Effort

Everyone of us in life tries to improve themselves in the way that they see fit. Some do so by eating the right foods or by getting exercise. There are a myriad range of possibilities on how to go about this. I personally have focused on the ways of meditation, yoga and lately Tai Chi to improve and best reach my potential. What I have found lies at the basis of these practices is that they all require discipline and dedication. We all need something that tells us at the end of the day that we have done something worthy with the day that was given to us. Each day is a gift and although that is sometimes hard to realize... it is. By doing and completing the task 100% to completion we are doing more then simply checking off another activity. We are in essence practicing gratefulness, which lies at the center of human happiness and is a stepping stone to each one of us reaching our full potential. Effort is the reward in the end because it proves that we loved being here today so much that we we're willing to do something that was hard to do. We are showing compassion for life. I believe there are many ways to show compassion. We can show kind acts to people or simply and exercise it with the types of food we choose to consume. Each one of us strives for purpose and looks to try to be the most productive with the day that is given to us. That is the reason that coffee is a huge selling product. The immediate effect is 30 minutes of an undivided attention feeling and yet this state is easy to obtain and thus in the long run is rarely rewarding. What we find the most rewarding is effort. Many are starting to become aware of the huge benefits of fasting and it is a practice which has been used for thousands of years and this practice requires effort and is a challenge and yet when we finish the race we feel good and that feel good feeling spreads throughout us and manifests into physical accomplishments. We are able to have good creativity.. we are able to focus. Effort is the non-physical mental feeling that translates to physical realities. It is interesting that the most beneficial parts of the practices that I practice are the non-physical elements that are contained within them. For Meditation everything is non-physical as through the breath I just try to relax more and more with every breath. For Yoga it is the non-physical feeling of the dance of life as movement becomes effortless and yet full of effort and for Tai Chi there is the whole concept of imagining a sphere and through imagination the physical sphere manifests... or does it. These days we are connecting more and more with the non-physical in order to put meaning to our everyday lives and we find that these non-physical processes require lots of effort and yet reveal the most reward. Coffee then turns to a mere taste and food turns to mere taste. The true power is held within. As John Denver likes to say as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vw92nkIXXA