Category Archives: Psychology

Colorado, Exercise, Existentialism, Fort Collins, Life and Meaning, Meditations, Psychology, Quad Rock 50, Truth and Perception

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 5TH, MAY 2019

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“Relax enough, and your body becomes so familiar with the cradle rocking rhythm that you almost forget you’re moving. And once you break through to that soft, half levitating flow, that’s when the mooonlight and champagne show up.” Ann Trason (From the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall)

“I thought, man, if you could run 100 miles, you’d be in this Zen state. You’d be the f**king Buddha. Bringing peace and a smile to the world. In my case, it didn’t work. I’m the same old punk ass as ever. But there’s always this hope that it’ll turn you into the person you want to be. You know, like a better, more peaceful person. And when I’m out on a long run, the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn’t going ‘bleh bleh bleh bleh.’ Everything just quiets down, and the only thing going on is the pure flow.” Jenn Shelton

“But the longer and further I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind – a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus.” Scott Jurek

Wow another great two weeks. Marvin is getting a lot bigger!! When we first got him at 8 weeks he was 19lbs. This past Wednesday he was around 30.4lbs. We figured that he would grow but dang, always amazed at how fast it occurs. The socialization is continuing. He has probably surpassed the magical number of 100 different humans that he has met and countless numbers of other dogs. So I am hoping that this really pays off in the long run. It is interesting in that the fear factor seems to ebb and flow. One day he is fearful of the trash truck, or the Geese. Then the next day, they are not a problem. And vise versa? If Janet and I are both out walking him things are a little better. Not sure what that is about?

This photo was taken on Wednesday 1st, May 2019. Now 11 weeks old and 30.4lbs. I think that he has the sitting thing down for the moment. Lol. They say repetition and consistency are the key!

Finishing up some training ,in preparation for the Quad Rock 50. If I can do this it will be earliest in the year that I have run a 50 miler and that would be pretty cool. The last couple of weeks have been a slow taper so that I am fully rested and ready to go on May 11th. I have been fortunate to experience some wonderful afternoon weather the last 2 weeks. Just beautiful. Of course each week is different and it is Spring time in Colorado, so you still have to throw a little snow into the mix. Lol

This picture was taken Thursday 25th, April 2019. What an afternoon. Warm but not too warm. Clean air from a little bit of wind. Beautiful!

Watching the news over the last couple of weeks. There were two events that got me to thinking about the meaninglessness of life in general. One involved a person going to work on his motorcycle, just the average guy on his way to work, enjoying the beautiful morning, and bam, hit by a car and killed. Game over. The second one involved a wreck down by Denver on I-70 eastbound, coming out of the mountains. Guy driving a semi loses his breaks and plows into multi other cars, killing four people. Again, these were people on their way home, from work, from the store, from whatever. But again, bam! Game over. Both events awful. No meaning, no redeeming quality what so ever. A senseless loss of life in every respect.

This picture was also taken Thursday 25th, April 2019. It is looking West at the Prospect Ponds open space in Fort Collins.

At first I got depressed just thinking about them. And while this would not be unusual for anybody to feel this way. I started to obsesses about them a little bit. I think it had to do with the fact that both of these hit close to home for me. I have been that guy on the motorcycle, riding to work, enjoying the morning, but did not get hit by the car. And I have been that guy driving down I-70, coming back from a wonderful day of skiing, looking and seeing the semi’s in the rear view mirror and wondering if their breaks would hold? And they did.

This picture was taken Friday 26th, April 2019. It is from an open space called Pineridge. It is just west of town but still in town. I think that it gives a beautiful view of Fort Collins.

I know that there are those that would say it was some “supreme beings will” that it was not my time to go. But I don’t believe that. I believe it really is just a matter of chance and luck. A quote that sticks in my head from when I first moved to Colorado and took my first Avalanche class was by the director at the time, Knox Williams. And it goes something like this. “Remember the mountains are full of dead experts. You read about it all the time, he or she was an expert skier, hiker, biker, snowshoer, etc… and they are all dead. The mountain does not care.” To extrapolate this further. I would say that the “Universe does not care.”

This picture was taken on Tuesday 30th, April 2019. Hate to use an old cliche’ but dang, “What a difference a day makes!”

Some might find this really depressing, and I did for a very short period of time. But it soon gave way to a kind of liberation. To realize that all our worrying, our anxieties, our fretting in whatever we are doing to get all the “details” just right. Does not really matter in the end. You could have been the model employee for the corporation, the faultless parent, the ultimate spouse, the quintessential neighbor, etc…. And bam! Game over. None of it mattered, your dead. Wow! That does sound depressing, but is it?

This picture was also taken Tuesday 30th, April 2019, but in the afternoon. And that is what I love about Colorado. Most of the snow had moved out. The bike trail was clear and it was another beautiful Colorado afternoon.

I for one don’t think that it is. I put forth that it is liberating. There is no deity, no person, no organization that you are beholding to. No provisos, no dogma, no limitations that are written in stone. You are free to determine your own destiny. For good or bad there is no “big eye” in the sky watching you. At least not a made up “magical one.” At some point technology will allow this to occur but that discussion is for another story. Of course what I am describing here is Existentialism. And some may say that I am having an “Existential Crisis.” Lol. And I guess that could be the case. But I don’t believe so. I think last weeks events were just a reminder of how I have felt for a long time, down deep. This coming May I will have been in the health care field for 40 years with the majority of that time spent in Emergency Medicine. And it has shaped my perspective on life to say the least. I truly believe that there is no meaning to life. It is just a jumble of random events that happen to us. If you want meaning you have to bring it. You have to create your own story. Not the other way around. And with this comes freedom but at the same time a considerable responsibility. Some can handle this responsibility and some can’t.

This picture was taken Wednesday 1st, May 2019. What a beautiful evening. Had no idea that the sun and clouds were going to give such a beautiful sunset. This picture was taken from the Powerline Trail in Fort Collins and usually does not have such fantastic views. Being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference.

