I am exhausted! As soon as this is done I’ll set up my bike trainer for my ride tomorrow morning (if I don’t do it the night before there’s a possibility of me sleeping in a bit instead) and then I’m off to bed. A couple of weekends ago I was struggling to sleep so I watched “Dead Poets Society.” One of the quotes they use was from Walden, “I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life.” When I think of today I can’t help but think of that quote.

Throughout the day there have been a handful of ideas for my blog. I’ve paused and been grateful for many things – so many that by the time I sat down to type my mind was racing. Then I started trying to put my thoughts in order from start to finish and all I could think was “that all happened today???”

I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for our run. My mind was still racing with ideas from the book I’m currently reading, What Doesn’t Kill Us by Scott Carney. I took an idea from the book and ran the full four miles in only shorts, a very light t-shirt, a hat and gloves. It was chilly but very invigorating.

On our run Becky and I had time to talk about quite a few things. It was our quiet time together for the day, our chance to be alone enjoying life, physical activity, and the oudoors.

Also on the run I saw one of the best shooting stars I’ve seen in a long time. It slowly ran in a bright long streak just to the south of Orion’s Belt. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to see it.

At home I sent an email to the author of the book to thank him for the motivation. By the time I was out of the shower I’d received and email back thanking me for sharing the experience. How awesome to have the ability to connect so easily with others we never would have imagined we’d be able to even just a few decades ago.

My breathing practice went very well and I was able to calm my mind. The depth of the meditative state was an amazing counterbalance to the activity of running outside in the cold.

In the shower I opted for a podcast instead of music. My favorite business author of all time, Jim Collins, recently did a podcast on the Tim Ferris Show. Hearing how his brain works got my mind running in a handful of directions and led to an increase in my future reading list.

At the end of the shower I was thinking I’d skip the cold water as I’d already had the cold run. Instead I decided to do what I should and embrace the discomfort. Next thing I knew I was back to a cold shower and it honestly felt incredible.

And this was all before 6:45am!

The rest of the day followed suit. I went from one activity to another. From one memory to another. There were so many moments when I just paused and was grateful for the experience – good or bad. Not everything went to plan, but I was able to grow through each of those moments as well. The majority of the moments were easy to be thankful for.

Which leads back to my blog post tonight. I’m thankful for having a day when my brain keeps thinking “that all happened today???” If I choose to live my life in this fashion each and every day I am certain of a couple of things. First, I’ll be totally exhausted by the time I die and ready for the nap. Secondly, what an incredibly fulfilling life I would have led! Surrounded by family, doing what I love, thinking, feeling, loving, and be thankful for all that is in my life. Days like this are welcome anytime, even if they may leave me tired.

Thanks!!!