Climate, Coffee, and Cardio

I find it quite difficult at times to focus on one particular thought or theme as I'm blogging. So as you can see, it will be all over the map today.

On Climate:

Speaking of maps, here's one to kick it off...

I just watched An Inconvenient Truth a few nights ago, which turned out to be more of the Al Gore lifestory than I had anticipated. But the overall content and "spin" certainly leaves you with the feeling of "What if it's true?!" I know Limbaugh and all the partisan conservatives scoff at the environmental extremists and their theories...but I find all their rhetoric pretty reactionary and unsatisfying as well. I'm not sure that I'm ready to start screaming gloom and doom for mother earth...but as a responsible steward of creation...you just can't say "What the hell!" and keep living in selfish unexamined and irresponsible ways.

I enjoyed the suggestions at the end of the film for controlling one's environmental impact and energy efficiency.

On Coffee:

As I sit at my in-laws' dining room table and sip some Latin American coffee, I wonder if Starbucks would be my favorite coffee were I not working for the green siren? There's a coffee docu-drama coming out called Black Gold which I expect to stir up a mixed brew of conversations in Seattle and beyond. As I step back into a managerial position with Starbucks, I'm hoping that my conscience won't be disturbed past a reasonable point. I've always felt pretty good about Starbucks as a company and their economic ethics as well as their emphasis on social responsiblity. If the corporate culture has finally hijacked their mission statement, I may be forced to rethink my affiliation. My conscience has already been disturbed in other ways by the handing off of countless unhealthy beverages which are obviously not helping anyone battle obesity, heart disease, or all the other health related problems I've become more aware of lately. Which brings us to...

Cardio:

I've been sliding back into some old eating habits over the past week or so and neglecting the cardio a bit. I spent about 50 minutes on the treadmill early this morning (2am actually...which counts for the day before) and will get in another bout later today. The goal has been 6 days a week of cardio with 20-30 minutes on my strength training days and 50-60 minutes on the other 3 days. Now that I'm about 3 months into my new "healthstyle," the novelty has worn off, and the initial gains (strength) and losses (weight) are settling down. The next 3 months or so will be hard work to get to the maintenance phase. Good news from Gold's though...I start learning the ropes at the gym at Skytop (near Mt. Washington) on Monday so I can start training some clients there. Perhaps we'll get up to a livable income yet?!

Physical training is of some value...

It has been easy to invest so much time and energy into physical fitness lately since it yields a predictable and noticeable result. Spiritual fitness is so much more elusive and unpredictable. You're just like a ship dead on the water...raising the sails as best you know how...waiting for the wind to blow. A little wind...ruach...breath of God...Spirit...would certainly be welcome.