Push The Pause Button Please....Forms

[suzanne sanders]

Because I have towed the line between life and death, lately, I find I struggle with being responsible. I want to play and take every moment in. I want life to feel slow. I want time to slow even stop while I sit up in the mountains and have tea with my husband, I want to sit with my kids more outside in the forest or on a beach. I want to go backpacking high up in the mountains with my family and get lost in its silence... I want to drive and experience more of this worlds beauty. 
Today, I was reading a friend of mines blog, (Growing Wild Farm), I am very proud of her for realizing what is important in life, which is learning to "pause". No matter how hard you work, work never goes away, the lists are always lists. What is important in life is taking a pause, taking moments, and put play back in your life.
I love what my daughter Sophia's says, "What stories are you creating that you can share" What is your story? Is your story of staying inside, playing video games, watching movies, eyes glued to your cell phone? What story's are you going to be able to tell from that? 
I will ask you again, through my daughters words (who will be 17 tomorrow) What is your story?
Here is a quote a friend of mine used in her blog. It is totally how I feel on a daily basis, even more so these last few months. ... 
“I arise in the morning torn between the desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” -E B White 
So, outside I go, to work, pause and then play.....

Why I choose to  play  and exercise outside: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blmv6gb9m64

My forms test focus ( I missed my goal due to some serious health issues). I have lost three weeks.  

Starting from the beginning. UG!....

What a push this is going to be... I am working hard on trying to not give up and let all my summers work be swept under the carpet....

They carpet seems easier, to be swept under and silently forgotten.  That all my hard work was nothing but a dream.  

If you could bug me and ask me where I am at with my forms test.  I feel I am in a rut.

.. My goal today, two of each form. 

[Joseph Bronson]

Ken, 

Your comment on this post was so enjoyable to read. It sounds like you both are having the time of your lives. I am happy that you are still training even if it is sporadic. Ken, as you know, not many of us will ever get to do what you and Bobby are doing with your lives right now. I would love to hear more about your travels and the insights that you have along the way as you continue with this wonderful journey that you are on.

Hope to hear more from you soon.

Yours in the arts,

Sifu Joseph Bronson 

[Ken Meeks]

I would, first, like to thank Suzanne for reaching out to me.  My apologies for lengthy blog silence.

Suzanne's post is relevant to our (my wife and me) current lifestyle.  Last year we found ourselves in the fortunate position to be able to work while venturing out and enjoying the world. We cleared our plates of on-going commitments, and when we had crossed off everything on our "lists" we threw them away. Our only on-going commitment was to work 6 hours/day. This leaves 18 hours/day to enjoy life.  As long as we have internet access we can work anywhere.....we took that ball and ran with it.  Bobbi and I have always been outdoor oriented.  We started in the mountains of Italy. Hiking and climbing in the Dolomites provided both adrenalin rushes and serenity. Mountain summits have a way of clearing one's head.

We then moved into the city of Florence and immersed ourselves in renaissance art, then onto Rome to walk among the remenents of the Roman Empire.  From Rome we traveled to Istanbul (Constantinople) and Ephesus- (A city made of marble), our knowledge of the breadth of the Roman Empire continually expanding. 

From Italy we made a short 3 day visit to Cairo, Egypt. The magnificence of the ancient structures will forever be impressed upon our memories.  Three days, however, were sufficient, as we found the city to be chaotic and exhaustiing....not dangerous, but we always had to be attentive and alert.

Our travels then took us from northern Africa to southern Africa.  Southern Africa has been a lifelong goal of Bobbi's.  We are spending a year traveling through Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Zambia.  We purchased an older Toyota 4Runner in Botswana. This has provided us the freedom to explore and access remote destinations.

In one instance, we traveled for 35 miles on a 4x4 sandy double track to access the north end of the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park.  It took us four hours and we did not see another human.  We did see Cheetahs and a plethora of other wild African beasts. When we reached the camp that evening we saw fresh lion tracks cut straight through our campsite. (Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore)

My wife and I are still in South Africa.  We are renting a home in the small mountain town of Haenertsburg.  It is a relaxing environment-homes without bars on the windows, nor walls strung with electric wire.  We are truly fortunate because there is an organic farm that provides a weekly delivery of fresh vegetables, milk, and cheese.  We have become friends with the owners who have shared their knowledge about appropriate planting times. (i.e. planting around the lunar cycles)  Our diet has been full of dark leafy greens, root vegetables, and unpasteurized milk and butter.  Additionally, when they slaughtered a cow, we bought a month's worth of  delicious beef.  It has been good.....no it has been great.  And the best thing about our lifestyle is that we find ourselves with the time to cook.  We don't have to "make time" to cook and "eat right."  We simply have the time.  The house we are staying in has a huge slab of marble in the kitchen.  I highly recommend that the centerpiece of every kitchen should be a huge stone cutting board.  It allows us to chop and prepare all the vegetables, and gives us space to pile the various stacks of prepped food.

We are staying here for 5 months using it as base camp for trips to surrounding areas.  Tomorrow we are headed into Zimbabwe for 6 days. 

At the end of October we are heading into the vast emptiness of Namibia. We have rented an apartment at the coastal resort town of Swakopmund.  At the beginning of 2014, we will sell the vehicle and return for a few weeks to the states, then onto Asia.........at least that's the plan.

I hope everybody is well.  My training is not as disciplined as it should be, but I do practice.

Ken