Exercising Demons
Today I am grateful for speed work in my workout this morning-it pushes my limits. I am also grateful for my husband Darcy and how we grow together in this life.
A like-minded friend and I were sharing some thoughts on the importance of exercise in each of our lives the other day. He used the words "exercising demons" and I know just what he was talking about. Mental demons. Fears. Resentments. Denial. Perfectionism. Self-pity. Irrational thoughts. Wrong motives. Ego-feeding propositions. Exercising them out. Not taking them for exercise to make them stronger, rather taking ourselves out to exercise to make us more resistant and resilient to the demons that would like to drag us down.
Exercising to exorcise demons. It works. It has worked in my life since I was a teen. Running off a hangover. Throwing or hitting a softball and releasing mental and spiritual toxicity in the process. Today, exercise keeps me calm and centered. It helps not only with physical balance, but mental, emotional, and spiritual as well.
Exercise, like writing, has been a life-saver for me. Demons seems like a strong word, as does exorcise, but the wrong thoughts really can lead to a hell of sorts. All I have to do is read a couple of my "drinking poems" and that fact is shown to me yet again.
Gratitude practice is more a mental and spiritual exercise than a physical one, but it is important exercise all the same. Physical exercise can release demons that have taken hold. Mental and spiritual exercise like gratitude practice can keep the demons from even getting in.
Whatever form the exercise takes, it's work that is well worth it. Very well worth it. If you scoff at that, perhaps you haven't tried it enough. Do I always whistle as I do my work? No. But I still do it. Persistence allows for survival on tough days. That same persistence can open floodgates of positive emotions on good days.
A like-minded friend and I were sharing some thoughts on the importance of exercise in each of our lives the other day. He used the words "exercising demons" and I know just what he was talking about. Mental demons. Fears. Resentments. Denial. Perfectionism. Self-pity. Irrational thoughts. Wrong motives. Ego-feeding propositions. Exercising them out. Not taking them for exercise to make them stronger, rather taking ourselves out to exercise to make us more resistant and resilient to the demons that would like to drag us down.
Exercising to exorcise demons. It works. It has worked in my life since I was a teen. Running off a hangover. Throwing or hitting a softball and releasing mental and spiritual toxicity in the process. Today, exercise keeps me calm and centered. It helps not only with physical balance, but mental, emotional, and spiritual as well.
Exercise, like writing, has been a life-saver for me. Demons seems like a strong word, as does exorcise, but the wrong thoughts really can lead to a hell of sorts. All I have to do is read a couple of my "drinking poems" and that fact is shown to me yet again.
Gratitude practice is more a mental and spiritual exercise than a physical one, but it is important exercise all the same. Physical exercise can release demons that have taken hold. Mental and spiritual exercise like gratitude practice can keep the demons from even getting in.
Whatever form the exercise takes, it's work that is well worth it. Very well worth it. If you scoff at that, perhaps you haven't tried it enough. Do I always whistle as I do my work? No. But I still do it. Persistence allows for survival on tough days. That same persistence can open floodgates of positive emotions on good days.
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