I would exhort you to think globally. One thing may be gratitude for the body you have; another may be the prosperity and abundance you are experiencing. No matter what negatives you might think about those two things right now there are still a lot of people in the world who would gladly trade places with you.

 

If you do the same thing in the evening but this time expressing gratitude for 3 things that you found to be thankful for during the day your sleep will be deeper, more rejuvenating and you will fall asleep faster (since you are going to sleep with positive energy, not anxiety.)

 

 

Here’s a thought for you to express upon awakening…Thank you for blessing me with another day.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Seriously

“Will you spend all your time chasing money only to spend all your money chasing health?”

You don’t have to shift 180 degrees. You don’t even have to make a sharp left turn. But you do need to start to prioritize a little differently. There will come a time in the not-so-distant future where it will be too late for preventative measures and you will be in full-on fire fighting mode.

 

“If you don’t make time now for your health and fitness you will be forced to make time later for your illness.”

It’s hard to make your fitness at the forefront. There are so many more pressing things to do. Right now though, you still have a choice. And if you start now that choice will remain with you. But if you don’t do it the choice will be taken from you and you will end up spending your time and money on doctor’s appointments.

 

“Working out is hard. Eating right is hard. Spending all your time in pain and trying to find your health again is harder.”

It wasn’t easy to get to the level of success you have achieved. You worked your tail off. You made compromises. You did what needed to be done to get there. This is no different. It won’t be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.

 

“You don’t find the time to work out. You make the time.”

The time is now. Let’s go.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…The Golden Rule

We all know what it is. Virtually every religion has some version of it. Most of us are schooled in it from a very early age. It is both simple and easy to understand…treat others the way you want to be treated.

 

Here is today’s question:

If we agree that the golden rule is a good maxim to help us live a good and harmonious life why aren’t we treating ourselves better?

 

Honestly, the most important person in your daily life is you. Yet many people don’t eat good nutritious food, don’t get enough rest, do little to no exercise, pollute their minds with meaningless drivel, and have an interior monologue of negativities. Do you really want other people to treat you the way you treat yourself?

 

Are you ok if I throw some junk food at you, call you names, make you stay up all hours of the day and night, and fill your airwaves with information and entertainment whose sole purpose is to make you feel worse about yourself? Really? You are Ok with that?

 

I didn’t think so. Instead of spouting off about how poorly people are treating you and others around you, maybe taking a look at how you talk to yourself and treat yourself is in order.

 

Just think about it. And then try to treat yourself better. If it doesn’t work you can always go back to abusing yourself when you’re done treating yourself well.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…Decline vs. Decay

 

Ever since about age 30 or so we have all been declining. Our hormones peaked, our physicality began to plateau and we started the gentle slide into the next phase of life. Then beginning at 45 or so the decline got a little steeper. And by the time 60 hit for most people the decline became a slippery slope and decay began in earnest.

 

Decay doesn’t have to start. While you were focused on your family, your career, and your retirement plans you forgot about the physical body you inhabit. All the money in the world won’t stop the inevitable decay your body is going to exhibit if you don’t make some changes. The doctors are going to tell you it's all part of the aging process. The doctors are mistaken.

 

Yes, the decline may be inevitable but the slope doesn’t have to be steep. And decay can be stopped, paused, and reversed. It’s up to you. You get to decide what the next few years are going to look like.  Are you going to resign yourself to a swift progression to immobility, decay, and disease? Or are you going to dust yourself off and decide that the once true and certain future doesn’t belong to you?

 

Look in the mirror and ask yourself this:

Am I ready to get off my rear and get after life? Or am I going to accept the accelerated decline and inevitable decay we have seen so many others go through?

 

Decide soon.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.com

775-338-2412