Day 3,858

Growth:

Taking time to read in bed for a few minutes prior to sleep really helps to calm my brain AND helps me keep moving forward on my goal of reading 25 of my favorite books three times each this year. Funny how the reading of a handful of pages each night slowly compounds into chapters over weeks and books over months.

Appreciation:

One of the things I appreciate most about the book Spin by Robert Charles Wilson is the way the story flips time on its head. Without getting into the details one of the major premises of the book is a situation causing the Earth to slow to a very significantly slower pace than the rest of the universe. Each Earth year is the equivalent to approximately 100 million years for the rest of the universe. This allows the story to show time in many different forms, personalizing it while helping us to see how quickly it passes. A couple of the quotes that most impact me are:

“There are so many kinds of time. The time by which we measure our lives. Months and years. Or the big time, the time that raises mountains and makes stars. Or all the things that happen between one heartbeat and the next. Its hard to live in all those kinds of times. Easy to forget that you live in all of them.”

“It’s entirely possible that Martian dynasties rose and fell as I waited for traffic lights to change.”

“When people come to understand how big the universe is and how short a human life is, their hearts cry out. Sometimes it’s a shout of joy: I think that’s what it was for Jason; I think that’s what I didn’t understand about him. He had the gift of awe. But for most of us it’s a cry of terror. The terror of extinction, the terror of meaninglessness. Our hearts cry out. Maybe to God, or maybe just to break the silence.”

The more times I read this book the deeper I enjoy it.

Presence:

Being completely in a state of flow while training a class of professionals – one of my happy places! This morning I had the opportunity to coach a class of young professionals on communication in al levels – up to supervisors, down to direct reports, and across to peers. While the prep for this took up a ton of personal time over the weekend each moment spent prepping was rewarded in the gift of presence this morning.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,857

Growth:

It is okay to say no to a project or specific time. Don’t say yes because it is easy, say yes when it is right to do. Be intentional with our time, it’s all we have.

Life’s like an hourglass glued to the table, no one can find the rewind button.

Anna Nalick

Appreciation:

There are some things in life we almost seem to be unable to stop doing. No matter what we do we are seemingly gravitationally bound to them. Three of those forces were working on me today – creating a training presentation outside of work hours (something I really enjoy), learning about a previously unexplored topic (the differences between Trappist, Franciscan, and Jesuit orders), and re-re-re-re-re-reading Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (one of my all time favorite “sweatshirt” books). My day was made all the better by the existence of all three!

Presence:

Starting the week running with Becky was s highlight again as usual! This morning’s additional moments included a very tiny baby bunny hopping along and a great blue heron silhouetted in the slowly lighting sky as it fished. The moments of nature experienced in the pre-sunrise hours are some of my favorites.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,856

Growth:

Over the past couple of months we’ve attended a different church. The first time was specifically due to timing, the subsequent times have been due to the priests. While there is so much brewing in my soul from the standpoint of faith, my focus this evening is on a specific story that I know I’ve heard dozens of times, but finally heard for the for the first time today.

This morning the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. I know I’ve heard this story so many times before, but it was the first time that the message itself actually connected with me. After pausing to consider why this telling struck me so solidly I realized the differences in how it was told. The teacher today was sharing it so simply, so elegantly, with the inner fire of his heart, and with such a relatable and easy to understand example.

Such an opportunity to grow in multiple directions at once. When speaking, speak slowly. Simply. From the heart. Relatable. No extra words, no focus on “pomp and circumstance,” no speaking out of obligation.

Appreciation:

Taking time to practice Gavin’s scholarship interview for tomorrow was time very much well spent. Regardless of how the scholarship itself turns out it was a perfect opportunity to train him on interviewing skills. We practiced the questions, we talked about why they are asked, how to share the best examples of relevant experiences, and to help him think through the thought process on how to answer the question. This forced him to put more of his thoughts together with clarity and intentionality. Seeing the growth of Gavin’s answers from the start through the hours of work together was epic!

