IT IS ALL RELATIVE....

Today is the first difficult day I have encountered thus far. And is not about the workout routine (so far, lunges aside, all deceptively easy), or the diet which I am actually quite enjoying and somehow is giving me a more steady supply of energy instead of intermittent short-lived sugar rushes that had grown accustomed to of late. It is about the difficulty of balancing a particularly difficult and critical time at work, and lack of time with many of the anal demands of the program. Is bad enough having little time for oneself and to relax from work, but have had to give up some of the zazen time in the morning, and some leisure and pure relaxation after the particularly high levels of stress of the job at the moment to prepare meals, weigh items, take pictures, write this blog...it is a concession that I am struggling to accept. I can sense the benefits in the not so distant future when I finally see some progress in my physical condition, but at the moment is all hard to accept. As personal admin piles up, repairs and DIY around the house builds up into a soon to be insurmountable backlog, and domestic chores loom more threatening in the absence of my wife I am finding harder to accept the commitment and compromise. Only the thought, image and feeling of a fitter me seems to bring some of the needed motivation, but feels too distant in time. On the other hand, the thought of the difficulties, fear, emotional stress, and loss sustained by those affected one way or another by the Japan earthquake and tsunami makes me ashamed of the pettiness of my complaints. It is all relative after all, and whenever we think we have it bad, there is someone who is in a worse predicament and who finds a way to sustain adversity. My thoughts are right now with those of you who are in Japan. Is hard enough to accept the sad tragedy of recent events, and seeing your lives disrupted at so many levels, to find the motivation and will to complete PCP. There is a lesson in seeing the most basic comforts and security that we have grown accustomed to take for granted in our developed world, and in the ephemeral and transient nature of life, and yet must be a hard task to reconcile some of these lofty thoughts with completing PCP. Yet i suppose that some of the same spirit of sacrifice and determination in pursuit of a future goal is what will help Japan bounce back from this as ti did from the horrific aftermath of WWII, and in creating these will and stamina, the PCP discipline can help in establishing the foundations. I somehow finish this post feeling that I have it really easy, and that PCP should be a breeze....Yes all is relative after all. 

P.S. Patrick, thanks for your dedication and keeping PCP running despite all the potential constraints and set backs: I really appreciate the double effort that will go into your posts and updates in the next few weeks.