Sunday Fireside #4

Sunday Fireside Chats may make a come back as we begin the slide to Christmas and ever more insane workloads. Which means they might help me focus, and you get to peer into the mind of a Kyle. Either way, don’t expect anything coherent from these things…

Last week Wednesday, Simone and I got back from Melbourne and our first ever visit to Australia. Now that I have a Kiwi passport, I can get into countries with a lot less hassle than I could before. Which makes flying across the ditch for a quick weekend all the more easier. We were there for just shy of a week, mainly going for Star Wars in Concert which was incredible, and highly recommended! As well as to explore the famous Melbourne - which everyone seems to universally love.

Spoiler alert - everyone is right! Melbourne is a place you have to experience, at least once. Out of all the big cities I have visited - it stands out as being the calmest and friendliest. Oh, and the water tastes like South African water, which means my tea tasted just amazing.

While we were there, I stumbled on a quote by Anthony Bourdain, thanks to Jeremy. And its stuck with me ever since.

An Anthony Bourdain quote set in white on black: "If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move."

Move - Anthony Bourdain

As an expat, I am a advocate for not living in the town you were born in. I think everyone should move, should visit other countries, or other towns, or even just new fast food places for lunch. Comfort breeds laziness. And I am a prime example of that. I get comfortable, and then I get fat, and every day ends up looking just like the other, and nothing really changes. Some things even go backwards - such as my Adonis physique - for example.

Day-to-day life can really suck you in and make you worry about even the most minor of inconveniences. Only when you step out that bubble do you get a proper bird’s eye view of your life, in a way. This is why I believe traveling is so important. And also leads to yet another great quote from Bourdain.

An Anthony Bourdain quote: "Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you, it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind."

Travel - Anthony Bourdain

I have gotten far too comfortable recently. I can feel it - a few extra kgs around my waist is a stark reminder, as well as my current lack of fitness. And this really bugs me. I have this deep-seated belief that men, and especially Christian men, should be healthy, and strong, and fit enough to look after not just their own family, but the wider community (whatever said community may look like). Yet, I sit here and be fat.

So it’s time to get up. To move. To do something. I read about “Freedom Through Discipline” and the idea that only by limiting your options do you really find freedom. It’s a subject, or thought process, I’ll be digging into more. It might help me stop procrastinating, or being lazy.

This week, the goal is to be active for at least 6 out of the 7 days. If I start honing my body, my mind is sure to follow. Along with it, will be properly doing intermittent fasting, and not the half-arsed version I was doing before.

Time to make my life a little less comfortable and a bit more rewarding.

Yours, as ever,

Kyle