The Bridge…(Gumby AO)
Nine Pax, took the Daily Red Pill (DRP) this morning and got better.
The Pax: Meat sweats, Mad Bum, Samsonite, Josey, Flying tomato, Aruba, Wrangler and FNG Blake – aka Mandela (Q: Squirrel)
The Scene: Mostly cloudy, 50 degrees with a Full Moon.
MOBILITY ROUTINE
Cobra to active back bend hold –thumbs up, pinch shoulder blades & pause. Two breaths here. Repeato x5.
Low Lunge – Right foot forward, Left knee to ground. Left hip pushing forward. Arms press on thigh. Move to runners lunge – Straighten front leg, w/ proud chest hinge forward to feel the hamstring stretch), 5 breaths. <Flapjack>
Lunge Twist – left knee on the ground and right knee at 90 degrees. Palms together & twist to right and look right, keeping palms together. Left elbow to right knee
90/90s – On your butt, right knee forward @ 90, left knee back @ 90. Bend forward with a proud chest. Should feel in right hip. 5 breaths. <Flapjack>
Good morning Squat – Do a Good Morning, focusing on a flat back. Then a low squat. Repeato x10.
HAMSTRINGS
Standing Forward Bend – Exhaling, bend at the hips to fold forward. Pro Tip – lengthen the front of your torso
Hamstring Stretch on Pole – find a pole on the swing set. On your 6, left leg extended. Put your right leg up the pole & hold the stretch for 1 min. <Flapjack>
Hamstring Stretch – Right foot over left. Bend at the hips to fold forward. Pro Tip – lengthen the front of your torso. <Flapjack>
STRENGTH / CORE
- Freddy Mercury’s
- Plank
- Crunch – Arms reaching to the sky.
- Pickle pounders
- Shakiras
- The compass (6″ hold, 30°, 45°)
- Elbow Plank
- Super Slow Peter Parkers
- Long slow flutter
TWIST
Standing Spinal Twist – Hinge at waist, don’t round over. Hands out to sides, rotate to the left…left hand high, rotate to the right…right hand high. Repeato
LATS / BACK
Childs Pose Cross body – Walk hands to the left, Four breaths here. << Flapjack
STABILITY
Tree – Shift weight onto right foot, pressing it firmly onto the ground. Place the sole of the left foot on the ankle (calf option1, inner thigh option 2). Challenge move close your eyes. << Flapjack >>
CALVES – Down dog
Mosey over to meet the Stronghold Pax.
Announcements/Prayer requests:
- 19 February – Clown Car Convergence as we drive to Albermarle for their workout. Depart from 1st Baptist Church on 211 (near Pinewild) at 0545. Probably be back home around 1000 at the latest.
- 23 February — Men’s Fraternity. Southern Pines United Methodist church, Wednesday’s 06-0730. If you missed last week, come on. We have about 61 who were there last week. #FOMO
Quatro led us out in prayer.
MOLESKINE: The Bridge…
The Pax of Gumby & Stronghold gathered around on the basketball courts, steam rising from the Stronghold Pax and Peace exuding from the Gumby Pax. This image of two groups coming together, coupled with the message about the bridge which some of us heard on Wednesday at Men’s Fraternity, intertwined. Let me set the stage a bit.
A man was walking along a beach & stumbled across an old lamp. He picked it up, rubbed it & out popped a genie.
The genie said, “Okay, you released me from the lamp, blah, blah, blah. This is the fourth time this month and I’m getting a little fed up with the wishes, so you can forget about the three. You only get one wish.”
The man sat and thought about it for a while and said, “I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii but I’m scared to fly and I get very seasick. Can you build me a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over there to visit?”
The genie laughed. “That’s impossible. Think of the logistics of that! How would the supports ever reach the bottom of the Pacific? Think of how much concrete … how much steel! No, think of another wish.”
The man agreed and tried to think of a really good wish. Finally he said, “I’ve wanted to understand the feminine mind … I want to know how they feel inside and what they are thinking when they give me the silent treatment … know why they are crying, know what they really want when they say ‘nothing’ … know how to make them truly happy …”
The genie considered the man’s request, then said, “Do you want that bridge two lanes or four?”
A bridge.
Yep, we need a bridge.
Not to understand the feminine mind but to come together as people to honor God.
The three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam fit the definition of monotheism; to worship one god while denying the existence of other gods. That’s not only where these three religions intersect. Judaism calls God, Yahweh. Both Christianity and Islam refer to him as God — in Arabic, Islam’s founding language, “Allah” means “The God.” Not to be sacrilegious but is that like saying Ohio State and The Ohio State?
All three religions trace their origins back to Abraham, who, in Genesis, had humanity’s first relationship with God after the failures of Noah’s flood and the Tower of Babel. Judaism and Christianity trace their tie to Abraham through his son Isaac, and Islam traces it through his son Ishmael.
If Abraham is the point where the religions diverge, that means they were unified up to that moment. From the beginning of time – Adam’s creation by God until Abraham’s kids.
Y’all know this already and I’m preaching to the choir…but I need the practice. Being a family doesn’t mean everyone gets along. Shocker! There’s squabbling children, parent-child dynamics and then you mix in things like Sarah telling Abraham, “I can’t have kids, why don’t you sleep with the maid Hagar.” Oh, that’s just ripe for family drama! I’m sure there was some form of Jerry Springer back then…it just wasn’t on a TV.
In 2016, at the University of Wyoming Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts, there was an exhibition of nearly 50 paintings called “The Bridge.” The paintings were by artists of Middle East origins representing all three religions. The theme of “The Bridge” was to visualize how members of the “rival religions” could cross the divide between them. Moving from conflict to peace.
Paul V.M. Flesher, wrote, “My favorite is Yasser Rostrom’s “The Tree.” Here, the bridge is a branch from which grows a male and female figure. Their four arms become branches reaching upward toward the hand of God reaching down toward them. The three arms holds a symbol of a monotheistic religion, while the fourth remains empty to symbolize other religions. The hands stretch out from each other, forming a polygon, yet God’s hand comes down into the middle, suggesting that on their own, they cannot reach God, but only by coming together in the center.”
I’ve lived with bitterness in my heart toward people who have believed in the Islam theology. I’m not proud of it. I painted with broad brush strokes and I have asked for forgiveness. These are children of God, just like us.
YHC doesn’t have any illusions that you, me or any one of our nations will end the violence, oppression and other difficulties between these three religious elements. I just pray that someday, somehow there is hope enough to inspire thought and action towards building a bridge that leads to peace.
Aye!