(photo: Taken July 4, 2010, Rus VanWestervelt)

I feel like there’s been some kind of explosion in my life, a bursting of energy that is giving me strength like never before. I am finding the strength to write, to exercise, to journey, to live.

It could just be that I have the time to do these things. It is nearly 9:30 on a Sunday morning, and I have been up since 6, writing, practicing yoga, writing some more, reading, editing, and enjoying a light breakfast with my son–the first to awaken.

But it also could be that I am constantly focusing on renunciating old habits and replacing them with better behaviors; these are lifestyle changes that must stay at the center of my path, regardless of how much, or how little, time I may have, especially when school resumes in the fall. By replacing these bad habits with healthy choices, I feel a certain momentum, a current of strength and confidence to continue boldly along this path.

I think it’s the yoga, though, that is making the biggest difference. I’m a very big guy, with a lot of weight to lose. My weight issues prevent me from practicing the poses exactly as they are shown, and I have to accommodate with yogic modifications. I can feel the limitations and restrictions that my excess weight places on me. In my mind, I understand exactly what I am supposed to do for each pose, but I can’t make my body follow through.

I have patience, of course. I can visualize where I will be in a few months, a year from now, even 3 or 5 years. I just need to hold on to that focus, that vision.

And I will do that through writing, practice, and renunciation. It’s a wonderful explosion of energy, even with these weight limitations that I need to overcome! I do not let that discourage me; I am grateful for what I can do, for what I will be able to do, and for what I have not yet discovered or imagined.

Enjoy the day! May it be explosive for you as well….