"Om Namah Shivaya"

In the immortal words of John Lennon and the Beatle's song "Across the Universe", "Jai guru deva om. Nothing's gonna change my world..." I am enjoying my Sunday morning.

I was sitting at my lab station last week at work, having a frustrating evening, when I thought of the first time my yoga instructor played the song which is the title of this blog. For no good reason but my own doing, I was in a not-so-chipper mood. I began to chant an internal (A-U-M). The word "Om" has meanings far too numerous to list, but the purpose of my internal chanting was to remove worldly thoughts. For some reason on that particular day, I was the only one and catalyst in my own negative energy. There was nobody else responsible for my thoughts. That being said, the only things with which we can ever have any certainty are our thoughts, words and actions. I am writing this blog on the eve of a previous blog, which I deleted. My dad made me realize I wrote the blog in a reactive manner, and he is right. I accomplished nothing by writing the negative blog other than making my shoulders tense.

Where am I going with this? I just wanted to get some thoughts on paper, rather, a pixelated computer screen, to recharge my thoughts and reset my physical status. Our mental state can have a great impact on our physical lives, and we need to make sure that both attributes are living comfortably and healthy with the other.

Changing topics, I am quite happy with where my training is at the moment. My coach and I have a great game plan for the rest of the season, and I am eager to show you the fruits of our labor on July 13th at the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon, in Chattanooga, TN. The fire is burnin' baby.

In closing, I want to again mention my friends at Pedro's. They sent me a tool kit (to say the least) and quite a few bottles of Green lubes, cleaners and other fluids which I have used to fuel one of my passions, which is bike maintenance. My coach has picked up a new client, a promising youngster fresh out of high school, and I used Pedro's gear to overhaul his new bike. I am a big fan of supporting your local bike shop, but a company like Pedro's not only enables you to get your hands dirty by learning how to fix your machine, but saves you a few dollars in repairs costs, labor and fuels costs of driving to your LBS. Thanks guys,

post scriptum - Get yours hands dirty and learn how to tune-up and clean your bicycle. Don't let outside forces out of your control affect your mental state. Listen to "Across the Universe."