Christmas Gifts

CELEBRATING FAMILY TIME

Christmas always seemed to come around too quickly, at least that's what I thought since my mid-late 20s. The magic had seemingly gone. I'd find the whole gifting thing to be a massive stress and the religious part was totally lost on me. 

Fast forward to 2015. I've been really looking forward to the festive season this time around and in particular, spending some quality time with my family. 

It often takes a tragedy to inspire us to make a change, hence the death of my colleagues have driven me to take these daily steps for my own personal growth. Just as a cold slap in the face can wake us to take in the harsh realities of life, a reminder of death will motivate us to seize what we have and enjoy it will we still can. 

August last year was one of those moments when reality stared me in the face. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but as Christmas loomed, it became clear to me that time for us all, is finite. Thankfully, on this occasion, it's not been a tragedy but a stark reminder of how short our time is on this planet. 

The moment I fully realised that time is so precious, was while watching TV with my sick father. He had cancer. There was a moment in the film where someone said 'Christmas is going to be the last one'. I don't recall the film, but I distinctly remember that moment thinking 'This might be my dad's last Christmas'. This could be the last happy family celebrations we have together. It turned out to be a great few days, like an oasis of respite for fun in a sea of discomfort and pain for my poor chemotherapy-drained dad. 

So now a year has passed, the illness appears to have gone (we hope for good) and tomorrow is Christmas Day. My nan and granddad (pictured above) are sadly no longer with us, but my mum and dad, brother, sister in law and niece & nephew are. So, I will enjoy being with them as well as my lovely girlfriend, Cathy and fully appreciate the good fortunate of having such a lovely family.

May we all be more grateful for our family, no matter how quirky, odd or potentially annoying they can be and instead, by truly thankful for the precious time we still have to enjoy life with them.

Merry Christmas!

Special Places

TOTARA TREE - WAIPU COVE, NZ

Today I rewind the clock back to a special place in my mind - Waipu beach, New Zealand, which is where I spent some magical time travelling in early 2002. 

Jutting out horizontally from a cliff about 100 foot above a rocky beach, I balanced precariously on the thick trunk and looking through the branches of this majestic Totara tree, snapped a photo into the sun. 

It was a memorable moment in many ways - but this snapshot in time, symbolising the true beginnings of an adventure that would span continents, is my 'go-to memory happy place' that I pull forward when I wish to relive those blissful feelings of freedom and self-discovery. 

We should all have moments like these in our lives - places and spaces - moments when we felt secure, unafraid, happy and liberated. These are the memories that we can freely draw on to recharge our spirits.

Practice

PRACTICE SLOWLY - PROGRESS QUICKLY

While listening to a podcast today on music and perfect pitch, I'm fondly reminded of my piano teacher. 

It's my 10 year old niece's birthday next week and we're buying her a Casio digital keyboard. Learning to play a musical instrument is something we should all try in our lifetime. Playing a piano has been one of the greatest things I've achieved for connecting the body and mind. As well as playing jazz/blues, I've also learned classical music and this has been one of my greatest endeavours.

To learn the notes that have been produced by the musical masters like Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin, is truly to be connected with genius itself. This skill wouldn't come immediately, as there'd be a lot of work put in to accomplish this feat with much practice. It would be difficult at first. To learn how to read the musical notes, takes much patience and time, just as we would need time learning a foreign language. And to then play this music, written by these great composers, will also require lots of slow, careful practice and a highly focussed commitment to do this over a period of time. Eventually, with these very deliberate efforts, the notes will flow faster until the song could be performed well enough in front of an audience where the appreciation of the mastery can be fully appreciated.

I can clearly remember the many hours of practice on our piano at home and I believe this focus has helped with my creativity, dexterity plus appreciation of music and the arts as well as boosting confidence and ability to perform well under pressure with such close scrutiny.

Life Is Short

WHERE DID IT GO?

It's been a busy day for me and yet I've barely completed what I set out to get done today. Where did the time go? Where did the weekend go and where is the year going for that matter? Time is flying by. It's late so I'll keep this one short for today. Someone I knew well died at 2.40pm today. She was just over 40 years old. That's really not a long enough life and because it came from nowhere, it reinforces something we should be aware of each day - our mortality. 

It's really starting to hit home how short life is - and how short quality life can be too. Just yesterday I talked with a good friend about our ailments and the onset of arthritis creeping in and failing eyesight.

If we're fit and able, we need to make the most of our time now while we can still do the things we enjoy doing. We should aim to do more with our lives and keep a reminder to hand as the great scholars did - something that clearly defines our short time on this planet so we waste time no more.

RIP PIP. 

January Joy

JANUARY BLUES

It's Saturday today. The last day of Jan. The weather has suddenly turned colder. It's overcast, cold, wet and I feel really happy. I'm happy but sad at the same time because January is over. Yes, you did read that right - Jan has been my most consistent and favourite month that I can ever remember. My log cabin in the woods month. My partner, Cathy feels the same. Jan is a long month - and this one felt really long! That's because I've squeezed an extra 3 quality hours per day in. That's 90hrs or the equivalent to just over two extra work weeks !!! It's actually felt more like 3 months in one, because I've been aware and present in mind for as much of it as possible. 

