In athletic competition, one thing you learn is there is always someone better than you. Even if you are the best in the world at what you do, there is probably someone out there right now who would be better than you, but they didn't have the inclination, or the opportunity.

Therefore, when observing those greater than you, it's best to have the attitude of a moth drawn to a light. As I heard Deepak Chopra say tonight, when there is light, you see your shadow. Only when there is darkness do you see no shadow. Great athletes are like bright lights, and around them, you see your shadow, or the realities of your shortcomings, distinctly.

But rather than be stuck staring at your own shadow, allow your competition to be your inspiration–your illumination. Study the light, follow the light, become a light, and darkness and shadows will always be behind you.

I was thinking tonight about the ridiculous finger-wagging Senator Clinton has been doing at Barack Obama, and I can only think of one good reason for the gusto that she puts beind her matronly “you’ve been a bad, bad boy” routine. Pent up aggression, perhaps?

Ha, ha, sorry, couldn’t help it.

Once you’ve had a pet for long enough, you realize it isn’t much different than a human. That is, over time, you develop a way of relating to the animal that works. You have a communication scheme, and you know how to push its buttons, and they know how to push your buttons. The cool thing about animals though, is that they are not quite human, so they exaggerate the differences in human relationships to the extreme…you will probably never understand how to relate perfectly to your cat, for example, but by trying, it makes you a better person, because you realize the exact same skills apply to humans that are wired very differently from you.

I’m learning I have a hard time relating to people that think differently than me…when they say something unexpected, I have to learn to deal with them as THEY would want to be treated. Too many times I expect others to act like I would act, and it is my EXPECTATION that leaves me frustrated when they don’t respond like I think they should. With a cat, you learn the discipline of accepting others for what they are and what they do, because you can’t change a cat! You can’t even punish a cat.

In the same way, we probably should do less “punishing” of our human friends. It is fun to try and figure out what makes OTHERS happy, rather than always saying and doing things that make US happy. It’s also very hard, and goes against our nature sometimes. Hooray for pets, and the lessons they can teach us about how to be better people.

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

I’ll let you know if it works.

I’ve been wanting to write about the concept of cruelty. It at first seems that one of the things that separates us from much of the animal kingdom is our capacity for cruelty: Our ability to hurt ourselves and others without biologically needing to do so. If you think to other species, there are things that happen that violate the golden rule: spiders consuming the male spider after mating, for example, or a cat injuring a small animal or insect then playing with it before leaving it to die. These animals are not doing unto others as they would have done to them.

However, it seems to me that we would never punish an animal for doing these things. We don’t judge them as being evil or bad, it’s just they way they are wired. They can’t control doing things that are cruel, right?

So just for fun, apply that same attitude to humans. Maybe in the same way, nothing we do is really cruel. Just as in the animal kingdom, punishment by the colony is given to those whose actions violate the goal of propogation of the species. I suppose that when a spider bites the head off her mate, it is because he has done his job of furthering the species and for him to live would be a drain on the family. I suppose that when a cat toys with its prey, it is doing so because it needs to keep its hunting skills sharp in order to ensure health for itself so that it may live to nurture the next generation and reproduce.

So thinking of some things humans do that are cruel, cruelty to animals, children, or mates might be good areas to explore. Thinking back to our own history, we used to stone women for adultery, and these days, women hire hitmen to kill adulterous husbands. Cruelty to children is likely universally punished, as it is not in line with propagation of the species. Cruelty to homosexuals is currently at a state of around 50% accceptance, at least in this country. I think people are torn between mating routines that clearly do not further propogation of the species, while on the other hand, gay couples have demonstrated that they can still birth, adopt and raise healthy children and families. I suspect that homosexuality will continue to gain acceptance as long as science enables them to reproduce, and if they continue to promote that they can sustain harmonious relationships conducive to child-raising. However, homosexuality on the down-low will likely always have a sharp stigma due to the mistrust it fosters, as will any adulterous relationships.

Cruelty to animals has gained much momentum in this country. The Animal Planet’s show Animal Precinct, as well as organizations such as PETA, have convinced many people through heinous videos that cruelty to animals must be regulated. But again, the country is torn between being nice to animals while they are alive, but then killing them for their meat and fur. Because of the fact that not all humans are able to be vegetarians (think of the Eskimos) due to their enivronment (do you really want everyone in the world to move to California?), we will never be a herbivore species entirely. As far as eating animals, my stance is that you might as well not eat them if there are other choices available. Then is killing animals for their food cruel? I would say not, generally speaking. Hunting and fishing are skills which may be needed for survival. I suppose every human should know how to stay alive by foraging for plants or animals if they are very, very hungry.

