MMMMEMORIAL DAY

Mixed Feelings today. First up I am thankful for my Grandfather who is 91 and who served in WW2 and was a POW in Germany. He fought valiantly and I am thankful for the many people of his generation that gave theirs lives to fight in what I consider to be the last justified war. I also am thinking about my Father today who served in Vietnam because he was drafted and forced to. My Dad hated that he was drafted, considered the war to be wrong, but served anyways. He cheated death twice and came home with malaria. Shortly after he met my mom and they got married. Since then the U.S. has been using versions of the Just War Theory or Bellum Iustum to justify its actions around the world to a "God Bless America" quoting public. Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War 1, Gulf War 2, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, hopefully not North Korea.

This is the post I wrote for FB but didnt post.

"GRATEFUL for the murder that has happened in the name of the United States today. Remember God always justifies murder when we do it in the name of God and Country. HALLELUJAH!!! Jesus thinks the U.S. is awesome, condones all of our military action around the world-carte blanche, and out of the 203 Countries on the World we are His most favorite Nation EEEEEEEEVER. God bless America."

I didnt post it because I didnt want to deal with vast amount of friends I have who actually think this way. So I chickened out and wrote in on my blog insted where my more thoughtful less sound bitish friends check in. LMAO

My friends who think that the US in a Christian Nation for example are illogical because their a priori is wrong. It begs the question-What can be christian? The answer is-only human beings. A corporation, a business, a nation, or any other entity cannot be christian because they are not human beings and don't have souls. This is where people go wrong. IF you miss this point you will totally uckfay your application. Things can be influenced by people who are christian but thats it. BUT if you miss this point THEN you will believe in things like Bellum Iustum.

Anyways-Thanks Grandpa Joe. Dad Im glad your alive(and that we did this 110 mile bike ride together). To all who serve currently in our military forces this is not a knock against you, but more of a swipe at your superiors who frankly should know better.

MEMEMEMEMEMEME

1.ME ride a bicycle because I love it(I typically drive my truck about 200 miles a month)

2.ME am a vegetarian because it makes me feel great. (NOTE-I am not the super opinionated kind who eats macs and cheese and ding dongs and tries to get everyone to join PETA. I am the kind that loves french press coffee, fresh fruit, whole grain breads, pasta w olive oil and pecorino ramono freshly grated, and a huge salad with about 10 things in it from the bulk stuff I thats in my kitchen.)

3.ME do not have medical insurance because I do not believe in the system.(I do however believe in health care-NOTE I ride my bicycle almost everywhere and I am a vegetarian)

4.ME do not have dental insurance (I do however believe in dental hygiene which is why I brush my teeth and floss them)

5.ME do not own a Television (I do however think that there is no better way to watch a live Lakers game, soccer match, or cycling race than having multiple High Definition camera angles bring the game to you complete with usually thoughtful game commentary and interesting story lines and plots via a TV....which is why I frequent sports bars where I can watch them with usually racous friends with a cold brew) Good times

6.ME do have a laptop with Google Chrome whereby I can get knowledge that temporarily quenches my curious mind and engage in social networking

PROGRESSION

What does it mean make progress? In my younger years I defined this as the amount of time I spent reading my Bible and praying. I used to spend hours and hours reading scripture. I have read the bible cover to cover 3 times. I used to make it a practice to pray for 1 hour daily. As I got older I got away from that. It felt like a performance and did not feel graceful at all. I began to broaden my definition of what it meant to be spiritual to try and include all of life. I began to think that if my definition of spiriutality or making progress did not include every daily decision I should probably revist my understsanding of it. So my current definition is that it should involve the ramifications of the choices you make in life both little and small. So lets start with the choices I make on a daily basis. EATING-I take into consideration what I eat so I am a vegetarian. This is the healthiest way to treat the body God gave me. TRANSPORTATION-I think it means you consider the ramifications of your choice in transportation so I am a bicycle rider. ENERGY USE-SYSTEMS-I think it means you consider the ramifications of of the systems you support so I proudly DO NOT have medical or dental insurance. EDUCATIONI do believe in health care which is why I am a vegetarian and ride my bike everywhere. Circular reasoning I know. I think it means you consider the ramifications of the how you spend your time with people so I try never to be in a hurry. MY DAUGHTER I try to be present with people. I try to be a listener. I think it means that you develop your mind so I read alot and I do not own a TV(but I do enjoy live sporting events like the Lakers Playoff games, Soccer matches, and Cycling races.) I do use my 4 year old laptop to read the Sunday Edition of the NY TIMES which is my fav. I think it means that you use whatever you are passionate about and love in this life to serve others. Which is why I am going on a bike ride around the world to help people get clean water.