Finding our own meaning takes some significant digging. It is not for the faint of heart. The first step is taking the time to find out “who you are” and this takes a lot of inner work. But one place to start this process is with meditation. I know, I know. I can hear it now. “I am not going to do that new age bulls**t.” But in reality, this tool, and that is all it is, goes back 1000s and 1000s of years. You don’t have to become Buddhist, or sit for hours chanting “OM”. You can start the process in as little as 5 minutes per day and build up from there. I keep track of my time spent meditating with a phone app. Somedays it is a long one, depending on the time I have available and others it is just 5 minutes. Meditation helps to open a door or window into who your “real self” might be. And that my friends is powerful.

This picture was also taken Wednesday 1st, May 2019, but just a few minutes later from the one above. Unreal that the colors could change so dramatically.

Well I think that is going to be about it for me on this blog post. Time to move forward off of the soapbox and on to other things. Existentialism Crisis solved?! Lololololol. No, I don’t think so and that is part of the “struggle” in being human. Let me know if you have had these same feelings? And what your solutions might have been. I would love to hear from you.

I hope everyone has had a great two weeks and I am looking forward to the next two. I will let you know how the Quad Rock goes. Take care and I hope to see you out there! Where ever “out there” may be. Adios amigos!!

This picture and the one below was taken on Friday 3rd, May 2019. What a beautiful afternoon here in Colorado. A good breeze in the right direction so the air was clean. This picture was taken looking southeast from Horsetooth Mountain Park.
Again, same day as the one above, but looking West towards Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. Beautiful!!

Dogs, Exercise, Psychology, Religion, Science, Sociology

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 7TH, APRIL 2019

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“Science is different to all the other systems of thought… because you don’t need faith in it, you can check that it works.” Brian Cox

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.” Joseph Campbell

“Big History studies the history of everything, offering a way of making sense of our world and our role within it.” David Christian

Dang what can I say, it has been another great 2 weeks and I cannot complain too much! I always laugh at that. Truly, living here in Fort Collins and being healthy enough to do the things that I do. Wow!! There are so many circumstances, situations, decisions, people, etc.. that I am grateful for. As I have gotten older, it has become readily apparent that things could have gone a much different path in so many ways. I think that a lot has to do with just plain dumb luck. Being in the right place at the right time. Of course some things could have gone better. There are times we all wish we could have done something different, or handled a situation a little better. But right now, at this moment, things are pretty awesome.

This picture was taken Wednesday 27th, March 2019. It is looking North across Horsetooth Lake. Here you can see clouds building in due to an approaching spring storm. It was a beautiful afternoon of trail running. The temps were in the 50 to 60 range.

Came across an article the other day called “Why we need a modern origin story today.” This article was written by David Christian. He is the guy that has become notable for pushing and teaching the discipline called “Big History.” And I have to say that this was the first time I have ever really looked at the concept. I mean history is history right? I know that it is open to interpretation and all, but still what is the difference between “Regular History” and the concept of “Big History.” So I dived into it and found that it looks at a much broader picture of things. It starts at the Big Bang and goes forward. It explores all of our history and not just the last 5000 years. It is a blending of a multitude of different fields, physics, geology, chemistry, astronomy, biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc…. I mean you could pretty much say it is a history of everything, but on a much grander time scale. Big History focus on the Universe and how humanity fits into this framework and the not the other way around.

This picture was taken Thursday 28th, March 2019. Here I am looking North from the top of Horsetooth Mountain Park. Again another beautiful day. The only fly in the ointment was the air quality. It could have been a little better. The winds were from the east and there is a lot of oil and gas development in Weld County, over 20 thousand well heads. Combine this with the sheer volume of transportation traffic and it does degrade the air quality quite a bit. Compare this picture with the above picture that was taken the day before. The dullness in the bottom one was due to front range smog.

I have the firm belief that Big History is what needs to be taught in schools. And one way I see doing this is by changing our “Origin Story.” We need a modern one. There has been so much knowledge gained in the twentieth century that there is an increasing need to see and teach how it all fits together. Thinking about when some of the current religions were laid down a few things become readily apparent. Foremost in my mind, we really did not know that much about the world around us and almost nothing about the Universe out past earth. That has changed and will continue to do so at an every expanding rate. Don’t believe me. Just start following Physics.org. https://phys.org/ Heck you don’t even have to read the articles. Just follow it and see how much stuff comes out each day, each week. Unreal the rate of learning/change going on in the world today. There is no way the “old religions” can keep up. Thinking that they can is hubris on all our parts. There is an old saying that as our tools change, so does our reality. And let me tell you, our tools have changed.

This picture was taken Friday 29th, March 2019. Again, wow!! What a difference a day makes. The storm dumped some much needed moisture, but was short lived. Most of the snow was gone by mid-morning the next day. This picture is looking east from a deck over the garage of our house.

So to put this all together, to deal with the increasing complexity of the world, we need a modern origin story. A way to help people and especially young people get a sense of what their position is in the grander scheme of things when it comes to humanity and our place in the Universe. Doesn’t that sound strange, “Our place in the Universe” and not the other way around? The time for the “Egocentric View” is past. We need an origin story that is “science based” and not one that is still, please excuse the expression, “magical zoo boat thinking.” Does this mean we need to throw everything out with the old religions? I for one don’t think so. I believe that just like any good parable or story, there are some great things to be learned in the old mythologies. After all they have been modified over thousands of years to help explain human nature and behavior. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel to teach the same thing. The question becomes, why not incorporate some of this hard earned knowledge into a Science Base Origin story?

This picture was taken on Monday 29th, March 2019. What a beautiful day. Fantastic air quality along the Front Range of Colorado. Here I am looking North, by North East from atop Authors Rock in Lory State Park.

