My Journal

It’s been 2-years since I last journaled on this site.  Much has happened since.  I was journaling on paper during the first 4-months of that year.  Every entry also included a drawing for the day.

Life continued not to be simple.  The rat-race of every day overwhelm me and time flew, but I wasn’t always having fun.  Stress and anxiety became the norm.  Moments of peace were fleeting. The new year’s resolutions went unresolved.

This days, I strive to be positive. This motto from 2-years ago, “Live everyday as if was the last, stop complaining and start loving and living, be grateful and be at peace!,” lives on the forefront of my every day, even when I may forget an hour after I wake.

I wish this year to be a better one for every one, including myself.

Happiness is a choice we make. I resolve to choose it daily.

Be@Peace

The New Year’s Cycle Continues

Another year begins and old resolutions become new resolutions again.  Every year at this time, we find ourselves at a crossroads.  We evaluate our decisions made and the future ahead.  We establish new goals and look forward to the changes that will take place over the course of the next year.  We ponder, we reflect, we ponder some more.  We come to the realization that acting on our goals is the best way to accomplish what we want for the year.

This year, my list is short:

Live everyday as if was the last, stop complaining and start loving and living, be grateful and be at peace!

I expect this simple motto to take me thru the rest of this and every future year.  At this point in my life, that’s the only thing I can wish for, it is the only thing I can do.  I’d been tired, and complaining drags me down even more. Gratefulness calms down the anxiety of life.

At the beginning of every year I promise to be a better self, physically, mentally and emotionally.  This year I choose to be grateful. I’ll speak less and listen more.  I promise to keep calm, breath deep, and to think more and react less.

The best way to accomplish this year’s resolutions is to take one day at a time.  To live for today, because tomorrow may never get here. Choosing to write a better story every day, keeping in mind that, although tomorrow may never come, there is always the hope that it will and I can start with a clean slate every morning.

This year I choose to be happy, I choose to be grateful, I chose to be at peace.

The New Year’s Cycle Continues

Another year begins and old resolutions become new resolutions again.  Every year at this time, we find ourselves at a crossroads.  We evaluate our decisions made and the future ahead.  We establish new goals and look forward to the changes that will take place over the course of the next year.  We ponder, we reflect, we ponder some more.  We come to the realization that acting on our goals is the best way to accomplish what we want for the year.

This year, my list is short:

Live everyday as if was the last, stop complaining and start loving and living, be grateful and be at peace!

I expect this simple motto to take me thru the rest of this and every future year.  At this point in my life, that’s the only thing I can wish for, it is the only thing I can do.  I’d been tired, and complaining drags me down even more. Gratefulness calms down the anxiety of life.

At the beginning of every year I promise to be a better self, physically, mentally and emotionally.  This year I choose to be grateful. I’ll speak less and listen more.  I promise to keep calm, breath deep, and to think more and react less.

The best way to accomplish this year’s resolutions is to take one day at a time.  To live for today, because tomorrow may never get here. Choosing to write a better story every day, keeping in mind that, although tomorrow may never come, there is always the hope that it will and I can start with a clean slate every morning.

This year I choose to be happy, I choose to be grateful, I chose to be at peace.

This year, I’ve noticed too many flags at half staff.  This is done, out of respect, when someone important dies.   Every other day some terrorist is attacking the good people of the world. I’m glad that we are honoring all the fallen.

This morning I saw pictures on Facebook of military service dogs.  How they unconditionally put themselves in the line of fire to protect the ones who take care of them is beyond me, but that they do lifts my spirit.

All too often, I forget there is still so much good in the world.  The corruption, the evil, may only be a minor part of life, however it gets most of the attention because that’s what we crave.  How much more peaceful would the world be had we been able to keep our emotions in check and our anger under control.

Innocent people suffer and the hands of those who have no respect for life or peace.

The world is so toxic at this time that the only possible outcome is to cleanse itself, however what is it getting rid off?  More good people die at the hands of intolerant people, and then there is illness.  How many good people are plagued by disease and suffering?  Another cleansing strategy?