This brings up a bigger point as well. Where do I find the motivation to move forward in life. Do be my best. To do my best. To achieve? It is something that comes from within. I do not look to others for it. When I think about my life and what I want it to be about I dream big. I try to think of the things that I really want to do. I really want to ride my bike around the world. I want to meet new people because I find the process of meeting others to be one where my understanding in broadened and I find it to be the best education that life can give. The exchange of ideas. The different ways of looking at the world. I want to take this passion of mine and use it as a way to serve other people because I think a life spent on me would be a wasted one. I want to write and shoot video because it gives people a window into the collective experience. I want to speak because everytime I do it gives the audience a chance to reflect and if they want to-make changes in their lives based on what they hear and experience when I am able to share. Speaking is a gift.

SUNDAYS

How life changes... I used to get up on Sundays and read my bible, pray for 1 hour, and make it to the church building by 7 or 8am. Now I sleep in til 8 or 9am. Make a french press or 2. Read the NY Times. Go to church at 1130am. Then I spend Sunday afternoon riding my bicycle(I have to say bicycle cuz people ask me if I mean motorbike. NO not a motorbike. A bicycle. The kind use move with your own legs) for 3-4 hours. Being that I live in Ohio there is great social pressure to watch Indians, Browns, and CAVS games on Sunday afternoons. I can think of nothing I would enjoy less than watching TV during the day when I could be outside. Even worse I moved here from CA and IFFFF I was to watch a sports teams it would be my Lakers. GO KOBE. Even tho my Ohio peeeps think your a bastard I got your back. At night I read a book. Right now I am reading a 752 page book called Healing with Whole Foods. I really wanted to get a comprehensive understanding of this subject so I got a book that reflected my desire. Its great. I can hear my old church buddies-God loved you more back then! Uhhhh right...How can people who have gone to a religious gathering for so long miss the easiest part of the story. God loves us. Maybe I should say that again. God loves us. Okay a third time for the slow people. God loves us. When I finally got that I quit performing. Now I never think about trying to please God. Now I just live my life and enjoy it.

QUESTION???

Why is it that people say they don’t care about material things, yet they live in ways that blatantly contradict this everyday? When was the last time you met someone who admitted to being materialistic. My observation is that people buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t even like, or that don’t even like them. Why do we live in a culture that strives so hard to define people based on their accumulation of material goods? Cars, Homes, Clothes, Clubs we belong to, people that make us feel good because we know them. I have also observed that people who make the decision to live a life that revolves around acruuing material things also spend the majority of their time taking care of those material things. These same people like to talk about being a good steward. After all if you take care of the things your "God" gives you, then your "God" will give you more things. Really? So we try to do the right thing in life in order to get rewarded by "God" with more stuff? Hmmmm. Would'nt it be more noble to decide not to have so much stuff, maybe give some stuff away to people who actually need it, or even better decide to live at a level way below our actual incomes and give away some of our resources to help others. Why is it that so many people use their religion to try and justify the life they have personally chosen to live that has nothing to do with their "religion" at all. That to me is the shallowest form of religion. When we use it to justify the lives we have already made up our minds about. Isn’t the function of religion to get us to change our philosophical assumptions about a variety of subjects?