Let’s face it. Are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist, etc… ever going to get together on a consistent basis around the proverbial campfire, holding hands and singing Kumbaya? Really?! I think that most of you will agree with me that it might happen every now and then but on a consistent basis? Hell, look at all the death and destruction just in the Muslim world over Islam. You could say the same about Christianity and the other religions at different times. As the world becomes more and more complex, as science advances forward, the only way I can see humanity surviving is by working together and the first step in doing this is creating a Modern Science Based Origin Story. And teaching Big History is the first step. We need, for lack of a better phrase, a Universal Belief System, that is based in Scientific fact, that is changeable as new data is obtained and analyzed. So that people from around the world, in very different cultures, will be able to connect, cooperate and strive toward the betterment of humanity. Instead of subjugating and killing each other over frivolous, make-believe superstitions.

This picture was taken on Wednesday 3rd, April 2019. Here I am looking West by North West from an Open Space in Fort Collins called Prospect Ponds. Truly just a beautiful afternoon. Enough wind in the area to keep the air fresh, but not too much to make it chilly.

Wow! I just reread this and I am amazed how strongly I believe in this view?! What is that about?? So enough! I know that I might have offended a few that are very religious, but that was not my intent. I just want you to question the status quo.

Please do a Google and YouTube search if you are interested about the concept of Big History. I think you will find it is well worth your time and effort.

This picture was taken on Sunday 28th, March 2019. A soon to be new family member!! No, no I am talking about the puppy and not Janet. LOL I am thinking that we are going to be a little extra busy in the next couple of weeks.

Time to post a puppy picture!! It was taken at Balto Farms near Boulder. They breed King Shepherds among other things. Check them out at: https://www.7957farm.com/ or https://www.7957farm.com/kings and you can find them on Facebook at Colorado King Shepherds.

Looks like the ski season is going to be extended this year thanks to mother nature. And that is a very good thing. Hope to see you out there, either on the ski slope or running on the trails. Take care my friends. And if your trail running, watch for snakes and cats. It is the season. Adios!!

Book Review, Colorado, Exercise, Fort Collins, Psychology, Religion, Science, Skiing, Sociology, Trail Running

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 10TH, FEBRUARY 2019

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“When complexity makes knowledge difficult to attain, we are organisms that substitutes knowledge with beliefs.”

“The uneven rate of change between biology and complexity causes a gap to occur.”

“We become susceptible to manipulation and ideology and follow false prophets.”

“Public policy becomes shaped by irrational beliefs, rather than knowledge of fact.”

Rebecca Costa

This picture was taken on Monday 28th of January 2019, the open space in question is between Fort Collins and Loveland. It is called Coyote Ridge Open Space. A very nice trail with few visitors for a Monday. On the weekend it can get pretty busy due to the fact that it is a connector trail for longer distances. The afternoon in question was beautiful with temps right at 30 degrees and a slight breeze.

Well it has been another two weeks and I am going to say here that life is pretty good at the moment. Got some skiing in and that is a very good thing. I think it had been over a month since I last went. Not sure what that was about but it happens. The trail running the last couple of weeks has been fantastic here in Fort Collins. It has been cold but not like Midwest Cold. Wow! We have not seen temperatures like that in a very long time. There is some thought that this is related to Global Warming. I know that it does not seem that way but when you start looking at the science, some of the dots start to connect. I guess in the end, time will tell as the research continues. One of the things to remember is that weather and climate are two different things even though they are related.

Another picture from Monday the 28th of January 2019. The sun was out and just starting to set. It was in full force on this rock ridge. It really brought out the colors in the rock. Totally different from the picture above. Same area but a different open space called Rim Rock Ridge. Both are right next to each other.

I am reading a new book that is called the Watchman’s Rattle by Rebecca Costa. I became interested in her when I watched a TED talk by her. It has to do with Societal Collapse. It actually came out in 2012 and I believe that this is her first book. A more recent book by Rebecca is called On the Verge. I did not get this one because it is not on Audio book and I am way behind on regular reading. But I plan to in the future. In her first book, she comes up with some interesting ideas about what happens to a society when technology out paces the ability of the residents to keep up. I think the book is much more relevant now than it was back in 2012. In particular this last election with the Evangelical Christians, Flat Earthers, Anti-Vaccination people, Anti – global Warming individuals, the lets “Bring dirty coal” back people, and the list could go on and on. She makes the case that as complexity makes knowledge more difficult to attain, or as my wife likes to say “Overwhelming”, we as humans start to substitute knowledge with beliefs. And she makes the argument that this is what has happened to ancient societies that collapsed like the Mayans, the Romans, etc…

This book can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Watchmans-Rattle-Radical-Theory-Collapse/dp/1593156863/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?crid=VMGYGGUY98ZQ&keywords=watchmans+rattle&qid=1549827324&s=gateway&sprefix=watchmans+r%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

Costa is a Sociology-biologist. She based a lot of her research on Dr. Richard Dawkins 1976 book “The Selfish Gene.” In her book she uses the term Super-memes which are any widely accepted information, thoughts, feelings or behaviors. And she feels that they have the capacity to compete with each other just like genes do in Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Another words they compete in a sense to become accepted in our minds and our society whether they are true or not. There is an actually study of memes, called Memetics. Check it out on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics

I had no idea. Costa calls them “super-memes” when they get to a point that they block us from the very solutions we seek to all the complexity we see in the world. Another name that she uses for this blocking is “Gridlock.” It occurs or you can know that it is occurring when there is opposition across the board to any meaningful solution to a major problem. Thinking about this, the first thing that comes to my mind is “Gun Control.” It is a complex issue and you see a lot of “irrational opposition” to any attempt at fixing the system. It is as if people are more comfortable rejecting remedies rather than advocating solutions.

This picture was taken on Thursday, January 31st. I just loved the shape of this huge cottonwood tree. The weather was warm enough for me to ride my bike on Thursday, above 50 degrees for me. This picture was take on the Boyd Lake Trail.

