Stay on Offense Climb Mountains

Attacking Adversity

Go Hiking and Dream Big

by Leave a Comment

What if you have never hiked a mile in your life? So start dreaming, but don’t be a daydreamer. Take action. Walk outside your door and down to the end of the block. That’s it. It is a start.

Ok, what if you just hate the whole idea of hiking. Fine! You can still exercise. You can find something, anything to get the blood pumping.

Start Dreaming

It can start with dreaming. Planning what you are going to do. Got it down on paper. Pull out all the stops. Now use that dreaming to motivate yourself through what Tony Robbins calls the “Dickens Process.” Have you heard of it? Well, first you look at the present and ask yourself what you are missing out on and how exercise would help you. Then take yourself back into the past five or ten years and experience how not exercising has hurt you. Then take yourself into the future, five, ten, twenty years, and see how not exercising has hurt you. I am oversimplifying this process. The questions you ask yourself are critical, but it works.

Habit

If you want to make it a habit you need to have the motivation, the ability, and a prompt. That comes from one of the three big books on habits. I think it is BJ Fogg’s book.

Make the first exercise you do small. Really small. One pushup. Yes, just one. And after you do it celebrate! Really celebrate. No, not with a bag of fries or a bowl of ice cream. Jump up and down and shout. Feel it. Get excited. Over one push up? Yes! It will reinforce the habit. I like what Jordan Peterson says. He says to make it small enough that you would be willing to do it. Then you can add to it. Two pushups. Walk around the whole block.

Nutrition

Do this with your diet too. I make a lot of noise about exercise, but you can out eat your exercise no matter how much exercise you are doing. I used to run fifty to sixty miles a week, week after week, month after month. However, I ate peanut butter and toast every morning. Not one slice of toast, at least four. Not one tablespoon of peanut butter, but I had it slathered on the toast. I ate fast food too. So I stayed far fatter than I would have been if I paid any attention to diet.

And I hope you like to hike. If not just start small. Go hiking!

Bookish Weapon Number Forty-Two

by Leave a Comment

“Falling Upward,” by Richard Rohr is about, as the subtitle says, “A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life.” It is a thoughtful book by a well known Franciscan priest.

It is a good book for people who are in the second half of life and are wealthy enough to be able to partake in all that the second half offers. In fact, it is also an interesting book for those that are just old, but are still living in the first half.

First Half

Rohr points out that we are a “first-half-of-life culture,” largely concerned about surviving successfully. I would add, or just surviving. He says, “We all try to do what seems like the task that life first hands us: establishing an identity, a home, relationships, friends, community, security, and building a proper platform for our only life.” Yet, many, will not accomplish the first half of life in their entire lifetimes, clinging tenaciously to basic survival.

“You need a very strong container to hold the contents and contradictions that arrive later in life.” If you don’t have that strong container it’s tough. He says, “In fact, far too many (especially women and disadvantaged people) have lived very warped and defeated lives because they tried to give up a self that was not there yet.”

Tragedy

“The Tragic Sense of Life,” is the title of one of the chapters in this book. I thought it made a lot of sense. He says that the Greek word for tragedy means “goat story.” I thought that was funny because I have been referred to as a “Billy goat,” due to my hiking. The idea however is that we can grow from tragedy. Rohr says, “It all depends on whether we are willing to see down as up; or as Jung put it, that “where you stumble and fall, there you find pure gold.” “Lady Julian put it even more poetically: “First there is the fall, and then we recover from the fall. Both are the mercy of God.”

He says, “I am personally convinced that Jesus’ ability to find a higher order inside constant disorder is the very heart of his message – and why true Gospel, as rare as it might be, still heals and renews all that it touches.” That is a profound statement and it certainly rings true. Order and chaos are a part of life, in constant ebb and flow.

Second Half

“In the second half of life, we do not have strong and final opinions about everything, every event, or most people, as much as we allow things and people to delight us, sadden us and truly influence us.” What a great way to live! The older I get the less I think I know for sure about anything yet I have met many older men who have set their opinions in stone. Rohr says, “It always deeply saddens me when old folks are still full of themselves and their absolute opinions about everything.”

People who do the second half of life well have combined their occupation and their life so that their “delivery system” is one. He says, “Your concern is not so much to have what you love anymore but to love what you have – right now. This is a monumental change from the first half of life, so much so that it is almost the litmus test of whether you are in the second half of life at all.”

This book continues with a look at the shadow self. Shadow work is a topic in many books these days, but I think this one offers unique insight. So buy the book! You will be glad you did. After all, it is another bookish weapon.

