Last night was an excellent night of sleep! I often take for granted good health and usually only remember when that’s not the case. Yesterday I tried something different for my allergies and I could breathe through my nose all night long – Woo Hoo!!! I know, not the most exciting thing to be grateful for, but I certainly noticed the difference when I woke up this morning.

I woke up about 30 seconds before Becky’s alarm at 4am and laid back down in bed for a little while. My brain was already off and running so there was no going back to sleep. Instead I paused, reached for my phone, thought better of it, and then reached for Meditations by Marcus Aurelius again. A few pages of that and my day started off in a great place, focused, centered, and with purpose.

Our morning run had one of this moments that remind me of how much I love living near wilderness. Sure, it’s not a huge forest or anything, but it doesn’t take long for us to get to a place in nature without people, especially at 5am. After we turned around and were headed home we were greeted with an unusual sound. It was a lot like a barking dog, but higher pitched and, well, different. Hearing nature close to us like that in the dark was a very awesome encounter. Even our dogs decided it was time to run maybe just a little faster until we were a ways away. As we later determined it was a coyote letting us know that she didn’t appreciate us getting that close to her.

Hearing that sound of nature certainly true me into the present moment 100%. In an instant we weren’t just a couple miles from our house, we were in the wild. There weren’t any thoughts about work, thinking ahead to the day, or anything like that. There was only 100% focus on the natural world around us in that instant. Funny how that hyper focus on the present was a crazy form of mediation. I am so grateful for that experience this morning, it continued to chart the course for my day.

Another beautiful day on the water with my other team. So wonderful spending time with my team outside of the office and somewhere far from the daily whirlwind. The time together was great, the strengthening of our relationships was awesome, and the direction we’re setting our sails for looks pretty sweet. Sharing time doing something I love with my team is something I’m always grateful for.

Yoga tonight provided a couple of cool thought processes.

The first was that I am not able to focus 100% in the face of any distraction. The mosquitos swarming during our outdoor class reminded me of that often. As the Dalai Lama once said, “Whoever feels they are too small to make a difference has never spent a night in a tent with a mosquito.”

The second thought process was as I laid on my back watching the shadows slowly rise up and consume the branches of bright yellow leaves above me. In watching the shadows grow I was reminded of the passing of time before my very eyes. In an instant I was reminded that I am temporary, have an expiration date, and am moving closer to it each breath I take. This isn’t doom and gloom or anything, rather a reminder to appreciate and make the most of each moment. Time slips away so easily if we let it, in remembering it is passing we remember to live in it.

All of that brought me back to reading Meditations this morning. The pages I read were focused on remembering to live in each moment we are blessed to have. Don’t live in the past, don’t live in the future. Be here. Now. So many wonderful reminders of that for me today. Meditations, the call of the coyote, breathing, being with my team outside of the day to day, seeing how the shadows pass, each little mosquito bite keeping me anchored in the moment. So many reminders to live now. How awesome of a day is that?

Thanks!!!