For now I'm thinking about the celebration and joy images like this evoke. Memories of times we celebrate all of life's achievements, triumphs and surprises.
Sometimes life feels less then triumphant and I find myself dwelling on the negative. A trait I could blame on genetics but that could be another blog entry or two. I know that tendency is unhealthy for me at a multitude of levels so for many years I have sought a means of reversing this. Prayer, meditations, yoga and other various methods have helped on a variety of occasions. That means I have good days and bad. Currently I have more good than bad. This improvement has many benefits - Improved physical and mental health. Reduced cost from medicines taken before. Not to mention a prolonged life span. (At least if you ask the medical survey people).
All of this benefit requires effort. Striving to perform things that are not part of my nature and inducing myself to continue a practice that is not second nature, these are the things that test my strength. My nature wants to take a nap and not face 60 minutes on the mat. The strength I gain in my muscles is minimal compared to the strength I feel inside once I've overcome inertia. The next day I face that argument with myself again and each time it is a coin toss if I'll go. But that is another day.