Go Hiking And Feel Limitless

by Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks ago I hiked up Mailbox Peak. It is one of the more difficult climbs off of I-90. I did it on a Sunday morning which is my usual time to climb. Then a friend decided he wanted to climb it the following Saturday. Usually, I don’t hike the more difficult ones the close together, but I am happy that I did. It made me feel limitless.

How does nature do that for a person or does it just do it for me? Let’s explore that a little.

No Rain

First, there was a forecast for rain so I came prepared with my usual fair, an old REI jacket, hiking pants and a cover for my backpack. I never wear “rain gear.” But it didn’t rain. There were just clouds which made the temperature perfect for a hike. The younger hikers with me pushed up the mountain and I made it in a record time of under two hours.

Beating a personal record always lifts my spirit. I somehow convince myself I still have what it takes which is becoming increasingly harder to do these days. So I would add this to the formula for feeling limitless.

Lightning

As we sat on top of Mailbox admiring the decorations hikers have bestowed on the mailbox and that someone has installed a second mailbox not far from the first, we noticed lightning strikes across the valley. We could hear what sounded like a small car starting its engine.

Then as we began the climb down the lightning continued. Spectacular jagged cracks in the sky from heaven to earth. It made me feel a part of something out of this world. Sort of limitless.

Thunder

As we moved down the mountain further it began to rain very large drops and then once we were in the forest the thunder began in earnest. It was the loudest I had ever heard. I suppose that is because I was never out in the forest in the middle of a thunderstorm before. Again it made me feel part of something otherworldly. Limitless!

I could no longer see the lightning strikes, but I could hear the results. Somehow I couldn’t get used to the overwhelming sound as I jogged down the mountain. It surrounded me.

Rain

And then it began to rain. Not sprinkle. Real rain. Pouring down like it was coming from a hose aimed at the top of your head. Normally, rain is just an annoyance. You know you are going to get wet and you move through it. This was another level of wet. Rain gear would have been nice, but not as much fun.

It was like the heavens opened up, reached down, and held you in its arms. Wet arms for sure, but heavenly arms nevertheless. Once again I felt part of something much bigger. Limitless!

Go Hiking Because It Is A Pleasure Prescription

by Leave a Comment

Hiking is back! This last weekend they opened the parks up. Hopefully, it will stay that way. My first hike was last weekend and it really was my pleasure prescription.

You really don’t understand how much you miss something until it is taken away. When I found out the trail would be open I was overjoyed. I got so excited. It changed my whole day.

Strange Times

There were two strange things about this hike and both involved people. The first was when I arrived at the trailhead and that was at 3:00 AM. Usually, nobody is there at that time of the morning. Then almost immediately a car pulled in behind me. Then another car and another car. Within five minutes there were six more cars in the lot. Fortunately, I was able to get on the trail before anyone and get a decent head start. Plus I was lucky that none of them were fast.

This sort of thing doesn’t happen, but I think they thought they would beat everyone else to the mountain so they could avoid other people during this Pandemic. I don’t think it was because, like me, they were just so excited to get on the trail.

The second strange thing I saw was when I started my trek back down the mountain. A group of people arrived at the false summit. I think they were a family. The older man who may have been the father was wearing a pistol and ammo. I have been climbing up this mountain for many years week after week and have never seen someone openly display a weapon. Is it fear? I think so.

The Best

Every hike is different and this one was no exception as you can tell fro the above comments. It was also so much fun. I got to see my favorite tree! Yes, I have a favorite tree. And I discovered that my home exercise routine had improved my fitness level dramatically over where I was in March. I made it to all my checkpoints and to the top in record time.

It was also an opportunity to learn something about myself. I left my “meal” in the car so I had to get up to the top and back down with no carbohydrates. I always hike the first half in a fasted state. I was not sure if I would be able to get all the way back down or not. I do think it slowed my pace coming down the mountain, but I made it.

Go hiking! The trails are open!

Bookish Weapon Number Forty-One

by Leave a Comment

“The Pleasure Prescription,” by Paul Pearsall, Ph.D. was written in 1996. It is still timely and I think a classic self-help book. So here we go.

Aloha vs Haole. Aloha besides meaning “Hi,” is the word for our seventh sense, the instinctive drive to do what is pleasurable and healthful. Haole means “without health.” The author says his book is about “rediscovering your sense of aloha.”

What I Liked and Didn’t Like

Pearsall says you can get enough exercise just by walking a few times a week. I disagree with this, but won’t belabor it. There are a lot of things in the book the make sense.

