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Breakfast |
Crunch |
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Words & Images |
© 2007 Robert Wesley Branch |
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4 am – For the past 61 days, I have been waking up at four, brushing my teeth, pulling on my shorts, lacing up my sneakers and heading to the lobby gym to hit the treadmill.
On that first morning, I was winded after only a few minutes – and my thoughts turned time and again to how and why I’d consistently made the choice to let essential parts of myself go by the wayside. As the answers began to come, step by excruciatingly difficult and painful step on that fast-moving incline, I often had to resist the urge to let fall my tears. After fifteen minutes came the sweat. And more pain – not just physically, but up from my soul came the emotional pain of not living up to my own expectations of myself. Heel-toe, heel-toe, heel-toe – is where I focused my mind to get through those first 45 minutes on that first day. Work through the pain and get to the end is what I told myself.
After a few weeks, stronger now, I turned up the heat and the time on my morning workouts. The windedness and the sweat had ceased, so I ran and walked longer and with more intensity. As my muscles tightened, the fog lifted from my mind and I began to see (once again) that I had been living below my standards. I had been anesthetizing myself against the subtle ache of solo living, which every-now-and-again creeps up into the spirit of a man who strays from the full pursuit of his purpose. Each morning on that treadmill, I found a little bit of myself that I’d tucked to the side; that I’d hid under the bed and locked away inside of my daily routine over the past seven or so years. This newfound clarity began showing me how far gone I’d become. Exercise is bringing me back. And every day that I keep my commitment to myself – to exercise my body – I am more and more sure of this one thing: There is absolutely nothing I cannot accomplish in this world! |
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I eat this Breakfast Crunch each morning, at six, after working out. In a glass, I layer homemade granola (toasted oats, slivered almonds, 3 tablespoons of EVOO and 2 tablespoons of honey – baked for 12 minutes at 350 degrees), vanilla yogurt, sliced bananas, a drizzle of honey and the freshly squeezed juice of one orange. Repeat that layer until reaching the top of the glass. Then I sit back, watch BBC World News, and feel great about doing something good for my body and my soul. I’m now ready to face the day – bring it on! |
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From the forthcoming book |
Food Is Love: Recipes for Living Single & Fabulous ©2007 Robert Wesley Branch |
