Truth & Transitions

"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission." - Neil Kendall

 

Myrtle Beach, SC

Sometimes, I feel like that second grader who can not pay attention to the teacher's lesson on State capitals and writing cursive (do they still teach that?) because I'm too busy staring out the window, wondering if it's time for recess.  I'm jealous of the birds and the squirrels and yearning for the feel of the sunshine on my face.  I fear that if I was actually in second grade, I would have been prescribed Ritalin long ago, when in reality the simple cure for what ails me is a five to ten minute break every hour to run and jump around like a cheetah...

...or a second grader.

This is going to sound very Paleo of me (I'm a vegetarian), but I fully believe that human beings were NOT meant to be sedentary.  (Then again, neither were cats, though all ours do is sleep all day long. But that is a post for another day, and will more than likely contain this video.)  I'm not saying to go out and hunt your next wild cheeseburger, but what I mean is this: we were meant to  run, to climb, to sweat, to feel our lungs scream and our heart pound.  We were meant to live, to thrive, to MOVE.

When did that change?

Rhetorical question, of course.  It happened somewhere in the span of time between the moment we no longer had to chase down our food and when Bill Gates got a hold of his first computer.  Perhaps on an individual level, it is somewhere between the ages of 9-11.   Suddenly doing what we were designed to do has become an evil chore known as "exercise".  We dread it, we loathe it, we wish we didn't have to do it, and we envy those who seem to have endless motivation to do it. 

It's crap.

Sometimes, in the past,  I've wondered what is wrong with me. Why is it that I feel such discontent with sitting around for hours watching TV?  Why is it that standing around doing nothing eats away at me, when others often welcome the tedious nothingness? Why was it, when I was content with such a lifestyle, that I felt horrible? Lethargic, anxious, weak, unconfident. Why, as grown adults, are we given the sideways "something must be wrong with you" glance when we express themselves with energetic movement (spontaneous, excited, jumping is totally normal, folks.)   Human beings were blessed with amazing bodies. Seriously, the things we are physically capable are simply astounding. You can thank God, thank Mother Nature, thank your mom and dad for their DNA, thank whomever you want for your body, but do them a favor and don't waste the gift you were given. There is this beautiful playground out there for all of us to play in. It's called the outdoors.  It is free and it is endless, and far more entertaining than The HouseWives of New Jersey or Words With Friends.   It pains my heart that it is completely standard for people to be confined in dark buildings for the entirety of the daylight hours (can you feel my cabin fever yet?), and even more so that we are all OK with that.

Summit of Mt. Monadnock, NH

Whoops, soap box. Sorry.

Point being, some people are not bothered by the aforementioned issues. And that is fine. 

But it bothers me.

I know that I'm not going to change society with my ranting and rambling. I know that quitting our 9-5 jobs in favor of hiking adventures and grown up recess is not feasible or very likely.  But I still can not let go of the notion that as a society, we are settling for mediocrity.  We are simply surviving, we are not truly living.

 All along, this has been the driving force behind following my dreams.  For two reasons, really. One, I refuse to settle for a boring, mundane, lethargic life, just because society deems it "normal".   And two, I don't think anyone else should suffer that sentence either.  It has been a frustrating road at times, to step out and pursue something far out of the "box", but I never stopped believing. And suddenly, the pieces are falling into place. 

Merrell shoot, San Diego, CA

Last week, I started a new job, writing for a major website.  Writing from home, where I can stop at any given moment and bust out a set of burpees, take a lunch break run, or just jump up and start dancing when Pandora plays a song I love.  I have a job that is going to make our move back to SC easier, and a job that is going to allow me to spend more time with my kids.   And most importantly, I have a job that now affords me the time to reach out and get more people moving, both through social media and one on one hands on training.

I'm geeked, you guys. So much so, I keep busting out in random dance and/or pull up competitions with myself.

I still have a long road ahead of me to get to where I want to be, to see the dreams I have for my career and the adventure that is my life continue to come to fruition.  But it is such an amazing feeling to know that I'm on my way, and an even more amazing feeling to know it's on the path to something I am so incredibly passionate about.

Thank you, friends, for following my adventure.   Thank you for inspiring me daily, for supporting me when I needed it, for reading the words I am so compelled to share, and for helping me realize that my dreams are worth pursuing.   You all have played a bigger role than you know. 

Point of this rambling: Get up. Move. Pursue your dreams, and never ever sell yourself short.  You are amazing.