Another example of this blocking, I think, is in Health Care. Again, before the attempted and partial repeal of what has become known as “Obama Care,” I heard from individuals on both sides of the fence. Some that hated it, because their premiums went up and others that loved it because they could now actually get insurance on their preexisting conditions. But with the current congress and president, it has become gridlocked. It will be interesting to see after the next elections if anything is concretely done or just a kind of band-aid fix. Again nothing really going anywhere. One size that fits some but not others, back to a mish-mash of plans that really don’t address the issues or cover people adequately.

This picture was taken on Thursday, February 7th. It was at the Loveland Ski Area which sits right at the Eisenhower Tunnel off of Interstate 70. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Much warmer (25 degrees) than when I left Fort Collins (12 degrees) that morning. There was a little bit of wind but that did not really show up in force until later in the afternoon. Most of the terrain for the ski area sits at around 11,000 feet.

I could go on about her book but I think I will leave it for now. I do recommend it. Remember it was written in 2012 and some predictions in the book she got right and a few she got wrong; somethings did get fixed and some are still broken. I think if I had read the book back in 2012, I would not have appreciated it as much as I do now. Interesting to say the least.

On a similar note, I had a interesting, short FB exchange with a family relative on whether something she was posting on FB was true or not. When another friend of hers called her out on it and showed her where a fact checking service said it was false. She went off about how the “fact checking service” was wrong. And that the “fact checking service” was infiltrated by “liberals” and that was why she could not trust them. I was kind of dumbfounded for a moment. This is an educated woman that used to teach school to kids. I could see it…., if it had come from one of my uneducated or partially educated “hillbilly like” relatives. But no this was from an educated one. Oh well what can you say to that… Obviously I won’t be spending the holidays with her…. Lololololol.

This picture was taken taken Wednesday 30th, January 2019. It was at the trail head to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins. I had just finished a trail run and the sunset was just stunning to say the least. This is my favorite picture of the last two weeks.

Before I finish here, I would like to pass on a quote by the author Neil Gaiman. I came across it several years ago and I wrote it down just because it seemed a little strange to me at the time. This was a few years before the 2016 election. I did not really understand it then, but I think I do now. So it is important to share it with you, especially if you decide to read Costa’s book or you are like me trying to make sense of the “craziness” that has griped our country.

“Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are shadow truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgotten.” Neil Gaiman

Well that its for this couple of weeks. Take care, be safe out there fellow trail runners. Always be looking for that “Special Cat.”

Adios amigos!!

Book Review, Exercise, Life and Meaning, Skiing, Space, Truth and Perception

MUSINGS FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH, 2018

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“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.

Our posturing’s, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”  – Carl Sagan

 

Damn what can I say…  It has been a really good week!!  Ski season has started and life is good!!  Got a chance to go up to Loveland Ski area on Thursday, November 1st and the snow was great.  I am hoping this winter will deliver a ton of snow.  The last couple of years have been on the wimpier side or I have just gotten used to a more abundant snowfall when my kids were little.  Not really sure.  I have not had a chance to really look at the records myself, but I do know that the “water guys” that keep track of this said that the last couple of years were not good for moisture in the mountains.  So maybe we are due?  That would be fantastic.  I used to get upset if we did not get our usual 50 inches of snow here in Fort Collins, but after living here for 30 plus years I am OK with it not snowing!  I guess I have gotten old!?  What is that about?  Where does the time go?  Lol.  Anyways – all kidding aside, if it would just dump in the mountains so to speak, then most of the state’s water woes would take care of themselves.

I have been watching a course called “The Search for Exoplanets: What Astronomers Know” and I have to say it is pretty amazing.  I did not know that the first serious science proposals of what might be out there in the rest of the Universe started in the 1940s.  I was thinking that it was much more recent.  But it truly started in the 1940s – at that time the technology of astrometry became good enough to detect planets.  Astrometry is the measurement of the position of a star on the sky, and if the star has planets, its position will wobble back and forth.  Because the technology was crude in today terms, there was conflicting evidence reported back then, so it did not get a lot of attention.  Fast forward to the late 1980s and early nineties, add in a few more techniques for detection and things start to get really serious.  In 1995 and on, the discover of exoplanets began to grow exponentially, and scientist from around the world were able to corroborate each other’s results.  This made a huge difference with the acceptance and birth of “Exoplanetary Science.”  What was once Science Fiction has now become accepted scientific fact.  It is well worth the money for the course.  It is about 12 hours of lecture divided up into 24 mini-lectures.  You can find it at the Great Courses:  https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-search-for-exoplanets-what-astronomers-know.html and you can find used editions on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Search-Exoplanets-What-Astronomers-Know/dp/1629972037/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1541360656&sr=8-4&keywords=the+search+for+exoplanets+what+astronomers+know, you can do this course as a audio book or as DVD or Online streaming.

I wanted to post the above quote by Carl Sagan.  I think it really hit home with me after finishing the course.  We truly are just a speck of dust in a sunbeam.  And my guess, is that as we look for more exoplanets, we will find that we are not that special or unique.  Very, very sobering indeed.

An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet that orbits a star other than the Sun. Over 2000 exoplanets have been discovered since 1988. Specifically, 2098 planets in 1342 planetary systems including 509 multiple planetary systems as of 24 March 2016.

Well that is about it for me on this post.  I think that the Ultra season for me this year has come to an end.  Even though I did not successfully finish the Run Rabbit Run 100.  I still feel pretty good, after all it was 50 miles when I timed out and as someone much wiser than I am at times said, 50 miles is still 50 miles.  So, time to get ski season on and enjoy the snow while it is there.  I do plan on racing some shorter runs for the remainder of the year and the start of next year, mainly to work on speed.  I will let you know how it goes!

A late evening Fall afternoon in Fort Collins.

