Category: Mind, Body, and Soul

It takes plenty of attitudes to walk among the imps racing around causing havoc in the world we live in.  Attitude keeps me above the fray, somewhat aloof, out of the to-do atmospheres the majority of sheep wallow in day in and day out.

I don’t have time, and have never paid attention to those who’s attitudes are downright nasty and rotten to the core.  You see, attitudes take on a number of altitudes and can lead to forward progress that benefits humanity or it can maim and torture the unsuspecting and least capable of defending themselves.

My attitude wards off those who would do me harm, but who appear to have the best intentions, or what I call ulterior motives.  After all, humans will always do what they perceive is best for them or their ilk when push comes to shove.

Sometimes it’s best to have an attitude of indifference because trying to be everything to everybody can only lead to mental breakdowns, and who wants to bear the burden of a defeatist attitude.

Today (2014) people have the attitude someone else is to blame for their short comings.  The blame game is extremely popular these days because admitting fault or error is seen as a weakness.  It takes a very dynamic attitude to not fall prey to the “It’s not my fault,” mentality and admit no one knows everything and it’s human to err.

People cop the wrong attitudes and run with their herd mentalities because they’re lazy thinkers, feel it’s safer in numbers, and want someone else to make their decisions (although they will never admit this).  Thinking what others think for the sheer easiness of the lack of process is a sign of ignorance my attitude cannot abide.  I’m reminded of the Nazi party members who went along to get along and marched with their heads held high in celebration of what they thought was victory that would last a thousand years.  When destructive attitudes cause us to ignore history we will repeat it.

Attitudes manifest into many forms depending on which stage we’re on or which individual we’re interacting with.  Family members, friends, co-workers, associates, those we like, those we love, and those we love to hate, or feel ambivalent about all call for different attitudes and at different times.

An overall positive attitude about life is paramount and far more proactive and productive than a pessimistic one.  But pessimism isn’t all bad, living in a world cloaked with myriads of secrecy and motives not always good for the survival of all species.

When I was younger; I felt nothing or no one could interfere with my attitude but today anything can disrupt my attitude, whether good or bad, but how I react is the only thing I can control.  So, my attitude strives to be cognitively engaged at all times so I can maintain the high or moral ground to foster an attitude of appreciation of all people no matter what their backgrounds and attitudes.

To fight fear and have peace of mind is the right attitude for love and forgiveness.  Today spiritual beliefs are set aside to appease fears that may be real, but in all actuality are used to fuel hidden agendas men of power or men who want power use to divide and conquer those who sustain their lively political posturing.

Human beings seem to be moving towards an attitude of total indifference to the suffering and inhumanity of those they don’t know or don’t like.  Raping of women, human trafficking, pedophilia, wars, drugs abuse, domestic violence, church scandals, political bickering at the cost of a whole nation, are issues we frequently hear about and shrug our shoulders at because we think we’re defenseless.  There is only so much the thinking brain can take in and not go crazy about, so we fight only the battles we think we can win, which are mainly those associated with our comfort zones.

Life as we use to know it is more about surviving than helping those too weak to fend for themselves.

Standing nude before the bathroom mirror I stretch, raising arms, hands, and fingers towards heaven.  Rotating my shoulders back I feel a sensation of ease leading to relaxation of muscles tightened from the days never ending anxieties of the man-made world I live in.

I look upon my outstretched limbs and marvel at the beauty of my flesh.  I feel oneness with myself.  I am still in one divine piece after all these years.  All me, all organic, free range, and tone to the bone.  No artificial implants for this beautiful mocha physique.

I close my eyes, listening and immersed in the moment.  It’s quiet.  My cell phone is turned off, there is no landline phone in my bedroom, and the television is not on.  There’s just me and Grey, my cat, here in front of the mirror; checking ourselves out.

Why does stretching feel so good all the time…whether morning, noon, or night.  Our bodies appreciate the extended release of internal inconsistencies irrelevant to our spirits.  Tensions are purged and our body unwinds into a short sweet blissful aha moment that feels much like heaven on earth.

I think about stretching past the good, bad, and ugly to the meaningful.  Life is a stretch that requires the concentration of a yoga master. What exactly does it mean to enjoy life abundantly unless you extend and stretch past Maslow’s basic needs?

My passion, for writing, continuously eats at me.  I pick it up and put it down.  I wish, and then realistically put myself in check.  I must make it happen.  I must stretch if I am to conceive what burns within me.  The incubation period has been far too long.