Just as my cat doesn’t NEED to kill anything to live RIGHT NOW, I don’t NEED to kill anything to live RIGHT NOW, but we both should keep our skills fresh. I suppose you then need to apply the same to military readiness to be able to kill other people if needed. This kill-or-be-killed mentality is not popular in our safe little country, but we must remember it was our military and police strength which enabled, and still enables, us to have our freedom, peace, and order.

I guess I’m still of the mindset that peaceful and cruelty-free resolutions should be our first resort, but I’m not as convinced as Ghandi, that they should be the only resort.

I've had a real interesting day today. My craigslist post for a new massage therapist led me to a therapist who tried for 3 years to live on a typical therapist wage here of 20K per year and was fed up. She said most therapists have to really hustle for clients and still have to work 2 other jobs…i can relate to that!

Tonight, i passed a young man quietly begging for money on the corner. I went past him into a restaurant and watched the street for a while. He had a small pizza box open with some pennies in it on the ground in front of him. After about 10 minutes, he stood up for a while, then a gust came along and blew the box up and over, scattering the pennies. He looked listlessly at the overturned box for a moment, then began pushing at the pennies with his skater sneakers. Then, he just turned and left without picking up anything.

Within 2 minutes, every last penny had been snatched off the ground by passersby. It was strange to watch a beggar let the money go, while poor, non-beggars devoured it like treasure.

It just reminded me again of how difficult it is to survive in this town for most people.

As I constantly look to improve every process in my life, I discovered tonight a new face-washing routine that I like so far. I use a moisturizing cleanser and a washcloth. I used to splash my face with water before putting on the cleanser, but I've found that applying cleanser first really lets the soap grab onto the skin cells more effectively. Then, instead of making a big mess splashing water onto my face and blindly trying to guess which parts of my face still have globs of soap left, I gently wipe off the cleanser with a warm, wet washcloth. I make 3 passes with the cloth, rinsing it in between with successively cooler water to close the pores back up. I then apply my toner & moisturizer. Ahhh, I feel clean!

You’ll be given love. You’ll be taken care of. You’ll be given love. You have to trust it.

Maybe not from the sources you’ve poured yours into.

Maybe not from the directions you are staring at.

Twist your head around, it’s all around you. All is full of love.

All around you. You just ain’t receiving. All is full of love.

Your phone is off the hook. All is full of love.

Your doors are all shut. All is full of love

~Bjork, All Is Full Of Love (LP Version)

I’m exploring my yoga name more lately (Bhakti), and I’m finding that it truly is the perfect name for me. Not because I personify it, but because I NEED to personify it. Bhakti means devotion. It means seeing God, or Love in everything. Constantly thinking of God/Love.

The above lyrics from Bjork really say it all. They are along the same lines as some of the Hafiz poetry I have read, and most consider Hafiz to be a great Bhakti Yogi. He was able to see the beauty, God/Love in everything, and therefore lived in a state of bliss, even ecstasy.

Bhakti is such a good name for me because its opposite is ego and effort, the 2 things which have defined my life to date. The goal of Bhakti yoga is to eradicate ego and selfish effort, and just surrender to God/Love. The example given was that of a baby monkey clinging to its mother’s belly, versus the kitten surrendered to its mother as she carries it in her mouth. I think my purpose in life is to reach an understanding of God/Love not through effort, but through surrender of the ego and selfish aims.

Today I'm wearing an Express cami, Victoria's Secret undies, Lane Bryant capris, Old Navy long-sleeved tee, and flip flops from Target. Yes that's the most inspiration I've had for blogging in a long time.

It was interesting watching the testimony of economists in the past week, how academic all their suggestions seemed to be. They mostly all said that giving people money would help, but only if done quickly. Empirical and historical evidence seemed to be strangely lacking. Surely this has been done before…what have we learned besides 'do it quickly'?

The paper out of Berkeley apparently showed such packages were not all that effective, going all the way back to Eisenhower. People only actually spent 20-40 percent of the free money. What do you expect?? When people feel their economic situation is getting worse, do you really expect them to blow money you give them on cheap Chinese goods? Most people will probably pay their defaulting mortgage, rent, or credit card debt with the money.

If the US Government really needed us to go out and spend the money…they should put it on non-cashable credit cards! Better yet, they should take the $600x'however many people make less than 75K per year' and invest it directly into preferred industries. But I guess they've chosen to pass the money though the people like good Republicans and let the people decide how to spend it. Silly.