Take care my friends and maybe I will see you out there on the trails or at the ski slope!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review, Colorado, Psychology, Religion, Sociology

MUSINGS FOR MONDAY 29TH, OCTOBER 2018

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“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”                        Eleanor Roosevelt

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that come along.””  Eleanor Roosevelt

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”    Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Fort Collins Sunsets – great afternoon and evening running this week!!

Well it is the end of and the beginning of another week.  This blog post was a little late in getting out due to working at the day job over the weekend AND studying for a class required by said day job.  I pull 12 hour shifts and it does not leave much time to do anything else.  Especially if you want to ensure you get an adequate amount of sleep.  It just amazes me how often I would short myself on sleep and then wonder why I got sick.  And why I thought this was a normal occurrence?!  I have become one of those anal people that track everything, including sleep.  Seven to eight hours is now the norm.  And guess what?  I do not get sick as often as I have in the past.  A definite decrease in the number of colds and viral illnesses, etc.…  I also attribute this to eating a much healthier diet than I did in the past too.  But that is a topic for another Blog post.

A great book out there on this subject.  And one, I would say needs to be put in that “read a second time category” is called “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker, PhD.

You can find this book at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1539802696&sr=8-3&keywords=why+we+sleep&dpID=51dUdCh2ZdL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

One of the things the author goes over is sleep and how it is affected by alcohol.  It really changed my perspective on having a drink, be it beer or wine, with dinner.  I have stopped doing this except for every once in a great, great while. (like once per month) Also, he talks about how our memory is affected by the lack of REM sleep due to alcohol intake.  I call this a “hard truth” because if you are like me you grew up with alcohol being a part of family traditions so to speak and it is hard to get away from.  After reading the book, I think of all the nights of burning the candle at both ends, drinking, staying up late, etc.… and how in reality this was a total waste of time.  I truly believe that it prematurely aged me physically.  Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about changing the past but to go forward with better lifestyle habits.

And for shift workers that do night shifts.  In my opinion they do not get paid enough.  Truly, for all the individuals that work nights, I would go as far as to say you need to get paid time and half.  Great book.  Well worth the read or two.

 

Another book that I think is a good read is called the “The Book of Joy” by Douglas Carlton Abrams, the Dalai Lama, and Desmond Tutu.  It is basically an interview and discourse between two “Spiritual masters” that have very different back grounds but do share the one common element of having faced and survived significant adversity in their lives.  The Dalai Lama’s persecution by the Chinese and Desmond Tutu’s struggle with the South African Government and Apartheid.

 

One of the reasons I believe the book is interesting is that they both come from two different religious backgrounds.  One is Buddhist and one is Christian.  When asked questions, their answers are not that far apart from each other.  Obliviously there are some major “religious dogma” differences but philosophically they are very close in the advice they give.  The other part of this book that I found inspiring was how they came to grips with the adversity and still found joy and what appears to be lasting happiness.  I listened to the book as an audio book while running but it might be better to purchase it as regular print so that you can go back and reread a section or two.

You can find the book at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Book-Joy-Lasting-Happiness-Changing/dp/0399185046/ref=sr_1_1/135-8262170-6644902?ie=UTF8&qid=1540750504&sr=8-1&keywords=dalai+lama+joy+book

 

Almost done with the current drawing.  Getting closer…  Lol.

Winter is coming and the squirrels are scarfing food where ever they can find it.  Lol

Well that is about it for me.  Hope you get a change to read the above two books.  They are defiantly worth the effort.  Have a great week and may life be good for you.   See you out there on the trails!!

Art, Book Review, Meditations, Psychology

MUSINGS FOR MONDAY 15TH, OCTOBER 2018

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“My goal is to be better than I was yesterday.  To improve myself.  To enrich my life.  I am running my own race.  I compete with no one but myself.  This is my journey.”  – Unknown?

First snow for winter 2018 – about 8 inches at our location.

Well it has been another good week.  Winter has made an appearance in Colorado.  With the cold came the added bonus of moisture and that is something we needed on the Front Range.  Fort Collins is considered High Plains Desert and we were about 5 inches behind in total moisture content.  So, any that fell this past week was a really good thing.  When you only get about 14 inches total per year, five inches is a lot to be missing.  The only down side for me was not being able to work on outdoor projects around the house but this turned out to be nothing too serious.  I will take the snow and rain that fell last week and this weekend.

I was reading a book from the author Seth Godin.  I had not heard of him and found a quote by him just by accident.

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”

I thought this was kind of interesting.  If you are like me you are always looking for the next vacation.  Where to go and what to do.  So, this quote got me to thinking.  We are always trying to do something different.  Never being truly where we are at the moment.  Thinking ahead to what is next and around the corner.  Now this can be a good thing but doing it all the time is not the road I believe that leads to happiness.  Maybe we have it all wrong.  This quote got me to reevaluate my life to see what I needed to keep and what I needed to cut.  You might find it surprising that something on the surface you will think that you need to cut but it may not be that way down deep.  It might be the best thing to keep.

You can find the book at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Icarus-Deception-How-High-Will/dp/1591846072/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539652230&sr=8-1&keywords=icarus+deception

The book is good enough to be placed in the “It warrants a second read category”.  A part of the book that really resonated with me was Seth talking about “Being your own boss.”  Whether you are self-employed or not.  I think that we see this quote a lot.  And only think of it in terms of having our own business.  But do we really know what it means to be our own boss?  That was the question I found most intriguing.  I will say it a second time, “Do we really know what it means to be our own boss?” What I found was that my understanding of the phrase was very limited.

What a difference a day makes!!  View from the Powerline Trail in Fort Collins.

Now I am in the fifth decade of my life and I can look back at all the bosses I have had – some good, some that were excellent and some that…, well they were not that great.  Think about that for a moment.  If you are like me you have had a multitude of bosses.  What were they really like?  How did you perform with each boss?  Did you enjoy going to work?  Did the type of boss influence how you felt about work?  Did it affect your job performance?  NOW see yourself as “your own boss.”  And ask yourself “What Kind of Boss Do You Want to Be?”  You don’t have to be self-employed to ask this question.  That idea of asking the question even if you are not self-employed changed the perspective dramatically for me.