TED.COM

A few months ago I 86ed my yahoo homepage, email, the whole thing. SOOOO annoying. I switched my homepage to TED.com and got a simple gmail. I like new ideas from brilliant people so TED.com is a perfect fit for me. There are over 600 talks from people way smarter than I am so I get to learn a ton and I find the site fascinating. In a day I typically peruse TED.com, NYTimes, velonews, surfline, check FB, work on my blog and thats about it. The internet is a wonderful thing. You can get new ideas, network socially and do it all quickly and for free. What a great age we live in. I do have boundaries tho. Less than 20 people have my cell number. My cell does not have email, internet, or other gadgets that keep you on in constantly, but it does have texting. No offense but I dont want to go through my whole life fiddle faddling with a palm sized gadget all day long. Those things have there place and with boundaries there just amazing.

Anyways there was an amazing talk today http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html about eating our way to defeating cancer. Very enlightening stuff. Check it out.

3 MONTHS OUT

So here I am sitting in the Barnes and Noble in Beechwood, Ohio. I finished another paper for Grad School today, took a quiz, drank 2 French Presses, read a few mags, and have been plowing through a great 700 page book called "Healing with Whole Foods." Amazing how I have learned things backwards. I start riding a bike 3 years ago with Pete Gladden and Jared Durioux. Pete is a local cycling legend and all around bad ass and coaches over 50 athletes. Jared is well....Jared. Smooth with the Ladies. Solid on the bike. Dresses to the 9's and has a well defined jaw muscle from attending On&On&On a 12 Step Group for people who love to talk...Busting your chops Dude I know. So I learn to ride a bike with these guys. Then Pete teaches me how to workout at the gym the right way and not like so gung ho gym chachi. Sports Specific Exercise is the key. AND Pete and I ride 6000 miles across Canada pulling Bob Trailers filled with gear behind our mountain bikes. Last years trip got me thinking about going the rest of the way around the world after all I already went 25% of the earths circumference so why not dream a little. Then a few months ago I learned all about Nutrition from my room mate Davin who was basically raised organically by his parents on a farm and eats healthier than anybody I have ever met. I converted to Vegetarianism and thats that. SOOOO I am hoping that all the skills I have learned the past 3 years will serve as a foundation for me making it around the world on my bike. We shall see...

CHOICES

As a person who was born and grew up living in the Unites States I enjoy a tremendous amount of freedom. As I have traveled to 23 countries I have quickly learned that people in other cultures and countries would love to have the options we have. What I eat. The profession I choose. Where I live. What activities I engage in. What friends I have. What books I read. What education I get. Nobody makes me do any of these things. Which brings me to this thought. I think we are as happy as we choose to be. Nobody makes you eat bad food that makes you feel bad. Nobody makes you choose the job you have that you find unfulfilling. Nobody makes you workout and not workout. etc. I think this is a very liberating concept. If you give your dignity away by allowing your personal happiness to be dictated by other people I think your in for a very disappointing life. We are in charge of our lives. Nobody else. We get to live with the good choices we make and the bad ones.

If you disagree with this concept then who do you think is in charge of your life and decisions? I would be interested in your answer...

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Sometimes I notice things that annoy me, then I ask myself WHY? My friend sitting next to me today in class is having a bag of cheese popcorn and a diet soda. This happens every Thursday morning for the past 2 years. The guy in front of me is drinking a mountain dew and eating a snickers bar. The chick down the row from me eats at least 3000 calories every Thursday between the hours of 8am-4pm that I see her. She is morbidly obese, walks with a cane, and sits with a pillow. SO WHY does this bother me? The people that I have gone to school with for 2 years are "christians"(whatever that means) and are training themselves in "counseling"(whatever that means) in order to "help" people. How come these bright people have not connected the dots between what they eat and how this affects their daily lives. Do they know what daily infusions of corn syrup do to their bodies? Do they know what daily infusions of 200% of their daily recommended sodium intake does to their bodies? I guess it scares me because my general observation of people in the counseling profession who are supposed to "help" people get healthy actually live some of the most unhealthy lives I have ever seen. Which begs the question-How can you help someone to health when you are living in an unhealthy manner? Now granted I am not a medical doctor. I am not a Nurtrionist. What I do try and do is live in a healthy way by eating a vegetarian diet full of fruits and vegetables. It also bothers me that people in the mental health field pay basically no attention to the nutritional side of things. IF we are what we eat, THEN doesnt it make sense to include nutrition within the counseling context? I dont get it. I am not a doctor but I am convinced that nutrition should be included in this field and why it isn't is a subject I would like to explore more.

