Sunday, August 23, 2015

Hey Hey, My My

"You good?"
-Ha, I always read that like a trick question!
"You're fb post concerned me. Just want to know my boy is good."
-No... Truth... This world isn't home... so my social media thing is a hopeful way to disconnect from this crazy planet and create my own world 
"Interesting.  Wanna have a sit down?"
-ha think I've finally lost it?
"Maybe you've found it."

---

If we don't like our job, we have the freedom to change it.
If we don't like our body, energy, eye sight, clothes, car, house, partner, pet, _______, we have the freedom to change it.
Obviously, not all changes are easy and some are harder than others, but we have free will and can change if choose to and make every effort to.

What if we don't like the information that comes to us?
What if we don't like what we see in this particular "reality?"
Can we change our actual reality?

---

For me, Facebook was about sharing a story, try to be useful, share music and books and podcasts... But I feel a little bitter-sweet about it all.
I wanted to be completely invisible, just operate behind the scenes, trying to make something cool happen.  I wanted to have an idea, whisper it to someone and let them have the success.  So this is just a mini step, searching to become invisible again.
I was a pretty naive, introverted guy... I don't like the things I've learned on social media.

---
Facebook was designed to connect us... Has it?  
(Ironically, you're probably reading this via a link I just shared on social media).  

I have x number of friends on Facebook, yet when I go to the mall, I see people I'm "friends with," avoiding eye contact, staring at their phones and walking past.
Think it's a coincidence we have so many socially awkward people around?  
---

I see news stories apps/links covering things that aren't news.  
Hollywood is not news.  Bruce Jenner becoming Caitlyn is not newsworthy.  Kanye West is not newsworthy.  
Then the things that are newsworthy are manipulated and snow ball into x more stories that arent newsworthy.  
Would the riots have been the same without social media?
  
It's a distraction from news, just as the phone is a distraction from life.  We look down, not up.  We create false connections over electrical devices, not actual human contact.
"Another boy dead over Heroin overdose," is the news headline, but that's not the story.  The news as we now know it sells fear, not stories. 

---

I see Facebook and I see the ego of us, creating a particular picture that we want everyone to think of us.
And it's not reality.
Facebook has created High School, Part 2, but here you're free to recreate however you like.
And it's still not reality.
Everything we eat, we can think "is this helping me or hurting me?"
But we don't do that with our eyes/minds.  Scrolling through Facebook, very few posts offer "help," or anything positive to help us build positive momentum in our lives.  I see too many pains, too many posts, links, pics that are really online bullying, or chest pounding "Look at me!"
Did I get 10+ likes??  Success!!!!!

---

I was at a restaurant and just glancing around... everyone had company at their table, yet had their phones right there.  A text or phone call came through or whatever app notified them of something incredibly important, and their mind left the table and headed off into the iWorld...  

---

I was at another function recently... around 100 people or so stopped by to say hi and talk about the reason I was in their area.  We spoke about fitness and working out, which lead to pains and injuries or excuses and procrastination.  As x amount of people came through, I stopped seeing them as they were in the physical form, in front of me.  
They became the same... not in a bitter "you're all the same," type thought but in a "WE're all the same," type thought.
We all have the exact same needs yet we think and act so different.
Deep down we need water, nutrition, sunlight, human touch, movement, brain stimulation and other very primal needs.
Yet over the last 20-30 years, we've changed and headed into a new direction of isolation.  We're becoming more anti social in this social media world.  
Customer service is no longer serving the customer.  It's just banging out x amount of files per day.  You're not cared for because now, you're a number, you're notification on an app.  It's become a fast food society.  
We don't have to learn, because the answers are at our finger tips.
We're never alone because... well, right t our finger tips is 1000 conversations we can now interact with...
But none of it is real.  

---

This entire world we operate within is completely unnatural for us.  We've boxed ourselves into games of "house," and "adult," and "life," with rules that our brains and hearts and souls weren't really meant to understand fully.
The system says "you need a degree..."
And then make $30,000/year with that 4 year degree...
And then that job is forcing you to get a masters within 2-4 years...
And add another $20,000-$30,000 in debt on top of the $100,000+ you've already accumulated...
And now you're 27 and wanting to get married, buy a house and have kids...
So thats another chunk of change, handcuffing you to a job that completely under pays you and you're starting to see "oh shit, if I'm lucky my school loan will be paid off by the time I'm 39."

How many teachers can relate to that scenario?  Yet here we are, willingly playing these games that we didn't sign up for because.... everyone's doing it!

---

So I posted:
All social media accounts will be down soon. Looking to unplug and disconnect from the ego/mask and drama drug we've grown up addicted to.
Hung into them for this long for business reasons and to share... But scrolling feeds, it's really just loaded w shit I don't care to read. Shit talk, pain, negativity, etc. I'd read it and it would bring me down. My wife mentions things on the news, and it's all news to me... Better or worse, I want to ignorant to the outside world... I don't want to be effected anymore by the craziness that's reported. I know human instincts and capabilities, I don't need to read it/see it and then feel it.
The joy was reading people's successes and seeing pics of friends and their families, showing pics of my girls and life... those friendships should be live and in person. Show me your pics when we see each other, tell me your stories at happy hour.
If you've enjoyed the entries in the link, hit it and subscribe. When my flip phone arrives, that'll be it for this drug (Facebook - you think it connected us, I think it did the opposite)
---
If you're interested in personal training or hanging out:
my number is 440-983-7783
email: bickeljason409@gmail.com
As for these blogs, I'll continue to write but wont be sharing via social media.  There's a link on the right to subscribe, if you like.

As for marketing for business, Im fine with not using social media... I want to found naturally, for better or worse, not because I posted some dumbass ad at the right moment.  Find me because you heard I'm good, not because I'm here.