Presence:

Starting the morning with a hike in the woods with Becky, is there a better possible start to a day? Fresh air, calmness and no distraction, and being outside in nature surrounded by all of the sounds and views and smells. The snow flurry at the beginning threw us off a little bit, but made it all the more memorable. All the stillness of that morning hike lingered throughout the entire day.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,855

Growth:

Such a beautiful quote from Awareness:

Do you want to be happy? Uninterrupted happiness is uncaused. True happiness is uncaused. You cannot make me happy. You are not my happiness. You say to the awakened person, “Why are you happy?” and the awakened person replies, “Why not?”

Anthony de Mello

True happiness is already in us, it is already there. Stop pushing it way, stop focusing on that which we don’t have.

Appreciation:

Sometimes we have to learn lessons and grow through subtraction. This is often initially not present and can be rather frustrating. In removing we’ve gotten used to as “normal” we can quickly fixate on what has been removed rather than what is still there.

Personally, I find moments like this to be opportunities to pause and remember to choose gratitude. To be thankful for what I had while I had it, to be thankful for the lesson I learned, to remember that I already have all I need to be happy, losing something isn’t an impediment to joy, rather, it is quite often a pathway to get back to it.

Presence:

There is happiness to be found in presence in the most normal moments of life. In joking with Becky. In enjoying a good song. In repairing a home appliance. In doing some professional work on a Saturday. In engaging in a conversation with someone we don’t know well. In reading a book. In cooking a meal. In playing a game. In writing.

What do these moments all have in common? They were all moments in which I was fully present, fully engaged, all without distraction.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,854

Growth:

This single line hits hard each time I happen across it. So true!

There’s only one reason why you’re not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it’s because you’re thinking or focusing on what you don’t have.

Anthony de Mello, Awareness

Appreciation:

Spending an evening at home, largely relaxing without plans due to the track meet being canceled for weather. Eating an early supper, chilling on the couch, playing a board game as a family, going through old family photos, and relaxing. Exactly what the doctor ordered!

Presence:

I’m actually going to go back to last night, reading in bed. Allowing my brain to slow down, to process what I’m reading, to calm the storm in my mind. Peace.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,852

Growth:

WITA? What Is This About? A phrase borrowed through Becky from a friend in Australia. In writing and presenting it means to pause, zoom out, and remember the reason for the comment or phrasing used. What’s the key point, the reason it is important enough to mention? What’s the intention?

Today I was able to take a term borrowed from academic and ecological research and apply it to the world of sales.

Appreciation:

My shoulders feel so much lighter, my neck has relaxed. I am almost caught up with where I need to be from a work standpoint. After a couple of months of nonstop action and non-traditional work I’ve finally gotten back on track with all my projects. Still a ton of work to get done to reach the goal, but back on track feels amazing!

As an interesting side note, I learned about the Jim Collins’ concept of NATILIE tonight on my drive home – Not All Time In Life Is Equal. He used the concept specifically to focus on those times in which we have to work harder than normal, risk more than normal, as in those moments there is significantly more leverage to be gained for one reason or another. It got me seeing how this year and the upcoming months are likely one of those NATILIE timeframes, time to buckle up and enjoy the grind!

Presence:

Our run this morning Becky and I spent a good chunk of time talking fresh water ecology research and it was a blast! I was able to learn more about what she is currently working on, what she’s learned recently, and what kinds of ideas come next. So much fun stretching the brain and engaging with Becky on one of her favorite topics early in the morning!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,851

Growth:

There are times when we struggle and can’t quite see the direction. If we open up and allow others in, ask for and listen to their feedback and ideas, there may likely be moments of insight that wouldn’t have appeared while working alone.

At work today I kept trying to work through an issue and kept running into roadblocks. I know how to open the doors and gates, but I was so close to the obstacles I couldn’t see clearly where I was going. By opening up and asking for help a good friend asked a couple of questions, another made a couple of comments. As I listened to and then processed their responses it hit me how all of the pieces fit together.

Working on my own I wouldn’t have found my way, or if I did it would have been after so much wasted effort. By asking for help the solution was quickly found.

Allow others to help.

Appreciation:

Tonight I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be able to help a friend who’s helped me so many times through the years. He’s always been there for me, always been willing to listen, always been there to support, always there to cut through my crap to see how I am really doing, always there to cheer me on, always there to help me dream big, and always there to show love. Throughout our lives he’s the first to forgive, one of the kindest human beings alive, and has helped me through any of the most difficult times of my life. I wish there wasn’t an opportunity like this to re-pay his kindness, but I am grateful for being able to help him as he’s helped me so many times before.

