Laus Deo

Yes yes yes, I’m completely off track this year. At least as far as my blogging projects go (but I am managing to keep up with my workouts). Our boy spent 24 hours vomiting recently which was our first experience with that unfun-ness. But now he’s happily playing with his legos and trains and I’m sneaking a few minutes to share my latest read: The Lost Symbol.

With this share, comes a confession.  That I occasionally partake in reading books that do not demand too much intellect, that sweep me into a fantasy world for a couple of days.  I had been on a Bill Bryson marathon and when I read the last word of the last book that I had on hand; I was feeling desperate for something else immediately.  You know how that is when you have really been consumed with reading for so long and you don’t want it to end so you just keep going?  Well, the Dan Brown book was within reach on the shelf and I tucked right in.

If you know a little about my interests, it’s fairly obvious why I like Dan Brown’s books.  Especially when you take into account that I’m pretty easy to entertain with books, movies, and television shows.  I’m quite good at forgetting sense and just jumping into whatever world presents itself.  I tend to take these things all a little too seriously which leads me to ask my husband very concerned questions about the characters days later – because I’ve been giving the matter serious consideration – as if they are actually people we know.  And I’m quite gullible through it all, which often leaves anybody who is viewing along with me incredulous.  All these things make it easy for me to enjoy myself when I take the time to do so, and so it works for me.

Was it Andrea?  I think so…. Somewhere in cyberspace she mentioned something about how working with Joe and Clara Pilates was more of an exercise in self-realization than physical exercise.  I love those kinds of statements, they are guiding lights for me in my daily practice.  The more I think of them and aim my teaching toward facilitating others’ processes of realization rather than telling they what is right and wrong, the more I see the full magnitude of what Pilates offers.  This book touches upon such ideas and so I’m all jazzed on the magic that comes from simply applying focus to our personal development.

I’ve mentioned The Biography many times here, and I will continue to do so as it offers so many guiding lights for those of us working to honor and fully understand the work developed by Joe Pilates.  Today I’m thinking of how Joe chose to be a Mason.  Of how the philosophical underpinnings of his work reached far back in history.  And of how he chose to come to the United States of America to pursue the development of his exercise system.  Apart from the facts of what he did, we cannot know his reasoning.  But I still find it interesting to ponder these truths about Pilates as I read The Lost Symbol.  All that and the fact that the concluding ideas in the book are quite close to the philosophical underpinnings of Pilates add up to make this a fun read for Pilates enthusiasts who are in the mood for a page-turner that also happens to fuel their passion for living a more fulfilled life through a disciplined practice of Pilates.

I’d say that such a book is perfect for a vacation read.  Although in my case it was perfect for a sick day.  Either way, it’s good to have these reads at hands reach and I was happy that I did!