the sound of silence

More often than not, when I get a message from one of my friends in the middle of the week asking me to meet up for coffee or a drink, it's because they need a sounding board for whatever's bothering them.  I'm pretty open minded so they know I would never judge them.  I take it to mean that I'm a pretty good listener.

Lately though, I've noticed that I talk more and listen less.  This, coupled my with my lack of impulse control/gung-ho attitude, leads to a few cringe-worthy moments, especially when it comes to my personal life.

"Listen, listen, listen and then ask strategic questions."

Silence is underrated.  Maybe if I follow this particular rule, life would be a lot less complicated.

chasing pavements

"The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness."

"You said it, bubba" -- that pretty much sum up everything I have to say about this particular line in the manifesto.

Seriously though, I've been giving this a lot of thought the past few days. It's not happiness per se that is difficult to achieve, it's letting go of the illusions we have about the things that we THINK will bring us happiness. Expectations are rarely met, people we put on pedestals come crashing down. We keep on chasing that impossible dream, not realizing we're already living the dream.

So what is left to do but to live in the moment? Stop and smell those proverbial roses. Eat a box of chocolate-covered marshmallows. Laugh with a friend. Happiness is in the here and now.

water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink

So goes Cooleridge's ancient mariner when he was stuck in the middle of the ocean, but since I am comfortably ensconced on land, it shouldn't be a problem for me to follow the first manfiesto rule which is --

"Drink fresh water and as much water as you can. Water flushes unwanted toxins from your body and keeps your brain sharp."

I used to only drink 2 glasses of water a day, one before I left the house, and another before I go to bed. The rest of the day, I either drink soda (regular, none of that zero percent sugar s***), juice, or ignore my thirst. While the term "as much as you can" is a subjective one, I don't think 2 glasses qualify.

Water IS important. From a biological standpoint, it is essential because it plays a role in various key processes of the body from temperature regulation to detoxification of cells. It's just difficult to keep this in mind when you're in the middle of a work day and there are a lot of other things that you'd rather do instead of standing up, walking 10 steps to the water cooler, grabbing a glass, filling it with water, drinking, and then walking another 10 steps back to your desk. It's exhausting just thinking about it right? So do what I do -- bring a water bottle to work, put it on your desk and sip away!

Get a reusable water bottle, it's much better for the environment. I love my SIGG water bottle. It's lightweight, leak-proof (I just throw it in into my bag every morning without even worrying the contents soaking anything), and it doesn't cause your water to have a yucky after-taste that usually goes hand in hand with a re-used PET bottle.

Cheers!

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SIGG Water Bottles, available at Aura Athletica, R1 Level Power Plant Mall, Rockwell. For more info, go to www.sigg.com.

the lululemon manifesto

man·i·fes·to

A public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions.

When people first meet me and find out that I manage a yoga wear store, they usually assume the following things:

1. I'm a vegan.
2. I practice yoga daily.
3. I live a balanced, healthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately, it only takes a few minutes for me to pop their imaginary bubble because:

1. I am what my friends call a "meatatarian", a person who loves steak/hotdogs/bacon so much that "carnivore" is too feeble a word to describe my eating habits.
2. I love yoga. I really do. But the only time I have to practice it is early in the morning and I value sleep much more than I do exercise.
3. If you call not eating regular meals, imbibing copious amounts of scotch on weekends, and putting as much sugar as I can into my daily cup of coffee, then yes, I do live a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Or not.

I admit, I don't exactly set a good example. I am a typical girl young enough to still feel invincible but old enough to realize that I couldn't get away with it forever. So, I decided to look to the Lululemon manifesto for inspiration.

Most of the things in the list can be easily followed. How difficult could it be? I guess I'll find out soon enough.