When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘We,’ even ‘Illness’ becomes ‘Wellness.’
Author: markbartels
Just be
“In today’s rush we all think too much – seek too much – want too much – and forget about the joy of just being.”
— Eckhart Tolle
Crossing the border
“I find I’m so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.” – Red in Shawshank Redemption on his way to The Mexican beach of Zihuatanejo, on the Pacific Coast.
What a beautiful quote from Shawshank. Red (Morgan Freeman) has stepped into the unknown. He’s excited about the uncertainty and the friends he’ll meet along the way. In a sense, he’s woken up – and crossing the border from darkness to enlightenment. Love it.
In 2003 a surf trip took me down the west coast of Mexico. I spent some time in Zihuatanejo and thought about the moment in the book where Red walks barefoot down the beach and sees Andy working on the boat.
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Toe breathing
Toe breathing? Yup, your toes breath if you concentrate on them. Ready to try?
Okay. Take a pause. Relax your shoulders, eyes, and jaw. Feel the ground on your feet and wiggle your toes, so you know they are there. Take a deep breath through your nose and feel the air enter your body. Imagine the same fresh air coming your lungs, tummy, legs, feet and finally your toes. Feel the body expanding. It’s like blowing up a balloon. Imagine the clean oxygenated air reaching the very tips of your toes and that everything it touches on the way down is cleansed.
Now exhale slowly. As you exhale, imagine your body deflating slowing and breathing out the stale air. All of the aches, pains, anxiety leave the body with that exhalation.
Is like rinse and repeat. Try it 3 times. Concentrating on the toes will make you breath deeper and slow down the exercise. Remember to the breath through your nose and relax the shoulders and face.
Stay grounded today and enjoy.
The Great Hunger and the Little Hunger
“The Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert talk about the two “hungers”. There is the Great Hunger and there is the Little Hunger. The Little Hunger wants food for the belly; but the Great Hunger, the greatest hunger of all, is the hunger for meaning…
There is ultimately only one thing that makes human beings deeply and profoundly bitter, and that is to have thrust upon them a life without meaning.
There is nothing wrong in searching for happiness. But of far more comfort to the soul is something greater than happiness or unhappiness, and that is meaning. Because meaning transfigures all. Once what you are doing has for you meaning, it is irrelevant whether you’re happy or unhappy. You are content – you are not alone in your Spirit – you belong.”
― Laurens van der Post
Thank you to @SocratixSW1 for the share
Why not now?
I received this piece from a friend. I don’t know the source, but thought I’d post in its entirety. Enjoy
Authenticity scarcity
I’m long on this trend. Will see this in writing, business and politics. People are craving authentic and real interactions. A handwritten note, admitting to screw-ups, compassion and vulnerability. Run your business with authenticity as a goal. Show up in your writing, in your relationships, and with customers. Being authentic takes courage, but it’s what people will crave in the digital decade.
11 Top Reading Recs
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. My take: Entrepreneurial spirit and grit
Hatching Twitter – Nick Bilton. My take: Timing, execution, brilliance, luck intertwined with a living and breathing community of users who love the product.
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage – Alfred Lansing. My take: The only team and leadership book you should read.
My First Summer in the Sierra – John Muir. My take: Captures the raw beauty of the Sierras, Yosemite and California.
The Painted Veil – W. Somerset Maugham. My take: A beautiful love story
The Razor’s Edge – W. Somerset Maugham. My take: About the search for enlightenment. Very zen, before zen was cool.
The Elephant Whisperer – Lawrence Anthony. My take: About a mans love for the bush and it’s animals. You’ll never look at elephants the same way again.
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas. My take: Love, vengeance and forgiveness. A wonderful adventure novel.
Dune – Frank Herbert. My take: The best sci-fi novel out there.
Watership Down – Richard Adams. My take: Game of Thrones, but with rabbits. Deep and mystical.
Kill Your Friends – John Niven. My take: Dark humor and something completely different. If you’ve ever lived in London it will be even funnier.
The sounds of sacred places
Take a listen to the early morning sounds of the bush in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Audio via @SocratixSW1
10 Strong Things
Mothers
Immigrants
Hospital nurses
The rip current at Ocean Beach, San Francisco
The bond with the place of your birth
First responders
Speaking truth to power
Vulnerability
Saying I love you
Staying humble and kind
markbartels.org 