Presence:

Getting a good laugh in with Gavin, taking a quick moment of levity to get our minds right for additional work to be done. Throw in a card game, the two of us eating dinner and shooting the bull, and now each hitting our respective work-ish activities on the couch and it’s been a pretty solid evening! The moments like this are slowly winding down, I’m thoroughly enjoying each of them as much as possible, making sure I am present in them.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,850

Growth:

Take a moment to center, remember the goal, prioritize, and take action. Remember not everything can be done at one time, and certainly not by one person. Pause, prioritize, and work your way down the list. One step at a time, don’t look too far ahead. Focus.

Appreciation:

Sometimes you’ve just got to drive it like a rental, right? I had to take Gavin’s car in for a little bit of work today – a tiny little 2017 Honda Fit with a MANUAL transmission. Seriously, it’s like Mario Kart in real life, except you can only choose the tiny cars! For reals, that car is so much fun to drive. I didn’t do anything unsafe, rather, I took advantage of driving the tiny little stick shift as I used to drive my old Civic Hatchback in the day. Ridiculously rapid acceleration, strong G’s while cornering, and – of course – a moonroof wide open as the tunes blasted at max (special thanks to The Offspring for the soundtrack of the day)!

Nothing quite like the thrill of driving a go cart like a kid when the opportunity presents itself!

Presence:

Watching a slowly spreading pool of yoga sweat growing on my mat with a fresh drop being added every second and a half or so while in half pigeon this evening was a moment of quiet presence. In that moment I could feel each bead slowly forming and rolling down my forehead until gravity pulled it away and dashed it towards the ever growing puddle.

Yup, more than a little gross, but in that moment there was nothing else in life, only my breath, the sensation of my muscles stretching, and that puddle. No stress, no tasks, no noise – only existence. Exactly the moment I needed tonight!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,849

Growth:

This quote has reverberated in my mind over the past few days:

“We don’t want to be happy. We want other things. Or, lets put it more accurately: We don’t want to be unconditionally happy. I’m ready to be happy PROVIDED I have this and that or the other thing.” Anthony de Mello

All we need to be happy is already within us, most often we really want happiness AND … fill in the blank of all the things / honors / glories / experiences / whatnot. How often the source of our unhappiness is the chase of other things rather than being happy with all we really need rather than what we thing we need?

Appreciation:

As Gavin preps for college I can’t help but get more and more excited as he breaks out what exactly he wants to pursue! He’s got a destination for college, he’s got a major set, and now he’s looking at what he could do to enhance or combine into that space to create something new. How can he go about combining multiple passions to essentially create a field of study and research?

Hearing him process all of the opportunities he has in front of him I can’t help but get jazzed up for his future!

Now, all that said, I am incredibly grateful for all of the incredibly generous donors who were able to put together over 200 scholarships for the 2026 class of Logan High School. Over the course of a little over two hours well over eighty seniors received so many scholarships! Talk about making a tremendous positive impact in the lives of so many people! Their generosity is amazing and inspiring – AND – greatly appreciated!!!

Presence:

Ever have one of those profoundly intense moments of emotion from seemingly nowhere due simply to the words shared by someone, the look on their face, and the sense that there is something deeper there, almost a sense of something / someone else greater present with you?

As someone once shared with me, the favorite vehicle of the Holy Spirit is other people, the Spirit moves through them. In those brief encounters with something so powerful, so deep, so loving, so forgiving – our “self” shrinks away, attempts to hide in a corner as the brilliance of the beauty of true Love illuminates the space we inhabit, showing us in our own self-seen ugliness, and while we attempt to hide our ugliness the Light seems to shout that It loves us all the more because of our ugliness, and that It wants us to be joyful, to feel loved, and to share that same type of love with other people. All The Light wants is for us to know we are loved, and to love others without discrimination of any sort.

While sitting in church I repeatedly had to wipe my eyes dry as the emotions pounded me in waves. So many comments on forgiveness, on faith, on trusting love, on remembering what is most important in life, loving others. Very moving, such exquisite moments of emotion etched onto my soul.

Thanks!!!