I like to consider myself as the living, breathing, cupid. I love, "love" as crazy as that sounds. I enjoy watching two people fall in love and be all cutesy. I get great pleasure from being a matchmaker for two people, as well as watching how happy they are. I love engagements, I certainly adore weddings, I may sound insane but I treasure seeing other people fall in love and be happy before I do. Valentine's Day; a day of which we know is full of chocolates, hearts, roses, teddy bears, cards, and love. Celebrated every February 14th, couples get together to express their love/feelings for one another and sometimes shower one another with gifts and items that hold sentimental value. Even singles celebrate! There is honestly nothing wrong with being alone on Valentine's Day, it can be a day for self love and appreciation but we will get to that later in this post. For now let me give you a little background on how this holiday originated and what the significance of it was/is. I went to the internet for that answer (thanks NPR) and I had a little bit of an uneasy feeling after reading the story of Saint Valentine's Day. A "little" history... Valentine's Day originated in ancient Rome where the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. During this feast men would sacrifice a goat as well as a dog and then whip women with the hides from the animals they had murdered (insane right?!). Surprisingly young women actually lined up for these men to hit them, believing that it would eventually make them fertile (seriously??). The brutal festival included what they called a "matchmaking lottery" where the men would pull the names of women from a jar, and the couples would then be put together for the duration of the festival (which generally lasted from the 13th to the 15th). Sometimes the couples even lasted longer if the match was right, and it has been said that the Romans are can be held responsible for the name of our modern day love. Emperor Claudius II then executed two men (both named Valentine) on February 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their death was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. Later on Pope Gelasius combined the newly created Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals, however the festival had ended up becoming a lot more theatrical than it had been in the past. Around this same time the Norman's were celebrating what they called Galatin's Day with the word Galatin meaning "lover of women". Constantly mixed and misinterpreted, the two holidays (Galatin and Valentine's) are paired together and seen as one because they sounded alike. As years went on the holiday grew sweeter, it was romanticized in the work of Shakespeare and other poets and play writers. Soon the holiday was spreading throughout Britain and all of Europe and handmade cards became tokens of love. Eventually, the tradition made its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has not been the same since. Unfortunately the holiday has become big business with sales every year reaching almost $18 billion dollars. Let's cut to Valentine's Day 2017... So there ya' have it...the lovely, creepy, origin of Valentine's Day. So for those of you who celebrate it, Valentine's Day can be a cute little thing for you and your lover and even for you if you're single! There's nothing wrong with being alone on Valentine's Day, you can always treat yo' self. The holiday can be a great day for self appreciation. Me personally, i've never had a good or "perfect" Valentine's Day. Last year I ended up with a broken heart, and as upsetting as it was, it actually taught me so much about myself and my self worth. The holiday is glamorized all over the television and movie screens to be this perfect, romantic day full of roses, giant teddy bears, and candied hearts but in reality it doesn't happen quite often and I think people hold too high of expectations just to be let down. Unfortunately as stated above, we live in a money driven world where if a company can make money off of a day they will find a way to do it. The best way to celebrate Valentine's Day is to show appreciation for whom and what you love, and don't leave yourself out of that equation! Spoil and glamorize yourself on Valentine's Day, because you deserve to. Go out for a nice, relaxing long run, go get a massage, go to the sauna, whatever makes you happy and feel good! If you have a lover, find a creative way to show your appreciation to them, surprise them spontaneously with something other than $100 worth of roses..because honestly those roses will start to wilt in about 72 hours. My mom has been my Valentine since the day I was born, every year on Valentine's Day we make sure to surprise one another with a creative way to express our appreciation for one another, and I get just as excited for it as I did as a child. Sure I won't lie occasionally it does involve some small gifts, but we focus on the value of one another. Make dinner for one another, go on an adventure, do something you both enjoy, write long notes to each other, do something that holds some type of sentimental value -- it'll mean a lot more than those expensive, smelly roses. Heck even go on a scenic long run together, how stinkin' cute is that?! At the end of the day, what matters is that you've shown appreciation for your partner and you've made it known to them that they are admired. Couples take care of each other, support one another, and keep each other happy; show your partner that he/she is a valuable part of your life. Never, ever forget your value! You're a strong, amazing, beautiful person with so much to offer to this world. Even if you're alone on February 14th, do not fret because it's your day to show yourself how much love you have for yourself. So crack open a bottle of wine, rip open a box of chocolates, or slip on your running sneakers and go enjoy your day! Treat yo' self! Until next time... Stay Green, Amanda