One of the Prospect Ponds.

Think about this, if you were given the responsibility of managing one employee.  To control everything in their life.  And your sole job was to make the business and that one employee as successful as possible.  What would you do?  How would you act towards that one employee?  Would you be the best boss that you could be?  Or would you be the boss that everyone wants to get away from? No one wants to work for?  Good questions and worth pondering.

Poudre River Trail.

NOW see yourself as that one employee.  That’s right, you are the employee and you are your own boss.  They are one and the same.  If you are like me, this changes the whole perspective.  I want to be the best possible boss that I can be.  And in turn I want to be the model employee, the best employee, for that boss!  If you can put yourself in the duel role of boss and employee, at the same time, it will change how you see and perceive your life.  What a daunting and awesome responsibility.  How would it change your behavior toward yourself and others?  It is one of those things that I wish I could have understood much sooner in life.  As the old saying goes “We are our own worst enemies.”  All of us.  Understanding of “You are your own boss” is one way to get past this worst enemy conundrum.  I believe that this is a step in the right direction on the path to happiness.

September 20th

October 5th

October 15th, 2018

Well that is about it for me.  The latest heart picture is getting closer to completion.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Maybe I will see you out there on the trails!!  Adios amigos!!

Art, Book Review, Colorado, Meditations, Psychology, Truth and Perception

MUSINGS FOR MONDAY 8TH, OCTOBER 2018

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“Buddhism does not advocate faith in the sense of believing something because it is written in a book, attributed to a prophet, or taught to you by some authority figure.  The meaning of faith here is closer to confidence.  It is knowing that something is true because you have seen it work, because you have observed that very thing within yourself.  In the same way, morality is not a ritualistic obedience to a code of behavior imposed by an external authority.  It is rather a healthy habit pattern that you have consciously and voluntarily chosen to impose upon yourself because you recognize its superiority to your present behavior.” 

– Mindfulness in Plain English, by Bhante Gunaratana

FALL 2018 – LEAVES ARE CHANGING IN FORT COLLINS!!

Well it has been a good week.  Again, I really cannot complain.  Life is good.  It is not perfect, but what is?  Everything is changing and nothing is static for long.  Change is the only constant.

LAST CORD OF A 4 CORD TOTAL!!

I have continued this week to put up firewood for the winter.  Four cords total.  Good to get it done early and to be ready when the snow and cold temperatures come.

JULY 26TH

AUGUST 13TH

SEPTEMBER 3RD

OCTOBER 5TH

Finished the deck above the garage, but still working on the structure above the garage deck.  This has taken me some time.  As you can see by the dates and the above photos.  But when it is done I think it will be worth the effort.  I will show some photos when it is finally finished.  Trying to get it done before Thanksgiving. Lol.

I have started to reread a book this year called:  MINDFULNESS in PLAIN ENGLISH, by Bhante Gunaratana.  This will be the fourth time I have read it.  It is an excellent book on Meditation and Mindfulness.  This is one of those books that rereading it at least once a year is something you want to make a habit of.  It is that good.  Truly if you want to be able to enjoy life more, no matter what your circumstances are or what is going on in the world, this could be the single most important book you could read this year.  The book is a very readable down to earth look at what meditation is and is not.  A nuts and bolts book that “Westerners” can understand.

The book itself is about 196 pages not counting the Index.  Every time I have read this book I come across something new or more likely, “understand” better what the author is talking about.  I am not a religious or spiritual person.  In fact, I am an Atheist.  And that is what drew me to Buddhism.  I know that might sound funny to some but I see Buddhism as a form of philosophy that has been tried and tested over millennia with no “Divine Authority Needed.”  The purpose of meditation is personal transformation.  The person that goes into “meditation” so to speak is not the same person that comes out.  You can use these same techniques in meditation no matter what religion you are.  Or you don’t even have to have a religion like me.  It will work for anyone if they give it thoughtful consideration.  Just to be clear I am talking about vipassana meditation.

From the book: “In vipassana meditation we cultivate this special way of seeing life.  We train ourselves to see reality exactly as it is, and we call this special mode of perception mindfulness.  This process of mindfulness is really quite different from what we usually do.  We usually do not look into what is actually there in front of us.  We see life through a screen of thoughts and concepts, and we mistake those mental objects for reality.  We get so caught up in this endless thought-stream that reality flows by unnoticed.  We spend our time engrossed in activity, caught up in eternal pursuit of pleasure and gratification and eternal flight from pain and unpleasantness.  We spend all of our energies trying to make ourselves feel better, trying to bury our fears, endlessly seeking security.  Meanwhile, the world of real experience flows by untouched and untasted.  In vipassana meditation we train ourselves to ignore the constant impulses to be more comfortable, and we dive into reality instead.  The irony of it is that real peace comes only when you stop chasing it.”

I think of the above as “turning in” to what is happening around you.  Not to try and run from unpleasant situations or thoughts but turning in towards them.  This is not a doctrine you need to drill into yourself, but an observable reality that with practice you can see for yourself.  The idea is to make the “mindfulness” so common place that you do it without really thinking about it, no matter the situation.  This part of mindfulness that has taken me a long time to master and I am still working on it.  The idea of: “Don’t confuse Training Conditions with Real World Situations/Actions.”  When the proverbial “Shit hits the fan” conditions occur in my life – I still fall back into old habit patterns and forget all about mindfulness practice.

