Awesome Life - Get Your Groove On!

Around 8:00 I sat down at the computer, read my morning devotional, and tried to jump start my reluctant brain. No joy there. So I parked my keyboard, rattled Scout's leash, and headed out for another walk.

By then, 8:45 AM, the sun was shining brightly, the air was clear and the temperature registered 43 degrees. By all accounts, and with a fresh mug of Costa Rican coffee in my hand, I should now be ready to rock-'n-roll; but I can't seem to shake this insistent desire to close my eyes and sleep another couple of hours.

- I watched the "snowboard cross" finals yesterday evening from the Winter Olympics (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images North America). Now that was some fun! Fast, close-quarters, impossibly daring maneuvers, a spectacular course - all the ingredients of a real race.

The exuberant snowboarders offered perfect contrast to the ice-skating (Pairs figure-skating was running around the same time slot_. No prissy nuances of judging with the snowboards. If you fall on your butt you're down - but it you can make it back onto your feet you're welcome to try and catch up.

None of this "Well, you're Russian, so we like the way you fall on your butts. In fact, we still think a Russian pair falling on their butts is better than an American pair jumping and spinning flawlessly. Go ahead and skate with the final group."

The race footage jumped out at me and a question quickly followed. Is my life more like ice-skating - tense, rehearsed, choreographed, broken down, criticized, judged according to a narrow code and constantly evaluated? Is the way I "do" life always on the balance edge of acceptance versus condemnation?

Or... is life a fun adventure that's different every day, messy and unpredictable: is life this amazing challenge?!

There's none of that uptight inquisition hassle in snowboard cross. In snowboard cross it's all "Race you to the bottom!""Eat my snow why don't you." "So I lost, big deal... but did you see the way I hammered that turn?!!"And, "You think turning in circles is pretty? Well, pirouette this!"

Figure-skating sure is a beautiful art form, comprised of demanding, high-level skills. I have a lot of admiration for the strength, the poise, and the commitment of the figure-skating athletes. But I'm not seeing a lot of joy there, not around the ice-rink.

Too much tension; too much pressure; not enough fun.

Living this "Life Abundant" simply rocks! Have you got your ear-buds in? Are you getting your groove on? When you "drop in" every morning, do you feel that rush of adrenaline right out of the gate?

Have an awesome day, dude!