A LITTLE EMBARRASSED

So Im sitting in SBUX this morning plugging away at another day of writing, reading, working on my blog, contacting sponsors, and planning my route for the trip. Someone asked me yesterday at Grad School where I was riding next and I told her I was a little embarrassed to say, but that I would let her know at a later date. I mean how do you tell someone your planning to ride your bike around the world. Its actually a little embarrassing when I say it out loud. I could break down the numbers to them. 18 months. 30,000 miles. 45 Countries. 65 miles a day. 1 Day off a week. Etc. And oh yeah I'm planning to ride the 1978 Schwinn 10 Speed that my Dad gave me last summer. I mean the whole things sounds a little ridiculous. I have thrown my bright idea by a few close friends so far and they have been very affirming. They have said things like "well if anyone can do it its you." And then they laugh. I don't know if this should encourage me or if I should finish my Masters in Counseling and go right into a Psy.D Program cuz I obviously need it for my own mental health. I havent told my parents yet ccuz they will both be retired in June and they are looking forward to me living in CA now. Little do they know that I am going to ask them to follow me around the planet on my little excursion. They admittedly live a dull life, but they tell me that I have enough excitement in mine to spread it around the whole family. So being that the role of Delamater Family Funmaster has been relegated to me I will rise to the challenge and proceed to drag them around the globe as I eat foreign food as string my hammock up on 5 continents.

WHAT I EAT

3 Reasons ima Vegetarian. #1 I feel great. #2 I feel great. #3 I feel great. Did I mention I feel great? I do not eat this way because it saves the environment although it does. I don't eat this way because it shows respect for animals although it does. I do not eat this way because it fights worldwide hunger although it does. I do not eat this way because it is cheaper although it is. I do not eat this way because it makes me SOOOOO cool although it does(insert long sigh followed by courtesy laugh). I eat this way because it is the healthiest way I have found yet and you dont need Redbull to give you wings try being a vegetarian...Its my Personal choice based on personal feelings much like the majority of the decisions homo sapiens routinely make.

LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE

A while back I was playing with my 6 year old daughter Quinn and we were brain storming ideas about how we were going to spend our Ohio afternoon together. Quinn and I find ourselves checking the weather all the time cuz its such a tempermental thing in these parts. Pretty much the antithesis of living in SOCAL where the weather is pretty much the same all the time give or take a few days. I got excited cuz the weather map showed a 2 hour window where I thought we could sneak in a hike but Quinn was not feeling up to it. I know when shes a little moody cuz she complains about the weather. Then I gave her my standard "there is no bad weather just bad gear" speech and she began to warm up to the idea. I sensed she need that extra push and what came out of my mouth next although not planned would change the trajectory of my relationship with her. I said without speaking "come on-life is an adventure." She looked at me and her eyes lit up and off we went hiking. That saying has now become a joke between us. My daughter has taken that phrase and now misapplies it to virtually every situation possible. When we go to the grocery store and she wants to go down the wrong aisle to get cheese she says-come on dad life is an adventure. When we are by my house and she wants to plant a tree seedling in the neighbors yard she says-come on dad life is an adventure. You get the point. My 6 year old had co-opted my terminology and now mocks me with it. She's a smart little girl and totally hilarious. I used it against her recently though when she told me NOT to show up at her ballet practice having ridin my bike in my cycling gear because she didn't want me to scare her little friends with my spandex. I just showed up and told her life was an adventure. We both LOL and she said DAAAAAAAAD. So what started as kind of a joke between my 6 year old and I has turned into our own little ethos and thats why you will see this phrase around alot when on my blog:)