Nate mentioned in his last entry how he is annoyed by people who complacently let themselves go, by not caring for their bodies. I am complacent in my own way. I wake up early every morning, do my meditation, have breakfast and tea, shower, check my email and then do my work. Now, I have the habit of eating a small bowl of cereal with half a banana for breakfast every day and doing exercises. It is sometimes difficult for me not to turn my daily life into a routine.
Complacency takes many forms. And it is often invisible to those who suffer from it. Essentially, it is putting your life on autopilot. When this happens, you lose the ability to attend to and appreciate your life. Eating poorly because it is easy to is one form of complacency, but so is believing that a daily exercise, diet and meditation regimen is going to make your life better. You really have to be there for it every minute of every day.
A week before the PCP began, I asked a question on a Buddhist message board regarding complacency. To sum up, I asked if it were possible to break old habits without replacing them with new habits. One of the answers I was given was basically that 'some habits are better than others'.
I am reminded now that the point of this whole project is not to have a beautiful physique (although that is a nice benefit). The habit of paying attention to our body's needs is just the beginning. To be in peak condition is to be in a deep state of appreciation for your life. And it is my aspiration that during these 90 days with all of you, I can deepen this understanding and come to be more consistently aware of what it means to care for myself - when it is difficult, and especially when it is easy.
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7 comments:
That's right, the point of the project is to be the best we can be (and maybe even better than we imagine we can be).
I have been thinking about this too - wondering when the PCP would become part of my routine. Maybe it's a good thing if it doesn't.
PCP will have to become part of my routine or else I won't cope!!
Good point Adrian. Be mindful!
Tim,
Routines can be helpful, but as Nate said above, "Be mindful!" Any activity can become a hindrance when not undertaken with full attention.
A practice like meditation and a practice like PCP are similar in that they are tools used to overcome programming. But if we aren't careful, those tools can become programming as well. I don't want to go through life like a robot.
-A
Hi Amy,
You said,:
"I have been thinking about this too - wondering when the PCP would become part of my routine. Maybe it's a good thing if it doesn't."
I'm wondering right now if its helpful to do our exercises at the same time every day. That's how I was instructed in meditation - to sit at the same time every day. Make it part of your routine. I'm wondering if habitually exercising at the same time every day will fool our bodies into snapping out of sedentary states.
-A
It'll all become routine... just ask the Round 1 people!
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