Color Vibe

My family ran the "Color Vibe" race today. It was interesting. To the best of my knowledge, the whole idea of having fun by tossing color bombs on each other was inspired by the Hindu Festival of Holi. It's a ritual where people say goodbye to winter and welcome the spring. There might even be some fertility mojo going on too, but I'm not completely sure. There's a lot of these kinds of color run events in the US, and I doubt that very many folks have made the connection to Holi. Over here, it's just fun.

It wasn't a religious moment for my family today. It was fun and made some nice memories. We got some really good pictures of the color splashed all over us. That was cool. We hung out with some friends from FWSW. That was cool too. We didn't run it as a race, but just enjoyed the nice weather and strolled the whole thing. That was also cool. My kids did a fine job, and I'm both proud of them and thankful for them. They're good boys.

While my wife and I have been fully immersed into the "boot camp" mentality of FWSW, we've been bringing our boys along at a slower pace. They're not always eating the same things we are and we aren't expecting them to do all the same workouts, etc. When we get to "maintenance mode" then we'll all be on more similar schedule regarding diet, physical activities, etc. We have tried to plan this out in a way so that the boys wouldn't resent our family's move to a more fit lifestyle.

I think there's a danger of getting into shape and being pushy about it with the ones around you. I can tell you this ... one of the reasons I was so reluctant to get in shape is because I knew people who were in shape, and I thought a lot of them were jerks. They often had a smug attitude and would drop guilt bombs indiscriminately. Not every fit person is like that, but enough are that it was one of my excuses (a lame excuse, but an excuse nonetheless).

So, I'll just throw these two thoughts out there:

1) If you're in shape, there's no need to be a tool about it. Be healthy. Help others when you can, but realize that being pushy or arrogant is counterproductive.

2) If you're not in shape and have had issues with superior-acting fit people, get over it. Your health is yours, not theirs. You don't get a free fat pass just because someone else plays the part of a fool.