So what can I do to effect some change in the world?  This one person against the world seems like an un-winnable battle.  However, if all of us who feel the same as me would continue to express a positive attitude and a desire to be at peace within ourselves, the world may start to feel that we care.

This morning, my prayer is that all who feel the need to express peace, continue to do so in the hopes that we can set an example for others to follow.

Be @ Peace

Last day of the month.  In January, I wrote almost every day.  In February, I wrote on the first and the last day.

Life has thrown me some curves over the last month.  You might say everything that’s happened it’s not been fare.  But when “life hand you lemons, the best thing is to make lemonade,” right?  So, I’ve chosen to take the high road and accept, like the Serenity Prayer says, that there are many things I can’t change and I better not worry about them.

It is my strong believe that for everything that happens in ones life, there is always a reason.  I may not see it today, however it will become clear when the lesson is complete.

For now, I learn to accept what’s on the road I walk.

Well, I did pretty good writing in the month of January, however I fell short by 4 days.  A lot was happening towards the end of the month, no excuse though!  Today, it’s almost midnight before I could get this few lines put together.

Personally, I’d like to reconsider this challenge.  I want to write more, however, I want it to be more significant than just writing something for the day.  I’d like to keep this site update and entertaining, but also useful.

If I don’t have anything to say for a day, I won’t just make something up.  I want more substance to this content.

A new challenge is up!  Let’s begin.

To be or not to be … A Nutritarian

A nutritarian diet is one base on eating highly nutritious foods, mostly plant-based and whole.  Over the last 3 years, Don and I have given up animal products and have made it a point to nourished ourselves with plant-based whole foods.  For me it’s been a struggle to follow, not because I’ve given up most animal products, but because I’ve become mostly a “junk” vegan.

I don’t consider myself 100% vegan because I still eat eggs 1-2 times per month and seafood 3-4 times per year.  Also, if there is cheese or milk on something I’m eating, as long as it is not an everyday occurrence, I’m ok with it.  The “junk vegan” comes into play for everyday meals where I indulge in rice, breads, pastas, and/or “vegan” sweets.

Growing up in Puerto Rico, our staple meal was rice and beans.  Pasta was something you ate once in a while, although pizza could be eaten at any time, especially in the company of friends.

Over the years and the older I get, I find that it’s become harder and harder to shed the extra pounds that refine flours and sugar tend to put on my body.  No matter how many hours a day I go to the gym or how many miles I run on weekdays and weekends, I still can’t shed the last 20-30 pounds I need to get to my ideal weight.

Hydrating myself is another issue.  Keeping my body alkalized is a shore and I know that I’m constantly dehydrated.  Even when I’m thirsty and I’m craving a large glass of water, I refuse to take the time to drink it.

I share this struggle, because like me, I know there is so many others that go thru this on a daily basis.  On the surface, I may always look like I’m doing everything perfect, however choosing the foods I partake from everyday it’s always a tough choice.

I finally was able to schedule a trip to home for next month.  It’s been a struggle to get thru the last 2 weeks with the uncertainty of what’s going on at home with my father.  Trusting that I’ve been told what’s truly going on is one thing, however not knowing that its accurate information makes me feel uneasy.

Soon I’ll know!

Our day began late, but we ran 9.15 miles using a 45/45-sec interval.  After finishing 5.38 miles yesterday, my legs were heavy but took care of the job.

On a side note:  I refuse to try and calculate how many miles we have left to go in the middle of a run; the results are usually wrong.

We had  a really good 5.3 mile run today even though I’m still struggling with foot pain.  As long as I can keep distracted by talking to Don, I don’t pay attention to the pain.

My journey of staying fit has had ups and downs for me.  My biggest trouble i keeping from indulging on process foods and highly sugary foods.  Staying alkalized by eating plant based foods and drinking water is sometimes a shore, but it gets sloppily done.

But more on this tomorrow.