At this time last year I would have been running in many layers of clothes. A cold morning like this and I would have had on a light pair of long underwear, a pair of wind pants, a light jacket, and probably a sweatshirt. If it was cooler than 40 degrees (f) I would definitely not wear shorts.

Fast forward to today. This morning by the end of the run I was wearing only a pair of shorts, a hat, my gloves, and socks and shoes. That was it! Everything else was peeled off by then. The funny thing was that not only was I not cold, but it felt wonderful.

Over the past month and change I’ve been working my way up to this. Bit by bit getting my body used to being in the cold like humans used to be way back in the day. For sure, I’m happy to be warm and in my house right now, but for a brief period of time the cool fresh air felt amazing! I’m grateful for becoming more acclimated to the colder temperatures.

My focus has drifted to the events in DC more than I care to admit today. Earlier this morning I texted my little brother and shared how I was thankful I wasn’t in DC today and followed it up with the iconic Star Wars line, “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.” I never would have guessed it would turn out as it did.

Mentally, I’ve been struggling with balancing my curiosity over what has happened and is happening with some of the new behaviors I am trying to live into. Staying focused on what is truly important in the moment, living deliberately, and going into the woods all fly in the face of wanting to know what’s going on. The logical part of my brain tells me to shut it all off and if I really want to know what happened read about it briefly in my Wall Street Journal daily update email tomorrow morning.

What’s interesting is that I accidentally stumbled into a wormhole and ended up in a “news free” zone this evening. There are a couple of projects I’m working on in my workshop so I went upstairs and got rolling on them this evening. I turned on my music, set my phone aside, and got to it. An hour and change later I’d made progress on my project AND had completely stopped focusing on the news! Not only was I not getting any more updates or checking it online, but I wasn’t even thinking about it. When I finished up and came inside I was back to thinking about it and talking about it with Becky. That’s when it hit me that I’d found a news free zone.

While my workshop was my “news free” zone today, I’m thankful for the lesson it reminded me of. I chose to not focus on the news as I was 100% focused on something I love and was 100% in the present moment while doing it. I can create a “news free” zone anywhere and at anytime, it’s up to me to focus my thoughts and stay disciplined. There are times for me to set my curiosity free and there are other times when I need to bottle it up for a little while.

Thanks!!!