Life Shifts

Have you ever felt like your life is a tv show or movie (i.e. The Matrix, The Truman Show, many episodes of Star Trek whatever generation, the 4400, etc) where they steal your consciousness and you think you are living your life, but it's really all made up? Usually something will betray the illusion with some sort of clue and you (or the character) eventually find your way back to your reality which would be something like laying in some medical lounge chair with wires and electrodes hooked up to you with a bunch of doctors and scientists huddled around taking notes. No? Well, given the large amount of books, movies and tv shows that deal with these experiences, I think there's something universal about it. Okay...so the point here is that as a result of some life changing experience (good or bad), your world and all future experiences are now significantly changed or seen in a different way. The "looking glass" through which you see the world has been permanently altered. These are the times in life that I love AND I hate. We get lulled into a false sense of security (usually when it's a bad thing that happens) or complacency (when it's time for change and you know it but haven't been able to do anything until it is pushed upon you). It's about change...and the challenge of that change is to use it for growth. It is not usually something you are aware of as the chain of events are happening. Only in retrospect is this seen. But more like an unexpected volcanic explosion forever changing your personal landscape. Maybe it's the death of a parent, discovering you have cancer, a divorce, surviving an experience that challenged to you to go beyond your previously thought limits or the birth of a child. Perhaps it is a major injury. How we can wish it hadn't happened...but eventually accept that it has. So do the work, do the recovery...make the adjustments and use it to grow and move forward. I tore my ACL in 2002 about a month before going to Brazil to compete in the Mundials. The doctor said I couldn't train and certainly I couldn't compete. Well, I had been training and argued with him until he acquiesed and said I could go. I had surgery schedule for the day after I returned. Then I received a call for a freelance job that would start the day after I was supposed to get off of crutches. Well, that was perfect! I needed to make some money and I wasn't going to be able to set foot on a mat for at least 3 months which was, coincidentally, the length of the job, and sitting at a desk on a computer was pretty much the only thing I was going to be able to do. On top of that, the building where the job was had a gym equipped with exactly what I needed for my rehab! Of course, I wish I hadn't torn my ACL in the first place but it did change my jiu-jitsu and made me reconsider a lot of movements I had taken for granted. By the way, has anyone ever seen "Wintuition" on the Game Show Network (GSN)?

Eat meat again???

I haven't eaten meat* for 27 years. That's 2/3 of my life. Recently I've decided to eat meat again. It's now been about a week that I've been actively putting meat back into my diet and trying things I haven't had for a long time or ever had the opportunity to try.
I discovered that pepperoni pizza is yummy.
Sausage on pizza is okay, but vegetarian sausage is better.
Chicken only tastes as good as the sauce or seasoning that's put on it (how is this any different than tofu?...oh yah, tofu doesn't have the nasty smell of chicken that needs to be hidden).
But shredded chicken in a Wana Iguana enchilada could be passed off as crab meat, tastes good and makes me feel like I'm eating an expensive meal.
Beef jerky tastes good. Or maybe it's the sodium that's good.
Meat is hard and takes a lot of effort to chew. My jaw has been sore and I think it's the additional chewing demands of the meat that is causing it. Sure vegetables take time to chew, but they are softer.
I'll let you know how it goes...

*I ate fish, eggs and dairy but no red meat, chicken, etc.

Life Happens...

For most people, jiu-jitsu is something you do. It is a part of your life. When things in life happen, it can make it difficult to get to class. So many things are demanding your time, attention and energy and some days, you just can't make it in to train. Sometimes it's a class, or a week of training, or maybe even a month or two. Maybe you get married, have a baby, change jobs, need time to recover from an injury or any other myriad of things that comprises what we would call "our life". Everybody has priorities and sometimes one area has to suffer. For our own sanity and survival, something has to give and many times that may be your training. Then you resolve things, adjust to your new schedule or your new family or whatever the case may be and you get yourself back on track and training again. After a bit of pain, you find yourself moving forward and progressing. In my case, this blog is one of the things that had to give. So now, back on track and moving forward...


p.s. the RSS feed should now be working. Thanks Matt!