I stretch my thighs as I kneel down in prayer, giving thanks to the Almighty.  Tension leaves my neck because of a pouring out, a cleansing brought about by prayer.

I am at the beauty shop under a hair dryer, writing, hearing the slap of dominoes, as hot air blows upon my head, over my ears, out among others waiting for the opportunity to sit in this spot.  Feet tap anxiously, phones and cell phones ring, water runs, and voices join in the throng of endless gossip and reverie.  Women flip through magazines looking for a style that will refresh their look and make them feel like someone else.  I sit here stretching, looking, and soaking everything in as I compose.  All the while knowing each moment is precious.  I may see you next week, I may not.

My life has never been ordinary, but it’s not extraordinary either.  Ordinary doesn’t compute with my personality.  By no stretch of the imagination am I ordinary.  People have always thought me different, a rebel, a non-conformist, never following the herd, dancing to the beat of a different drum, never holding in, communicating, not taking sides, seeing both sides, standing strong, believing in truth, accepting responsibility, not happy with the status quo, idealist, realist, cutting to the chaste, and convicted by one thing – the truth.  No situational ethics for me.

I’m stretching, reaching, and fueling my engine as I get ready to roll my way over the top of this hill to the next plateau.

We all have hills to climb.  Hills are dynamic – they shift and sometimes crumble to the ground, like when an earth quake occurs.  What use to be there is changed until the next wave of natural catastrophes blow our minds.  Like when ants build a mound and a lawn mower, foot, or drenching rain destroys it.  The ant stretches and rebuilds.

Human hills can be environmental, man-made, self-imposed, and in many cases; just plain stupid.  The San Francisco earth quake changed a lot of peoples’ lives.  The housing bubble was man-made, dripping with greed, and almost caused all of us to go under.  A person buying a home they can’t afford was underlined with lack of education and a self-imposed disaster and wake-up call.  Thinking you don’t need to keep learning is just plain stupid.

And just when you think you can take your foot off the brake and coast a while the unexpected happens and you must stretch to get through it.  Most thinking people are always reassessing life as they know it.  To keep moving forward takes a lot of stretching, will power, courage, commitment, and persistence.  Who knows if they’ll make it to their dream state, that special state of mind that says well done; now I can relax?  After all, it’s all about the journey…isn’t it?

I watch the circular motion of a fan rotating hot air.  It reminds me of a little mouse running around and around a circular wheel going nowhere, its energy expelled in fruitless activity.  Life can be like that, a rat race with oneself.  I stretch and realize that at this particular moment I’m not sleeping, eating, regretting, or preparing, or thinking about tomorrow.  I’m here now, composing, stretching my mind and knowing all I have is now so why not make use of it.

I feel the smoothness of my relaxed hair upon my sane head and I am aware my body has stretched again.  Each movement is a stretch, but in which direction?  Moving forward through life is a stretch.  It takes nothing to move backwards, or stay put, but stretching takes effort.

Learning fuels each and every part of me, giving me energy that enables each step to get wider until I run, then soar like an eagle.

I am a late bloomer, although I’ve always known this is not as good as it gets.  It’s as good as we want it to be.  I’m bored with the status quo.  I want to refurbish my life.  The reinvention of me is one stretch that shouldn’t take too much effort.  I’m a chameleon – adaptable.

Even someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth has to stretch to become someone other than the money inherited.

Spirituality is a stretch in the right direction or the wrong direction.  It depends on who or what you worship.  Straight is the gate and narrow is the path that leads to unbelievable relaxation into the arms of the one who knows me best.  I’m always stretching in His direction.

Christ stretched on the cross, with arms open wide, giving up his physical body, becoming transparent, and then he embraced the world with his love before returning to the Father.

Why must I stretch?  Why must I look beyond…into the unknown?  Why can’t I be content with what is before me, what I can see and feel, what I already know?  I’m never satisfied with what is as I stretch to what will be.  I just have to be me.  It’s in me is all I can say.  I was made this way.

I stretch to stay focused on the moment at hand, but can’t help thinking about the future.  What must I do next to stay afloat, to take care of myself, to ward off the tax man, the axe man, stock market manipulators, back stabbers, and a host of demons lurking around the corner waiting to pounce?  I desperately seek a higher ground, a higher purpose; away from ego and its protections.  My mission is awareness of life in the present as I rest totally on my faith and guarded by my divine hedge of protection.

Bending over backwards is unnecessary.  I can lean into the light…to stretch.

Are you stretching?