Dust

 Reading the Psalms is pretty good spiritual literature no matter your belief or lack thereof.  Why?  They deal with reality and human emotions.  Today’s thought is psalm 103 and going to the gym.  What?  Well the psalm says, “Remember that we are dust.”  It reminds me in a sobering fashion that I must not let my spiritual life of reading, meditation and service be put aside for the purpose of building up my body.  If I can do both then this is fine.  So I tend to figure early in the morning when I am going to do fit spiritual and when I am going to fit physical conditioning.  Being up here in the monastery at the moment this is not too difficult, but in busy San Francisco it is a challenge.  Well, running up here is very difficult.  No oxygen.