28 days

Thinking of Elena out in the wilderness of Wisconsin. Searching in vain for the right food.

Thinking of Royce striving in the urbanity of Victoria bagging seeking transcending time and space stretching his Sexaaayyyy self across the aisles of life.

Thinking of Naoko energetically embracing her life and body and path on the shores of Japan, waves lapping, sun sinking.

Thinking of Kowhai down under in Perth, working all too hard, jump rabbiting forever and ever into sleek and slender shape.

Thinking of Tara, carefully juggling her life - domestic goddess - brave stretchy pants wearing mama - considering each step up towards the peak, tears falling, arms lifted in victory.

Thinking of Jenny, honestly tearing through her life, efficiently, intensely headed towards her best form, her peak performance.

What I feel is our effort. Our trying. Our lovely human need to transcend the lethargy of daily life, of simply getting through the day. No. We will have more. We will wipe the slate clean of stimulants that numb us, dumb us and take the day (be it bliss or sorrow) from us.

This effort's goal can't simply be to look good. I feel in all of us that there is more to it. We want to know who we are. And how we relate to food - how we treat our bodies - teaches us so much about who we are. Who we can be.

This urge towards purity and good food is the urge to wake up and emerge out of modern processed pablum which whips our body into some kind of manic frenzy far removed from true peace...we want to wake up and find a joy that is deeper and more sustainable than beer and sugar and salt and big plates of pasta and bowls of cheese and (oops...might be a little mistake to list all these temptations...) all that can offer.

What can this body do? What can it be?

One thing my body cannot do is the V thingy. The V situp is a mystery. But at the beginning I couldn't do the incline pull up. I still don't do it very well. But I can do lunges. Yum...I am the lunge and squat queen. And I stretch well.

HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

As good old Fra Giovanni said in 1513 "No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant. Take peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within reach, is joy. There is a radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see, and to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look."