---

The song below is one I find myself humming daily... The story, the movie, the soundtrack has been with me a long time and moves me very much.  The song means, to me, literally what hes singing.  "society, crazy indeed, hope you're not lonely, without me."
My personal opinion, there's something really beautiful to me in going hard, pouring your heart into every single thing you touch, your whole life... just give and give and give and give more and leave it all out there, with nothing in the tank...
then gone, like a shooting star.
So remember kids, "it's better to burn out than fade away."







Can you tell I start off sober then slip into weirdness and music analogies?

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Power Room kept me awake...

... it was around 1:30 and then I think again around 3 or 4... I was laying awake thinking about something I posted:
"This yoga isn't advanced."
"My yoga cert is better than..."
"The yoga at _____ is more recognizable."

Thank you!!! ...
Thank you to nearly every yoga instructor I've ever met (probably 85%), for turning your "non judging," atmosphere into a high school cafeteria all over again.


The top part in quotes, I've heard it too much.  Judging.  Someone posted a pic of a handstand and immediately, people jumped on it "that's too much for my studio," and "wow, you're really good."  So I panicked and ran to my "yoga books," searching for the rankings!  I couldn't find them anywhere.  Then I googled "yoga pose ratings," and couldn't find it there either. 
Lastly, I searched other studios... and there it was, examples of the ratings and judges right there, on the mat.
People ask "Where'd you get your cert?"
Online.
"How?"
I bought a piece of paper, same as the others.  Mine was much cheaper though.
"But where'd you learn anything?"
From doing.

-----

They say "can you run that program again?"
no.
"why?"
I don't know what we did the first time, so I don't know how to make it happen again.
"But it was a program...just run it again."
 it was really a collection of things I do, things I've experienced to help me along... ideas and books, programs, moments... Getting you to run at Squires Castle, the beach, the park isn't a program I want to run right now.

The things I said and did over our time together wasn't planned, so I don't know how to repeat it. I've been asked to bring the Power Room on Tyler back and its not happening.  We caught luck there.  We caught a sweet moment in time, hit it out of the park and that was it.... anything we could've done moving fwd past that would've been calculated and that's where I would've fizzled out.

If it's natural and organic, its hard to repeat.  I wonder how yoga instructors last so long.  For me, its too personal.  I have moments in time where I have the energy to rip off 4-8 classes over a couple months then I need a break.  If the room isn't right, if the people aren't open and putting in the effort, it drains me even faster.  Too often, I've been the energy, and it zaps me very quickly.  Which is where I see the troubles with the finances.  Money or no money, free or $100/class, its an energy that cant be faked.  I've left too many rooms thinking/saying "that wasn't right," and someone would say "huh?  that was rough..."  Might've been rough, but it wasn't right

-----

I believe everything great comes from organic energy.  A natural explosion of just the right amount of effort, awareness, and love. 

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

HEY!! You've got to hide your love away...

Had that song in my head... and this blog is the exact opposite.

-----

Unfortunately, I spend a bit too much time driving.  Actually, the unfortunate part of this situation is that too much of that time is spent wondering what the fuck is wrong with people.  I should be appreciating the scenery, listening to a podcast or music, but no.  Somehow my thoughts are wrapped around trying to nail down the year, decade or generation where it all went to shit, because yes, it is.  (Uh oh, the cynical douche bag is here today).

Can we do like everything else and blame the media?
When celebrity gossip is a top headline, it makes you wonder if this is reality or a wicked acid trip.  "Who will ever believe what Kim and Kanye named their next kid?!?!"    Who has two thumbs and give zero shits?  ...you know the rest...

Maybe it's technology?
Maybe all of our training we've had, staring down with bloodshot, watered eyes has turned us into anti-social zombie, crack heads, looking to get our next "fix," on whatever knew gadget or app pops out to us next.   Kids dont know what commercials are, or a library.  The Dewey Decimal system is long dead, and cursive is coming up next on the endangered list.   As Morrison screamed, "We want the world and we want it NOW!"

Or maybe this just the path we've been riding for the past 20 years and we've created a world around us that suits our greedy, selfish needs.  People don't hold or open doors, say "have a nice day," or are friendly just to be friendly.  People take, do they give?

Can we blame Chuck for not being a role model?
Pop culture is certainly partly responsible.  But I think its circular... the media let guys like Muhammad Ali fade away, "Service to people is your rent to earth."  Who talks like that now?  No one.  It's all about the money, being in commercials and being cool.

Maybe being cool is the problem.  Everything has to look cool.  Appearing to have effort and trying, nah.  Kids now, athletes, they need to look smooth and effortless.  Sweating, screaming and passion?  I still think that died in the late 90's.   My glowing example of this is comparing MJ to LeBron.  MJ would fight teammates for not working hard enough and keeping up with him. LeBron... pretty sure they're distracted with their instagram selfies.

Personally, I feel I've made strong effort to break off anyone and anything that serves my world negatively.  If you're positive, open minded, you're in.  If you're a close minded, conservative, control freak, you're out.  Right?  Wrong?  It's energy.  I can't operate fully with mood sucking, energy draining, life leaches around me, so right now, there are none... but I see you.  



Yes, I believe the world has changed for the worse and we will continue to ride this curve, as a human race.
Unless something truly world rattling takes place, we will continue to slide down and away.  Down a darker, lonelier hole and away from human touch.


All you can do, is be open... Honest... Clear the trash from your head... Clear the history... Let the damage and the scars be part of a cool story, of a survivor... And create your own pocket of positive energy and absorb everything around and try to infect them w your energy, your light and work to keep it brighter and hotter than the anti-,and be a nucleus and spread it all as far as you can as long as you can... Until you burn out or fade away...

This Is Blue Chip