Sorry, I’ve been remiss in posting all the cool things I’ve been reading, discovering, andorpersand learning about!

Here’s just a quicky. A rich and meaningful quicky.

Ack! Alright then! < my initial reaction to this video

Backstory: I used to exercise religiously. I would wake up every morning before dawn and walk the 10 minutes to the gym and exercise for an hour and half–50 minutes cardio, the rest strength training and stretching. I lost a lot of weight and loved working out. I remembering saying it was the best part of my day.

Then I hurt my back and couldn’t exercise for a few weeks…

That was over a year ago and I have struggled with getting back to the routine. I have put on a considerable amount of weight–turns out one habit supports the other. No exercise = no calorie counting. So the thing that eludes me is why something so enjoyable is so hard to restart? Has my love of leisurely mornings outstripped my love of the endorphin rush and feeling fit? My love of food grown larger than feeling healthy and disciplined? As I write that, it just seems ridiculous!

So… baby steps. Half an hour a day. Walking or moving. Nothing more. I’m gonna try it.

(For what it’s worth, I’m an avid follower of habit design. I’m intrigued by what it takes to form and break habits. I am convinced there are some universal truths but it ultimately comes down to YOU. What makes you tick. What gets you going and bottom line, what makes you happy. So start listening to yourself. And now, I shall attempt to practice what I preach!)

Addendum to blogpost: Aw, crap. > How to Gain or Lose 30 Minutes of Life Every Day: bit.ly/VgS61a#behaviorchange via @adamdole

Major Tom Sunita Williams

Take a tour through the International Space Station with Astronaut Sunita Williams. Check out the sleeping birth, the “kitchen”, the labs (oh yeah, and the toilet. You know you want to see it!).

The bed was of particular interest to me. Because they are weightless, there’s no perception of up or down, standing or lying. I would have thought they would devise a weighted blanket to give you that snuggly bed feeling. But no.

I also found it strange how they made no attempt to add warmth to the interior design. Just adding color to some of the interior panels would have made a difference. It makes me wonder about the mental health of an astronaut and the thinking of the design team. Enough thinking. Watch!

I was just at lunch with a coworker and we were talking about sushi (I was having a rainbow roll). Her favorite used to be the Spider Roll made with softshell crab but she stopped eating it because she didn’t want the crab to be cooked alive.

Well, this started an informal survey of other co-workers about if and how they might kill a crab or lobster humanely. The results were split between “No, just dump them in the boiling water” and “Put a knife through their head”. Which left me wondering: does that last guy really know what he’s talking about? He kind of did.

But the real winner from our lunchtime conversation was remembering this video my 9 year old friend showed me the other day, Dumb Ways to Die (her favorite part: “catching piranhas with your private parts”). Enjoy!

I feel it only fitting that the first long-overdue post should be about the moving inauguration that just took place.

The first thing that caught me hook, line, and sinker was the performance by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. All I could think of as the camera panned the multi-racial choir, was how great our country is — and can be. I’m not usually given to patriotic pride, but I could not help be deeply moved hearing these amazing voices sing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”.

And then there was President Obama’s speech. I’ll need to read it several times to fully digest all that he spoke to. Powerful, strong, hopeful, all-inclusive, and inspiring.

And as cynical as I was that Beyoncé was to sing, she got me too.

Here’s to another four years!

I’ve never been to a TED conference so can only imagine the danger of getting a big head by being in the midst of such amazingly brilliant and smart folk.

Enter Reggie Watts to the rescue (who actually really does have a big head).

This is a post about a post.

I love this post by Marya Zilberberg.

Marya (I hope it’s ok we’re on a first-name basis) recently attended TEDMED and has posted a brief review of her experience with links to a few of her favorite speakers who she “fell in love with”. I haven’t read about each person yet because what grabbed me was her description of “falling in love with” these people. I know so well that feeling of “falling in love” with someone who has just shared an intimate experience that makes you feel like you might be soulmates (or at least not a total lunatic), or who offers a new way of seeing that touches your heart, makes you hope, and/or inspires you to do great things.

Describing it as “falling in love” is so perfect. There’s been quite a few times that I’ve felt the same way but reframed the feeling into a more “appropriate” or “professional” parlance and in so doing, may have stripped away the very humanness, vulnerability, and essence of the experience.

So thank you Marya for being brave enough to call it what it is—love—and thank you Adam Dole who leads me to so many inspiring people—including himself.

Now, go read her post!

“God is just what happens when humanity is connected. Humanity connected is God.” —Jim Gillian

I believe in higher beings but “God” comes with too many preconceived definitions and associations for me to embrace the name. That said, this incredibly moving talk by Jim Gilliam speaks to a truth I can fully embrace. Life is about connection and believe it or not, we are all connected.

And on the subject of interconnectedness, a few weeks ago I had the fortune to attend the Being Human 2012 conference. Many insightful and interesting aspects of humanity were discussed (which I’ll hopefully write about soon). Tiffany Shlain was there to show one of her newest endeavors, Declaration of Interdependence, which blew me away. Watch it full screen.

I came upon this image this morning and it instantly resonated. 

In an effort to connect deeper with friends and life, I’ve been experimenting with being more present. “Being present” means different things for each person but for me, it means being curious, being in the moment, and trying not to act (and react) in habitual ways that no longer serve me well.

If only we had more billboards like this!

Sources:
Brainpickings
Explore – Truth