All posts by Ryan
The Mirror
I am made up of so many people
My experiences are such
That when I look into the mirror
There’s no face I cannot touch
I see the people wondering
What I have become
There has to be an answer there
But searching, I find none
(Written April 6, 1996)
The Runners High
briskly and swift travels the aging man
ascending the mount to see God’s beacon shine
focused on words that illuminate his soul
grateful for the quickening of mercies divine
Tonight I ran for the second time this week and the second time in perhaps 6 months or more. After the St. George in 2005 I haven’t trained much. I did run the Wasatch Back Relay, but I pretty much ran that straight up without forethought…and my legs sure thanked me for it!
Today I had been having a brain cloud, as I’ve come to recognize as a fairly common part of Ryan’s existence. I almost didn’t run today because I’ve been feeling “almost sick” lately. Ya know that feeling of fatigue, muscle soreness, hot/cold “make up your mind” stuff? Well, I’ve been having that but guess what? Here’s what I experienced upon returning from a 15 minute run, 5 minute walk, then repeat session:
- My mind felt clear and focused
- I had more energy
- I noticed patience came easier
- Gratitude filled my being
- (From the textbook) Overall sense of well being
I enjoy noticing the effects of my actions more these days. I haven’t always done that and it’s quite interesting and refreshing.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
Over the past week I’ve felt a renewal of my dream to study the brain. This new energy came as I watched Daniel G Amen on a KUED special talk about his clinics and all the SPECT scans they’ve done and how they’ve started to use it as a diagnostic tool, something it sounds like many have avoided. Here’s a playlist to the special I watched.
Ever since my physiological psych class with Dr. Yells several years ago I’ve had a strong interest in the brain, its hard wiring and its relationship to behavior, memory and learning.
Along the way I’ve also had a desire to be involved in the technology that would eventually revolutionize again the way we diagnose patients and help them in their journey towards happy existences.
A couple months ago I pulled out the drawings and drafts I had been making over the past several years about my ideas on what I’ve since come to classify as personal medical sensors and monitoring. The simple thought came to me, “I wonder if anyone’s ever thought about these things before.” So I jumped online and started the search. It didn’t take long to find solutions that others had come up with. BRILLIANT!
As I’ve started to learn about the brain again I’ve felt alive again, like I have purpose I guess.
This is not the only thing that’s contributed to the feelings I’ve been having, but learning IS a powerful motivator for me. In fact, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life actually talks about the need for life-long learning to keep your brain healthy. I’m feeling it.
In other news, last week I started doing sales for our company, ioVentures. Invigorating. I realized that I absolutely love meeting new people, sharing what I know about a topic and learning what they’re involved with.
Tonight we had our ioV company party. I was the only one not married, but no worries. I took Shimpie. We had a great time bowling. I got a personal best (156) along with Jason and Larissa. Fun stuff.
Today I found out that I was picked in the lotto to run in the Moab Half Marathon in March… :o) Running, it’s become foreign to me. Let’s get back on that horse!
Simplicity
Storms & struggles
Sadness & strife
These are but gifts
Blessings of life
We ride the cycles of happiness and sorrow. With every rotation we learn more of what it is to be human, to have strains, to have challenges, to have difficulties. To recognize that these down times are but part of the whole allows us to let hope into our hearts and understand, as my grandmother used to say, “this too shall pass.”
At times we run faster than we’re able. We fill our lives, and rightly so, with good activities. But there comes a point when the busyness of life robs from us the precious gift of reflection. In quiet moments we can look back on our behavior, let the solemnity of special moments sink in and we can assess our thinking on important topics. Simplifying our lives can provide us with many such opportunities. In these sacred times we can come to accept & love ourselves as well as see life more clearly.
Shelter, food, clothes and heat. These are the few basic things that Henry David Thoreau determined were necessaries for man while he lived a simplified life on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Walden Pond. I am thankful for my meager apartment and cramped room. I am grateful that I have clothes to wear, including my cowboy boots. I am pleased that my house is warm when the weather outside has other plans. I am grateful for my 5 pound bag of pretzels and chocolate milk that sustain somehow my life.
Breaking from philosophy and entering practicality: In considering a shelter Dave Ramsey counsels to spend no more than 25% of your monthly take home pay on your monthly home payments. Also, providing at least 20% in down payment on a 15 year loan will allow you the most flexibility if you need to immediately sale the home.
Thrift, industry, economy and frugality are traits that I seek. At present time I think I’m running about 50/50 on most of them. Hopefully my kids someday will be able to learn these from their bearded father.
Finally, I’m grateful for my agency. I needn’t choose simplicity because that’s what I was advised to do. Rather, I choose simplicity because I can conceive of its benefits in a busy and rushed world.
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Thoughts taken from Let Him Do It with Simplicity, a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry in the October 2008 LDS General Conference.