From the Book: “One of the most difficult things to learn is that mindfulness is not dependent on any emotional or mental state.  We have certain images of meditation.  Meditation is something done in quiet caves by tranquil people who move slowly.  Those are training conditions.  They are set up to foster concentration and to learn the skill of mindfulness.  Once you have learned that skill, however, you can dispense with the training restrictions, and you should.  You don’t need to move at a snail’s pace to be mindful.  You don’t even need to be calm.  You can be mindful while solving problems in intensive calculus.  You can be mindful in the middle of a football scrimmage.  You can even be mindful in the midst of a raging fury.  Mental and physical activities are no bar to mindfulness.  If you find your mind extremely active, then simply observe the nature and degree of that activity.  It is just a part of the passing show within.” 

You can download the book as PDF off the web.  Yes, it is free. (my first time to read it) I found that it was so good, I went ahead and bought a copy from Amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Plain-English-Revised-Expanded/dp/0861713214/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0/145-7252461-2444901?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=68396RBSG0293KGXVV6C

Well that is about it for me this week.  But one last thing.  The most recent heart picture is coming along.  Slowly but surely.

SEPTEMBER 20TH

OCTOBER 5TH

Take care my friends and I hope see you out there on the trails!!

 

Colorado, Exercise, Meditations, Psychology, Thankfulness, Truth and Perception

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 30TH, SEPTEMBER 2018

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.  So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“Each moment in time we have it all, even when we think we don’t.” – Melody Beattie

Well it has been a good week.  Getting back into running a little bit this week and still doing some bike riding.  The weather has been beautiful.  We do need rain but at the same time and I have to say it again, the weather has just been fantastic for getting out doors.  Truly beautiful.  Warm afternoons, with cool mornings.  The sunsets have been stunning the past two weeks.  And I really cannot complain.   All the pictures below were taken in Fort Collins in the late afternoon/ early evening Monday though Thursday.   I am fortunate to live where I do.

Lake Sherwood in Fort Collins looking West on Monday evening.

Spring Creek Trail in Fort Collins looking West on Tuesday evening.

Powerline Trail in Fort Collins looking South on Wednesday evening.

Poudre River Trail in Fort Collins looking West on Thursday evening.

It is that time of year again and I am starting the process of putting up firewood.  Had two cords of pallet wood delivered this week.  I have to say this stuff burns great.  The trick to making it a lot less of a hassle to stack is to build your wood racks so that you don’t have to stack it.  You can just throw the various pieces in the rack not caring how they land.  Took me a few years to figure this out.  Lol.  This process makes it a lot easier to put it up.

Well on a different note, even though I have everything that I need and really want, there are days that I wake up thinking that I need something more, something different, something new, more money, a different car, a different bike, different running shoes, more this, more that, more, more and more.  If you let it, the “More Virus” as I call it,  will continue without end.  A vicious cycle.  Always promising happiness, but never delivering.  Never delivering a lasting happiness anyways.  This was one of those weeks were I was infected so to speak.  First it was thinking that I needed new running shoes, then it was a different bike, next the “monkey mind” wandered on to a different RV (yes, I own an RV), and of course with all these new things, the next logical step was I needed more money, so then you need to work more, etc.…  And I won’t bore you with the rest, needless to say this cycle went around and around in my mind for most of the week until about midway through I started to look at the above pictures.  As I said before, I collected these over the last week during a run or bike ride and realized that the “More Virus” could jeopardize future moments like this.  And that is all it took to comprehend, I was really, really happy this week.  It was a very good week and nothing in the “material world” could have added to it.  And that inoculated me from the “More Virus” for the week.  For next week…Lol….

Well that is about it for me.  Have a great week and I hope to see you out there on the trails!!  Adios amigos!!

 

Art, Colorado, Exercise, Meditations, Psychology, Run Rabbit Run

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 23RD, SEPTEMBER 2018

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Plunge Your Whole Life into What You Are Doing

“Just as when you sit in meditation you just sit, when you sleep, be aware of the totality of your whole being going to sleep.  When walking, you just walk.  When you eat, you are right there just eating.  Plunge your whole life into what you are doing at that very moment and live that way.  So, we train ourselves to engage our whole being in what we are doing.  Whether sitting or eating, you are not engaged in discursive, wandering, or deluded thoughts.  All of you…environment, body, and mind…is right there.  Whatever you do, whatever the task at hand, your whole life is there at that moment.

Some people may interpret plunging your whole being into the practice or into the task at hand as a very tense approach.  This is incorrect.  By putting your whole being into what you are doing, you are also being relieved from doing anything else at that moment.  Therefore, when you are doing that one thing, that is all you have to care about, and you can do it in a very relaxed manner and attitude.  In this light, you will better understand the meaning of engaging your whole being in the present task.  This is a relaxed and reposed attitude to practice.”

Excerpted from: “The Method of No-Method:  The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination, by Chan Master Sheng Yen

 

Happy Autumnal Equinox!!  First day of fall?!  Wow where did the time go??  Well….. it has been a good week.  Still recovering from the attempt at the 100 miles with the Run Rabbit Run.  It has been nice to just do some easy bicycling each day this past week.  The temps are getting cooler in the mornings and you can tell that fall is in the air.  Even with the unseasonably hot weather.  The air conditioner is not running constantly, trees on the front range are starting to change leaf color, etc.…  I am wondering what this winter will bring?  Will it be non-existent so to speak with less snow and more rain?  Or will it be like the winters of the past?  I guess only time will tell.

Looking West towards the Foothills – Spring Creek Trail.

Prairie Dog (Colorado State Rodent) on Spring Creek Trail.

The bike riding in the afternoons has been fantastic.  I am very fortunate to live in a city that continues to expand its trail system.  If you really wanted to help your citizens with health care, then get them outside and walking, running, biking, skating, etc.…  Whatever it might be.  The trick is that you need easy and I mean easy access.  We are all creatures of habit and we need that easy access to help with the “willpower requirement” of just getting out.  We could prevent a lot of our health care cost just with preventive strategies like exercise.  It is an old idea but still just as valid since time immortal.