I liked this. “If you want to bring pleasure into your life, be a person who brings great pleasure into life – and into someone else’s life.” I agree! If you think you are adding to someone’s day even if it is just to make it a tiny bit more enjoyable then it will make your day too.

Relationships

One of the most impactful observations Pearsall makes is about relationships is drawn from the Polynesian culture. He quotes a Polynesian kahuna, “All bonds are forever. Divorce never annuls a relationship, and if you want to find joy, stay closely related to others and the world. The brain may think it has voided a commitment, but the heart does not think that way. Like a loving child, once it has loved, the heart loves forever, no matter what. You can never truly separate, even if you live a world away. It is a law of physics and a law of Polynesia. Once things join, they are transformed by their joining and are One forever.” That has stuck in my mind over the years and I think it is what really sets his book apart from the rest.

If you take the above statement to heart you will approach relationships with a far more serious and thoughtful mind. How many people are you One with that you thought were just a pause that refreshes? Think about that.

Urgency

Now here is something to consider. In the world of time management, they tell you to separate what is urgent from what is important and to know the difference. Pearsall discusses urgency in a different light. He calls it the “Urgency Response.” Some people are always under its spell. If you were raised in a violent home then you are constantly “ready.”

Pearsall says, “The urgency response is not just a psychological state, but also a physiological one. A state of prolonged urgency gradually kills us and threatens those around us by weakening our immune system, stressing our heart, and prematurely aging all of our bodies ’ systems.” Then he quotes Albert Camus who says, “If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life.”

Balance is the key says, Pearsall. “Healthy balance and oscillation is the key to the pleasure prescription. Just as too much happiness too often and too long can cross over to psychotic delusion, chronic unhappiness and internal stress from perceived helplessness and lack of joy can cross over to serious clinical depression.” We need to keep the parasympathetic system balanced with the sympathetic. So go get the Nature Beat App and a chest strap so you can check yours every morning.

Pain and Loss

This book is a couple of hundred pages long and I have only taken a few ideas from it so please read it yourself. There is much more to learn between these pages.

However, there is one more quote from the kahuna on pain and suffering that I thought was excellent. “When you are dealing with pain, loss, and suffering, you must remember five things. Be patient, for this too shall pass. Stay connected, for relationships must be strong to make the passing possible. Be pleasant through your pain, for that will bring you the aloha you need to heal and give healing to others. Silence your self-pity and avoid self-blame, for you are only doing what we all must do. Most of all, keep giving your aloha. Don’t use your suffering, share it by opening up to others, teaching them what you are learning from your pain, and holding and comforting them to let them know that they too will be safe when it comes to their turn.”

Go Hiking But What If You Can’t?

by Leave a Comment

Loss is not a fun topic, but I lost my hiking. The government shut down the trails die to the current Pandemic and I am sure with good intent and probably a lack of knowledge. The fact remains I can’t go hiking.

So what does someone do when they lose something they depend on for sanity and life? Be flexible and adapt!

The facts

So no hiking trails are available. Oh, and the gym is closed too. Not good. It is temporary, but how long this will last is anybody’s guess.

There are places you can walk just outside your door. Maybe even some hills, even steep hills. You might even get to know your neighborhood. That is what I did.

Be Creative And Flexible

So I created an at-home workout that is actually harder than the gym workout I did. I filled my backpack full of one-liter water bottles and use it for shoulder presses, curls, and squats. I just put another water bottle in it every week. After doing three rounds of multi exercises including Burpees, Turkish Getups, and sprints I go for a walk. The whole workout not including the walk takes an hour.

On Sunday, normal hiking day I do four rounds each being twice as long as during the week and then add an hour walk.

Loss is Hard

Even though I was able to put together a hard Sunday workout it is not as hard as a hike. I still miss hiking. Nothing really replaces it.

Like Barbara Hansen says in her book, Picking Up The Pieces,” “Loss is usually unexpected and unwanted.” You have to be careful not to go into denial at least permanently, and make room for anger. All of the emotional turmoil has a place.

Of course, we aren’t talking about losing your ability to walk like Barbara. It is just not being able to go hiking. Poor me! But the process is the same.

Silver Linings

It is always important to look at silver linings in every loss. You can find them. I discovered that I don’t need the gym as much as I thought and that I will be changing my gym workout when I go back to make it tougher.

Not hiking saves wear and tear on my car and saves gas money. Not hiking saves me time to do other things I never seem to have time to do. Finally, not hiking makes me appreciate hiking, even more.