Daily log 5/25/17

My bicycle tire popped again and I failed to fix it though I had all the back up tools because my pump is faulty. I'm reluctant to get it fixed if it forces me to run/walk or skate everywhere instead. But the money saved over time cycling and not taking the bus may win out for me. Worked on a big ol lache pre and failed on it a bunch of times by not sticking it. I actually did one that was pretty good but it felt like a fluke I could tell that my problem was mostly mental so I did a few forfeits. I made one slightly good pre at the end and avoided having to do a bunch of L sits. But I still ended up having to do 100 pullups, 100 pushups, and 50 pistols on each leg. Pretty much ended my pk session and turned it into struggle town. I noticed that though I had to suffer through these reps, the necessity of them put me in a much more open mindset, not nearly as reluctant to do some work. "I must do these things so I will do these things" versus "these things are optional so maybe I can stop this point or that point".

My pull ups took the longest and I switched between chinups. I never went over sets of 3. I can only do about 8 or 9 pushups before my arms start to give out. I did my pistols in sets of 10 using a vertical pole since I'm still lacking a surplus of ankle dorsiflexion. I also tried to finish by 10pm otherwise I'd have to do 30 minutes worth of L-sits today. I'm about 15 seconds in and will get it done throughout the day. I need the push to do these things sometimes. It's not a punishment in my opinion, it is just trading one kind of mental difficulty for another. Yes it's difficult for the body, but it will follow suit given even just a little bit of rest.

"The causes of suffering are internal". 

I finished this talk finally. I have such appreciation for this guy. I've done a review of his "Attention Revolution"  book and I always find his talks motivating/uplifting/clarifying. There is a lot of jargon thrown around but one gets used to it reading buddhist texts and all that. He mentions this video in the above talk and even though it is a joke skit, I think it points out the brilliance of meditative practices in that it is actually possible to "stop it" when it comes to rumination, negative ideation, etc. It's just that people don't know about this stuff so they don't think it is worth the effort when they hear a soundbite about it. They don't connect up meditation with anything that has to do with their mental issues. Obviously this line of thinking can go too far but I believe if a person can maintain their attention on the breath for even a few seconds, many of the benefits of meditation are possible with training. Quite a low bar, isn't it? (another caveat: probably doesn't work for everyone depending on certain conditions. But it's worth saying that it should work for most people) Anyway I'm in love with this idea of being both the originator and liberator of my mental suffering. I find it so empowering and it sets my priorities. 

Food log: 

Rice and veggies

Beans

3 bananas

5 pluots

Some pineapple

Strawberries

A late night veggie pizza. Too expensive Jesus. Veggies good, whole wheat bread not so bad, daiya cheese terrible.