Are you the King of your Jungle?

Lion V Cheetah

Cheetahs..The world's fastest land mammal. It can run at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour, and can cover 23-26 feet in ONE stride.

Lions...Nicknamed the 'King of the Jungle'.  Their roar can be heard up to 5 miles away. The most powerful of all animals and fearless. 

As I was working out today, I was looking at one of the televisions above the stair master.  The screen that caught my eye was on some animal documentary comparing large cats in the wild. This one in particular was comparing cheetahs to lions. Being a Leo, I'm partial to lions. Watching them move within this film was breathtaking and humbling.  A male lion averaging 400-500 pounds, with their amazing manes and staggering stature...it is no wonder adjectives such as majestic, power, courage, and nobility are used often in their descriptions.  

The cheetah was stunning. Graceful, agile, and incredibly fast making its' beauty short lived to those close enough.  Their speed enables them the ability to attack you before you're able to recognize they are even there.

The fastest pitted against the strongest. Why the comparison? When I watched this it reminded me of the question that arose when the Ravens played the Pats some years ago in the super bowl. Who wins super bowls? Offense, or defense? The strongest versus the fastest. I suppose if you are the best at a particular thing within the same 'game' you are going to be compared to the other great thing.

I could go on about the animals separately. It was a fascinating piece. What I found interesting though, was the way the cheetah evened out the match up. You see, if a lion and a cheetah come in contact with one another, the cheetah, of course, can out run a lion...BUT for how long? Eventually, the cheetah needs to come up for air, and the lion then has an opportunity to catch up and pounce. ONCE these two animals are head to head, the cheetah stands NO chance in being able to defend itself. The lion's strength outweighs that of its' 150 pound counterpart, and the cheetah knows this. What do cheetahs do then to keep from becoming extinct at the hands of the lion?  They kill the lion's cubs. Wow. I know I cannot beat you, so I cripple your lineage.

This made me think of a lot of different things, but what I wanted to focus on within this write up is the magnitude of that type of power. Imagine being SO powerful, that people KNOW they would not win if given a chance to challenge you. So, what do they do? They kill your children to keep your legacy from continuing. They take something close to you that weakens your army, and your spirit. They recognize your strength, and utilize a back door method of attack.  We've seen this in history and in movies where great emperors, warriors and leaders who conquered many were attacked through their bloodline. The Gladiator, Braveheart, Jesus... :)

The method of attack and the related item in question that is stolen from you can be related to many things physical or not. Children, family, spouses, money, joy, peace, stability, security,....My thoughts. Am I powerful? Are you powerful? Do people fear you? Not fear as in scared. Fear as in respect. Will you leave a presence that others recognize? A truth they won't question. Do YOU believe in it?

And , what are you leaving behind? Not just in children, family, lineage, but teachings, thoughts, impressions,.. how do you 'touch' people you encounter? Are you king? Or just a predator...

Rebel without a Cause....

a rebel without a cause

phrase of cause

noun: rebel without a cause

1. 1.

   a person who is dissatisfied with society but does not have a specific aim to fight for.

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” 
― Friedrich Nietzsche

I have this shirt that, upon purchase, was enticing more for the design than the word. It was loose, hung off my shoulder and was open in the back. Very different and fitting both for my personality, and the front of the shirt. REBEL.  'Someone who resists or defies authority, or the status quo. '

I recently took some much needed downtime and travelled to California. Not my first trip to the state, but my first time in the LA area.  I needed a break, so this trip was scheduled immediately following a big fitness show we participated in in NYC.  During this trip, I really wanted to reflect on myself and obtain some 'answers'...LIFE answers. Usually people have a specific question they need answered. Although, I thought to myself I needed to sort things out, I am not really certain I could lay out the 'things' I needed sorted for someone to help me.  What I did know was I felt uneasy, restless, and lacking. Lacking purpose,...lacking direction....lacking peace  I didn't feel calm. Like I was trying to be still in a bottle someone would continually shake up,..and loudly. It was noisy. In my head...my surroundings,....I couldn't get away from the constant buzz. 

I ran everyday. These were the quietest moments on my trip and the only time I could really shut everything out and think on nothing, and everything. Every morning, I took a run to the water and would just run. Run until it entered my head that I was tired, or I would recognize that the sun was peeping out and people were beginning their day. In that silence, I would listen intently, for a sign...a word. Nothing. 

One day, I had stopped at a Starbucks for coffee and decided to sit there to finish my beverage before heading to the hotel. An older gentleman had taken a seat at one of the 'community' type tables next to mine. I had gotten up to grab something at the counter and when I returned he asked me what my shirt meant. 

'What do you mean?' I asked. 'Why are you wearing that shirt?' He asked. 'Surely, you purchased that shirt to make some sort of statement. What does it mean?'  

I laughed. 'I don't do things the normal way'.  Now HE laughed. ' I like that', he replies. And so my conversation with Luigi began. Luigi, an Italian immigrant who moved to the now Rodondo Beach area as a young man in 1972 and made what he could work for work, work, until he happened upon the trade of carpentry and construction. I sat and spoke with this man for an hour as he continued to lay nugget upon nugget on the table about his life experiences and what's REALLY important in life. He said so much, I told him he should blog little quotes and thoughts each day. I should have recorded him and done it for him. This man still owned a flip phone. lol.  

During our conversation, he would continually ask me why and what do YOU think. Why, why why. What I realized in our discussion was I was the noise. I am the noise, I am the distraction, I am the person shaking up my bottle. The buzz is mine and the voices are me. I move. I am active. I don't sit still, but I'm looking for peace? And when I have silence,...I run. When I had time every morning to listen, I plugged in headphones, and ran, waiting for THE VOICE to drown out the tunes flowing into my ears, and disappointed when I went back to my room without THE ANSWER. What I asked for was a truth that required me to stop and look at myself and deep down, I don't have a complete happiness with the image.

I celebrated a birthday recently. With that came my subconscious mind reflecting on where I've been, what I've done, what I lack, and where I should be. This year, it required a lot more embracing. Who I am,  AND who IS that? What I want, and how that's changed. Where I want to be, live and even who I want to be with and keep in my circle. 

When I started writing, I wrote with the intention of emptying my brain. I wanted the remaining contents to come together and formulate a complete picture that made sense. It rarely happens the way you want right? Although my step by step guide didn't fall from the sky and bounce off my desk, a determination to make things DIFFERENT did.  Making steps towards my whats and eliminating the who's and whats that are not a part of that process. 

A few months ago, I blogged from my last trip in Florida and I mentioned that sometimes you have to leave things behind. Don't be afraid to let things go. I took a picture of an old and very beat up pair of sneakers that I LEFT in Florida. Since then, I had a new pair of sneakers, and although I only had them 3 months, they too are ragged, torn, and ready to be replaced. I took another picture, and left these sneakers in California, but not for the same underlying thought. When I purchased this pair, I got them to get me by, and not because they were the best pair for me. I had my old pair for almost 6 months, and although that is too long to keep a pair of sneakers that you utilize regularly, they maintained for most of that time, because they were a good pair. 

The sneakers I left in Cali

So I left yet another pair, not only to let go, but to find something better, something that will last, and take care of me. I will take the time to find a pair that nurtures that, and not settle on something to 'get me by'.  

Here's to not just getting by. 

Here's to not running. 

Here's to standing still, looking forward with my eyes open, and still being able to embrace the image before me. 

“It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?"

[Letter to Harrison Blake; November 16, 1857]” 
― Henry David Thoreau, Letters to Various Persons