Thursday, February 26, 2009

In search of understanding.

I have been involved in a few interesting and unexpected discussions recently.

I have been affected by 2 in particular.
:: One with a person who was previously only a "work mate" but I was pleased to find was more of a "kindred spirit" (to steal a term from Anne of Green Gables) than I had imagined.
:: And one that I am still processing.

Reminds me again that listening is often better than talking. I wish that I was better at listening, understanding, internalising and processing on the spot. I also wish I was less prone to assuming, in tense/difficult situations, that I might have anything helpful to say. In some situations I wonder if there is anything at all to be said that can be helpful.

I know that it is important to be open in order to build relationships, but retrospectively feeling that you have shared too much of yourself is an unpleasant experience that I don't wish to repeat too often (if ever).

Nice to know that there are kindred spirits out there. We all need to feel understood sometimes.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Gyms are Scary

I went to a gym today, thanks to a freebie from the local big-business physio. 6 weeks and 6 sessions with a "results based trainer". Sounds scary hey?

I have been starting to feel fitter thanks to continuing to run 3 times per week this month. But I still find the obsessive, super-fit professionals and gym-a-holics pretty intimidating. Fortunately 9:30am on a Wednesday is a pretty quiet time at the gym, so I plan on making the most of my day off and using the gym when it is almost empty.

I was seen by 3 separate people today (was that really necessary?). And so answered some of the same questions 4 times over - including the written questionnaire I had to fill in first. But no actual workout today, due to some mis-communication. I went home feeling a tad disappointed about that. Now I will just have to stay nervous about my first work out with a trainer for a bit longer.

Monday, February 2, 2009

February: Consumer Detox

My challenge to myself for this month is one that I have been thinking of for a while.

I want to stop buying random brands of clothes and shoes. Often after purchasing new clothes, especially if it was a "great bargain", I feel a momentary stab of guilt if I pause to think that by my consuming I am buying into global inequality. The "made in China" labels etc are a great reminder of this problem.

So for this month, and for the rest of this year, I will only buy clothes and shoes that I can verify are ethically produced. The only exception is buying second hand from shops where the proceeds go to charity.

It is not really going to be that big a deal when I consider that I could exist quite comfortably without buying any new clothes/shoes for a long time.

Also, there are now a number of companies that produce sweat-shop free products. And so my job of finding them should not be too hard.

I will post links as I find them.