Brad Warner in Europe

Happy Sunday everyone out there in I-hope-people-are-reading-my-ramblings-land! I'm having a fantastic day thus far and I hope you all are as well. I have two, personally, exciting things to talk about that are totally unrelated. So, here I go. 

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 First, I weighed myself this morning and I weighed in at 110.8 lbs. This is a big deal for me because while I was working at a tattoo shop at the beginning of this year I slipped into a pretty rough slump of depression and a very sedentary lifestyle, which helped the pounds to creep on slowly and being in that state really only perpetuated itself. I had a freak out moment after I started running again, but I wasn't losing any weight and found myself tipping the scale at 120 lbs. Which doesn't sound so bad to the majority of people, but consider that fact that I'm only five foot tall with a smaller frame and wide hips. (My point is perspective, for someone taller it isn't a big deal, but when you're a little thing. It makes a big difference.) Running with different friends helped a lot, mostly to pull my glum ass out of my pit and make me feel more optimistic. I also had to break some bad habits that my insomnia had started, namely mindless late night snacking. I don't want to get too heavy here, no pun intended, because I like my blog to be light hearted, but I just feel better when I weigh 110 lbs and lower. I feel physically more fit and capable, my energy is better and my self-esteem is better as well, so there is more to it than just vanity. I know where I feel best and I hold myself to my own standard, rather than what mainstream culture tells me I should be and so should you. I promise if you work at it you'll be kinder to yourself than a magazine is and you'll learn to listen to your body and do what you know if right for it. It just takes patience and clarity.

Brad Warner

Second, I have become a big fan of podcasts here recently and I was trying to see if Brad Warner, one of my favorite Zen authors, had any podcasts. He doesn't have his own series, but there are plenty of his lectures, Q&A sessions and interviews available, very cool. The exciting part is that he is going to be touring Europe, while I am in London! Wow, I'm am freaking stoked! His tour schedule can be seen, just click the hyperlink. He has dates in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and one day in the UK. Needless to say I will be finding a date that I can make and hopefully I can share it with you, my dear hypothetical readers. Also, I have a friend that is currently living in the Netherlands, so hopefully I can make it to one of those dates, see her and maybe even have a place to stay at the same time. Fingers crossed! [Correction: He does have his own podcasts. I just had a hard time finding them.]
I guess that's it for today. I'm a beautifully humid day here in Georgia, with high of only 91 today, (That's not sarcasm! It's awesome when it stays below 100 in July.) so I'm going to get off my bum and do something. Take it easy and be kind to yourselves. -monica