I have been working on another “anatomical heart” picture.  They do take time.  I figure in this one I already have about 5 to 6 hours of drawing in place.  And I am only about a 4th of the way done.  This is a smaller one at 7 inches by 10 inches.  I will show more of it as the weeks go by.  I usually get an hour or two drawing each day.  This will be the fourth one I have done of the hearts.

I love the above quote from the book “The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination.”  Some days I am much better with this practice than others.  Modern media and advertising does not help.  Always wanting you to want more.  Distracting you from what you are doing.  I have found that doing meditation each day helps with this.  Focusing me on what I am doing so that I can just be in the moment.  Not letting my mind pull me in a thousand different ways.  Just taking a deep breath and bringing myself back into the moment.

Monkey Mind – all the things I have to do – over and over and over and – I need this, I need that, I cannot live without this, etc.…

Realizing that it is OK, the “monkey mind” is going to wander… The trick is to realize that you will have to pull it back into alignment… a lot.  Over and over until it become second nature.  If you are like me, our minds really have the tendency to wonder and this is without the help of modern media.  I wonder what it would have been like to live 150 years ago?  Before radio, before TV, before cell phones, before the internet.  Would it be a good idea to once a year go on a “modern media hiatus”, even if it was only for a week.  I think that it would be even hard to do for a day?  Or you could spend a significant sum on a Zen retreat where all form of electronic communication is forbidden?  I have not tried either yet but maybe that is the next step?  Well just some thoughts running around in my “Monkey Brain.”

The reposed and relaxed goal to shoot for.  If Home can do it so can you!!  Lol

Well on the above note, I am thinking that will be all for me this week.  Hope to see you out there on the trails!!  Adios amigos!!

 

 

 

Colorado, Exercise, Psychology, Run Rabbit Run, Trail Running

MUSINGS FOR SUNDAY 16th, SEPTEMBER 2018

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“Run for 20 minutes and will feel better, run another 20 and you might tire, add on 3 hours and you’ll hurt, but keep going and you’ll see and smell and hear and taste the world with vividness that will make your former life pale.”     Scott Jurek

“It hurst up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.”    Ann Trason

Life is good and I cannot complain too much at the moment!!  Ed B.

Really love that quote.  It is my own, but I am not partial.  Just that, it is my reality.  As I have gotten older everyday that I wake up and become mindful of taking a breath…well that is a good day.

Looking West towards Cameron Pass

I have been in Steamboat Springs since Tuesday Night.  Nice place to just hang out.  The drive from Fort Collins to Steamboat was beautiful.  The Aspens are in their “changing color” mode and the views were a little extra special around Cameron Pass.   Really hard to do it justice with the pictures.

Steamboat itself is an interesting place.  After multi visits here over the years,  you start to appreciate the “mountain towns” that were actually a thriving community before they became ski area destinations.  There is a little more of a solid feel to them than just a tourist trap so to speak.   It  has the feel of a much bigger town in some respects but still, I think, maintains the small town atmosphere.  By 8pm at night, most shops have closed up,  except the bars.  Which can be an inconvenience or depending on how you see it, refreshing. Even in summer it is a bustling place.  Just the amount of traffic on highway 40 (Main Street in town) can be  daunghting.

From the base of the ski area

From mid way up Mount Werner

Main Street in Steamboat looking East

Yampa River in Steamboat looking West

Well the Run Rabbit Run 100 went pretty well.  We had great weather.  A little hot at times, but clear skis for the start of the race.   Not like last year with the smoke from surrounding wildfires.  The Silver Creek fire did flare up again but luckily the winds were in the right direction to keep the smoke south of Steamboat this year for the 100 mile race.

Looking South from I-40/Hwy 14

From the bike trail in Steamboat

This year, the race for me ended at the 50 mile mark.  I timed out.  But even with this, it was a great race.  This is only the second attempt for me of 100 miles.  I timed out 2 years ago at the Leadville 100, again at the 50 mile mark.   I learned a lot this weekend.  Simple things like running through the woods in the night,  staying warm after running 35 miles, what you can eat and not eat, and the proper utilization of drop bags.  All of these things sound simple enough but when you are in the thick of things they can all add up to mean the difference from a “death march” type race, to one that is a lot more enjoyable.   I have to say I felt pretty good after running the 50 miles.  Sure I was sore but I did not feel like I needed the ER.  Lol

Before picture!

After 50 miles and 18 hours of running!

I have now done the 50 mile distance 6 times in the last 5 years.  4 times for an actual race finish and twice while attempting 100s.   I guess the 100 mile will have to wait another year.   My wife Janet is always good to remind me that 50 miles is nothing to put down.  As she has reminded me more than once.  50 miles is still 50 miles.

Looking down from Fish Creek Falls Trail during the run

Long Lake, second aid station on the run

This race is consider a “hard” 100 miler and I do believe that it lived up to its reputation.  The added Fish Creek Falls Trail section was beautiful, especially the downhill section until the relization hits you that you have to turn around at the bottom and run/walk back up, add in alot of heat for the day and well… you get the picture.  I believe I consumed about 10 liters of water for the day.  During the night when the temps dropped into the 40s, the aid stations at Summit Lake and Billy’s Rabbit Hole were outstanding.  Well organized and very helpful with a palpable energy from the volunteers.  I can tell you they truly made a difference in my race.  The “potato soup” at both stations was fantastic.  All and all the race was what I expected it to be.  A class act when you consider that  it is all volunteers that are making this happen.   I hope to be back next year.

Before I go I would like to give a big thank you to the Race Committee, and all the volunteers.  Without you this type of event would not be possible.  THANK YOU!!

And a reminder that without the support of the sponsors this event would not be possible.  Thank you to:  Altra, Honey Stinger, Black Diamond, IceSpike, Smartwool, Wyndham Vacation Rentals, Tailwind, Ultimate Direction.

Well that is about it for me this week.  Hope to see you out there on the trails!!  Adios amigos!!