Beach workout and some

- 12kg arm bar 2 R/L, ~30 second hold
- 24kg swings, 20 reps, 2 sets
- 16kg overheard walk 1 R/L, ~50 yards
- 20kg bear crawl (two bells) ~25 yards x 2
- 16kg tall-kneeling military press, 5 R/L x 2
- 16kg rotational press in the lunge position, 5 R/L x 2
- 16kg standing military press, 5 R/L
- 24kg goblet squat, 5 reps x 3
- 16kg in the goblet hold: reverse lunge, both knees to the ground, back to a lunge, stand up. 3 R/L x 2
- 16kg in the goblet hold: reverse lunge, rotate 180 degrees, stand up. 3 R/L x 2
- 16kg Feldenkrais lunge: kb in the rack, reverse lunge, rotate 180 degrees, stand up. 3 R/L x 2
- Double 16kg Feldenkrais lunge, 3 R/L x 2
- 20kg H2H swings, 30 reps x 2
- Tall-kneeling hot potato, 16kg, 0:50

I'm nearing the end of school, and it's nose to the grindstone. All is well though; life is very good for the most part. Tragedy has struck my family in the form of terminal cancer in my grandma's lungs. Healthy as can be, a very young 89 years lived... it's a little bit surreal right now. I will be going back to Kansas in December after school is out to spend some time with her. Life is so unpredictable; cherish those you love, and try not to take them for granted.

Last night's workout

-~30 second arm bar x 2 each side
-Deadlifted 225 lbs. 5 times because it was just sitting there asking to be lifted.
-24kg 20 swings x 2
-Around-the-world, 10 each way
-16kg overheard walk 50 yards x 2
-16kg single kettlebell bearcrawl 15 yards x 2

Circuit 1 (20 second rounds):
-24kg two-handed swings
-8 lbs sledgehammer strikes against 600 lbs tire; ~15 strikes in 20 seconds
-Rest
-Seated 8 lbs. tornado ball strikes side-to-side
-Sled push ~20 yards; kept pushing until time was up
-24kg goblet squat
-16kg seated hot potato

Completed 2 rounds.

Circuit 2 (20 second rounds):
-20kg one-handed swings
-8 lbs sledgehammer strikes against 600 lbs tires; ~15 strikes in 20 seconds
-Rest
-Seated 8 lbs. tornado ball strikes side-to-side
-16kg mashed potato (hot potato + front squats)
-16kg reverse lunge to kneeling to lunge to standing
-16kg pull-over sit ups

Completed 2 rounds.

Solid.

Each time we live...

How does one respond to the question: What is the meaning of life?

The question has become as cliché as it is profound. It is a thought owned by extremes: Starry-eyed protagonists, gazing off into a perfectly lighted landscape, expel contemplative sighs as they muse; a studious youth sits beneath the glow of a single lamp in the small hours of the morning, eyes heavy with fatigue that is of more than the body, staring at numbers and words that blur together, because... ; a single individual plants her hands against the countertop of the twenty-four hour deli and leans heavily, head hanging, thinking of her bed, of her little ones at home; a mouth agape with fury, hatred, arms of will wielding arms of destruction, seeming so distant in its pixelated form on the evening news...

The stories are many. They are, in fact, infinite. The question presented is far more than a question - it is a method. It is reason. It is the heart of the soul.

Religion, politics, friendship, family, lovers, goals, ambitions - what we seek as a people. Stability. Solidity. Clarity. Meaning. And at the heart of it all: Love.

Yes, the answer is also a bit trite, in the repetition of it. Words can often be as much. But the application of it...

It's SO easy to hear words and understand their meaning and value on a superficial level. We are intelligent creatures, and are able to process information well. Utilizing it, and feeling it in our soul, in a deeper way, within our higher selves... that's something else.

Why do we do what we do? Why do we wake up to the alarm clock and go to work, school, or any other obligation? Why do we conform to the limits of society? (Well, that's another topic entirely...) The question remains: What' s the point?

Someone asked me once to tell them the meaning of life. I answered that there is no single meaning, that it is left to each of us to determine our own meaning. True, in my opinion, but only partially, and there is a huge flaw in that naked statement.

Yes. LIVE as you WANT to live, and pursue what feeds and fills you, and create your own meaning, individual and unique and beautifully sculpted to you. But why? Why do we continue to live, to fall, to fail, and more importantly, to stand back up and strive onward?

I read this line this morning, and it just encompasses the solution perfectly to me:

Because each time we live, we get to love again.

Ahhh. Yes. Yes...

Every time we fall to our knees; every time we watch a dream slip out of our fingers; every time we look about at the havoc we have wrought, and feel that knot tighten in our core, and the fluttering of our fragile, frightened heart; every time we feel anger or confusion or sorrow or grief and we have no clue where to go... If we keep the gateway to our heart open, then there is only one way to go, and that is up. Because each time we fall, there is the knowledge that love will continue to be the possibility that we make it to be. Love for a companion, a family, friends; love for passion of life, goals, ambitions, dreams, hopes; love for a god, gods, an eternal afterlife, salvation. Love, in its true form, will never harm; that is only in the nature of attachment. It is that eternal second chance at something, anything. We only ever fail when we extinguish the possibility of love--because of anger, hatred, vengence, sorrow, discontent, which are all the children of fear--and thus, allow our heart to wither. And so we choose life.

I feel as though I've had this revelation so many times. Yet each time I have it, it is just as profound and powerful as it was before. It is so easy to forget the power of true understanding and utilization. I am so grateful to the universe and to the opportunities I have and the people in my life for being so patient. How fortunate...

How beautiful.