BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

When I have a morning at home alone I work on my lists and I fall into my practice more easily.  The sun is streaming in and I am doing triage on piles of "urgent" items which have become buried under a stream of distractions and amusements like my nonstop study of public health.  One observation this morning is that the strong balancing poses which I find so elusive when surrounded by empty air and other students are more accessible when I am alone in my office.  Here I can step into a warrior 3 knowing that the sunny windowsill is right there to hold me up, and yet confidently not needing it.  This strength and balance that I find in my own small office is something I would like to take with me into the world.

Suspecting
and knowing
are not
the same.


― Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

The most basic part of rolling a kayak, the most important part, is being able to orient yourself to the boat before you start the motion. In whitewater the paddler can get pulled in any direction, and needs to be able to assume a protected, turtle-like tuck when they flip over. This forward tuck makes it possible to get your paddle situated parallel to the boat at the water line, for a proper roll. These days it is modern and cool to be able to roll from any position. Playboaters master the back deck roll because it is integral to the moves they do. For the regular whitewater kayaker, a regular forward tuck leading into a basic sweep or C to C roll is all you really need. Getting the offside is great, and then explore. First, get a good tuck and set up position, which requires hamstring flexibility to touch your toes and them some, and crunch strength to pull your body to the front deck no matter what the river wants to do to you. If you have that strength, you've no excuse, save the panic of being upside down underwater, which happens to almost all of us. Stop going for that rip cord, and TUCK. From there it will be much easier.

Paddling Fitness: Core and Hamstring

You have enemies?
Good.
That means you have stood up for something,
sometime in your life.
--Winston Churchill

Today you are you,
that is truer than true.
There is no one alive
who is youer than you.
--Dr Seuss

"The greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph."
The Butterfly Circus
http://vimeo.com/17150524
22:35 long and well worth the time invested

My resolutions for last year included a renewed emphasis on always doing my best. That practice allows me to go easy on myself when my best isn't the greatest. I did well on this resolution, especially when I decided to put my energies into doing the research that will allow me to be a good doctor, instead of simply doing what it took to pass my program. I feel good about the work that I've done and I know it will put me in good stead in the future.

I also resolved to keep my vision on the horizon. I have been swayed a bit much by men who have crossed my path; it is my weakness. My longterm goals need to be present in my daily life, and I need some way to remind myself of them. I think I was too vague about exactly what I was going to do, which helped me to not do it.

So let it be also resolved that I will make a list of my 10 longterm goals along with a timeframe for completion, and see how that ends up matching with reality. Prediction is a whole different matter from simply reporting what is. Planning is what makes some people in great demand as project managers. I need to manage this project of my life a little more actively and see how it goes.

Mind you I have a longstanding practice of going with the flow. I recognize the hazard of trying to force things, and I know the beauty in letting the finest manifestations emerge out of not knowing. I would like to enter a state of being in which the flow moves my goals forward. In other words, this is a good time for setting intention.

I resolve to increase my core strength. On all levels. And maintain the increase.