2014 was a fun year, but a lot of it was out of my control. I was socialising and partying a lot and the weekends were filled with laughter & friends or sleep & recovery. It was hectic with little respite, so come December, I was drained and at a low ebb. I looked/felt tired and my body was knackered. I needed a regroup and some focus. That's why I've loved January 2015 so much. I've relished every day. I've gone to sleep contented and tired after a full day and been excited to get out of bed again in the mornings to learn, improve & assess my progress. I've been doing things that I love to do and I can feel a new path laying out in front of me. Again, I'm reading more of Geoff Thompson (thank you Geoff for being my life adventurer, explorer & guide), I've just read a whole passage on his life where he's taken the exact same steps I am making myself right now! He's at this place of great wisdom today after investing 10 years focussing on his path and I'm so lucky to have re-affirmation this is my right path because he has so kindly shared this knowledge with us. My aim is to continue my new focus throughout the rest of the year and beyond and maybe I'll be in a position of great wisdom akin to Geoff and also doing the things I love every day a lot sooner than 10 years time. However long it takes, I'm ready to embark on this journey and enjoy each day as it comes.

Making The Most Of It

I've been hearing a lot of talk from those around me - negative stuff about January, the weather and life in general. I don't think they even know what they are saying. They can't wait for Monday to be over, can't wait for the weekend, can't wait to get back into bed, can't wait for January to be over. 

It's sad... I want to shake them! They're in the prime of their life and wishing it away, failing to appreciate what each moment of the day brings and missing being in the moment. 

A Break In The Clouds

A good example of appreciating the day happened this morning. Leaving the comfort of our room at an early hour, I marvelled at the extreme changes in weather from the day before. Embracing the cold wind and hail, I felt exhilaration as we walked in the maelstrom. Suddenly, the clouds parted and 'God's fingers' - golden rays of sunshine - burst through a break in the clouds for a fleeting few moments. I stopped to soak up the moment and capture it on my camera, while other people around me bowed their heads and pushed steely on - looking miserable, caught up in their own thoughts and completely oblivious to the amazing and beautiful event taking place. 

Keeping It Real

EUGENE SANDOW

He didn't have tech. He didn't even have a special diet. But he had a phenomenal physique - honed through hard work & self discipline, following a regular training routine. It sounds like he lived a fairly regular lifestyle (he made a lot of money by the sounds of it so had free time) but ultimately he died young - likely from over-exerting himself. So, I'm not going to be two hard on myself about eating the 'wrong' kind of food occasionally for - let's face it - the sake of vanity. Yeah, I do want to fix my ailments and I'm loving the yoga, but I miss the pub and friends - so I know this routine will have to be a bit more flexible eventually. It's also proving to be quite tough getting up at 5am every morning. To get 8 hours a night, I'd have to be asleep at 9pm. That means no real social life and my partner and I are like passing ships! The key is balance. After 2 weeks of no drinking and 14 days up at 5, it's starting to feel a bit like drill camp. I'm also writing quite long blogs every day - which, I'm very pleased with - but are taking a bit more time than I'd like to spend on them and not leaving room for much else.

Next Two Weeks
I'm going to try and keep the blogs a lot shorter - maybe focus on just one topic. Then I'll write-up some pages with more researched content in and publish those every week or so. the plan is to keep writing something ever day - for the whole year. But I'll be a lonely single man if I carry on the way I've been going. Here's what I'm going to do:

5am Starts
I'll stick to these every day - even weekends, but if there's a social and late night, I'll get up when I need to get up - be it 5, 6 or 7am - I'll still find quiet time that day but won't knacker myself out.

Diet
The Paleo diet is very restrictive. I haven't craved bread, pasta or potatoes - but if I find myself in a position or at a social event where there are little other options, I won't beat myself up about it if there's a bit of the 'wrong' food on my plate.

Exercise
Listen to your body. I feel a bit jangly after doing a heavy training session yesterday - so I'm going to take it easy. Currently, the only day off is Monday - but if I need to rest, I'll rest. I'm going to stop climbing in the evenings as this is effecting my eating pattern and not helping with my bicep and shoulder injury.

Zen Yoga On A Rope
I love climbing, it's like doing yoga on a wall.There's a few great climbing centres in London. Westway has great lead climbs (for more advanced), The Castle has lead and bouldering - plus it's a pretty cool venue, The Reach looks good for leads (yet to try it) and The Arch @ Biscuit Factory is good for short bouldering routes. My true home is Mile End Climbing Wall and my local pub is The Palm Tree - the last bastion of East End London.

Take Stock
The changes are happening - and it's been a good, hard start to the year - it's time to take stock, measure and find a balance. So, while there's not much fresh material on this page - it's another milestone and on reflection, I've been performing BETTER than I could have hoped for. The discipline has been amazing considering how I can be (especially mixed with alcohol) but for creating more free time, there'll be a slight change to the formula starting from tomorrow.