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I like to consider myself a closet spiritual human being...sounds crazy I know, but when you tell people you're interested in the spiritual world you're considered even more insane. I used to be quite the skeptic when it came to believing in another life or even another world...I thought it was all crazy talk. However it wasn't until my roommate in college introduced me to the art of meditation and finding zen. At the time I was taking a class on Japanese Art History, and our discussions were solely based on the Buddhist religion and the way of the Buddhist monks. Don't knock it until you read about it, because these people [Buddhist monks] were some of the most peaceful and smartest people to ever live and the tale of Siddhartha [Buddha] is one to definitely read up on...i'm not here to make you believe in another god by any means, but one thing I took away the most from the Buddhist religion was the teaching of Buddha and his beliefs on life (if that makes any sense). Just a quick ancient history lesson, Buddhism originated in India, in which it then spread throughout most of Asia. Buddhism is the 4th biggest religion practiced with about 7% of the population considering themselves Buddhists. Some practices of Buddhism include "Nekkhamma" which is considered as giving up the world and leading a holy life removing all craving and attachment (to objects), "Theravada" which is basically escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth (don't ask how that, works I have NO idea), and my personal favorite, meditation. What does any of this have to do with yoga? Well let me explain that.... The practice of Yoga was originally developed to train the mind and body to become aware of it's own surroundings' spiritually or it's "own nature". The purpose was to grow or develop self-awareness, a higher consciousness, and self-regulation in an individual. The practice is meant to go beyond the physical benefit and focus rather of the spiritual development of an individual and to relieve all physical attachments to the present world. Yoga tends to relieve stress, calm and relax the body, as well as aid one in developing flexibility. The first yoga practice was developed in ancient India where the practices were originally attached to musical scripts/songs that were used by priests. These poses and positions of the yoga practice were documented and used to aid those seeking to reach enlightenment (a state of perfect knowledge or wisdom combined with infinite compassion). The more post-classical period of yoga sought the practice as a way to rejuvenate the body and prolong life. The followers of this period used yoga with the belief of being able to cleanse the body and mind that bind us to our physical existence. So the overall main beliefs of the people of this time were that they could use these practices to break themselves from the physical world and physical attachment and devote their lives to living in this pure, spiritual state (which to them was a world without suffering). Nowadays, some of those ideas and believes have unfortunately been pushed aside and the physical aspect of the practice has become far more important (to most). Many people view yoga as a form of physical exercise rather than a mental practice, and most have strayed away from the spiritual aspect of it. However, it has been discovered that yoga can be extremely beneficial to athletes, and seen as a way to prevent injury to those that include regular practice into their daily routines: especially runners. To me, my yoga practice is more of a strengthening form of exercise, not just physically but mentally as well. Yoga has allowed me to focus on the tension in my body, and come at peace with myself spiritually. I've been able to teach myself to meditate outside of my [Yoga] practice and easily put myself at peace. It's made me a thinker now when I run which sounds weird, but I can actually control my thoughts. Generally before a race I have a rush of negative emotions, and now I can easily put myself at peace and calm most of my nerves. I can think about races differently and find a positive outcome rather than complaining that my race is only half over. I am self-aware, and I can put myself in another world (I know I sound insane). Physically, it has overall made me a stronger athlete. I am amazed that I can hold myself up in certain positions, and my range of flexibility continues to grow. I am able to find ways to control my breathing and get into a "groove" which allows my body to stretch farther than I ever expected. Granted I was a cheerleader for 6 years when I was younger, but I am far more flexible now than I was back then. I have made myself stronger as a runner physically and mentally and honestly it's kept me from going absolutely insane during my time off from running because of my ITBS. I have tried different types of yoga, and I am always intrigued with different variations of practices...by the way I suggest that you ALL go try hot yoga it's so amazing. I feel so much stronger mentally than I do physically and I think really getting into yoga and mediation was exactly what I needed during this time of recovery. So get in touch with your inner zen and give it a shot if you haven't already even if you start with just mediation. Find a video on YouTube where someone leads you through a guided meditation (that's where I started). It really helps and you'll find yourself at peace with a little more of a positive attitude and positive outlook on life...give it a shot! Until next time... Stay Green, Amanda (Shout out to Wikipedia and my old Japanese Art History text for some background on Buddhism) |
LifestyleWhat does Amanda do outside of her crazy, insane exercise obsessed life..? I know you're all dying to know. Check out my previous posts!
March 2018
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