Day 2,380

Growth:

Inspired by a book I recently read – The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser – there’s been a thought I keep going back to in my head. In my humble opinion, in many ways it is perfect for Easter season. The concept I keep going back to is realizing that in many ways we have to accept the changes which happen in life and our joy may be derived from how we view those changes.

Where this is really hitting for me is a wonderful example from today. I worked from home this afternoon due to an eye appointment and was able to get supper started on the grill while I worked. We had dinner for the tow of us, relaxed and talked, set up our accommodations for the 2024 solar eclipse (an event on both of our bucket lists) and then headed out to our typical Monday Yoga Date Night. The car ride provided more time for the two of us, the yoga was a wonderful shared experience, and on the way home we were able to talk about the yoga session and life in general.

Back in the day a date night would have been completely different in so many ways. We enjoyed different things, had a different relationship, and were very different people in many ways. Seeing the large change between our relationship twenty years ago and our relationship now is rather mind boggling.

If I didn’t recognize that we’ve changed and it would be easy for me to want what we used to have, to be who we used to be, and to re-live the “glory days.” If that was the case and I wanted only what we had in the past I could live a rather miserable life and not enjoy the moment.

If I recognize the difference and look to all the ways I appreciate both how we were and how we are AND recognize that I can both appreciate who we were while being grateful for who we are my heart is full of the joy which can only come from appreciation and gratitude. As someone once said – “happiness is wanting what you have, not having what you want.”

Life changes us, it changes others around us, and it changes the world. Each night we say goodbye to the present which is about to become our past, we witness the death of who we were, and we are reborn into the new day… which will very quickly be shed as we die to that present and are reborn into the new. The wisdom I want to remind my future self of today is to appreciate each – the past, the present, and the future. They are each different, they are each beautiful in their own way if I choose to see their beauty and to appreciate them. But once the present dies and becomes the past I must remember to look to the present rather than attempt to shape the present into the past.

LOL – I really just over complicated the shit out of this one! I might have to come back to this one sometime in the future!

Appreciation:

We all have dreams whether we want to call them that or not, whether we have them written down or not. Today I’m grateful for taking time to write out a list of what I want to live before I die. I’m grateful for sharing that list with Becky and for hearing her list. I’m grateful for finding dreams we share and for taking action on those dreams.

One that we realized we had in common is to see a total solar eclipse form right in the path of totality. We did some homework to figure out when the next total eclipse would be, where it would be, and set a calendar reminder to help us lock up a hotel or house rental for the event over a year in advance.

Today the calendar invite buzzed, we took action, and have our spot reserved to watch the solar eclipse, to make one of our dreams happen. The only way this happened was by pausing to consider what we wanted out of life, to set a plan to make it happen, and to then take action on it. So glad we took each of those steps and shared our dream lists, so pumped to live out another one of our dreams together!

Presence:

Yoga for the win. I know, I sound like a broken record, but there’s such a magic to the presence of yoga. Moving my body synchronized with my breathing, such a powerful presence creating combo!

Tonight was more of the same. Even before class started I was laying on my back, my eyes closed, and focused only on my breathing. Nothing else in the world mattered and there was no stress, there was only the moment and me floating within it. Throughout the class my mind stayed focused on the task at hand. I could feel my muscles individually tense and stretch with each pose. I could feel my body opening up as I twisted with my breath. Each movement and the results of it were the only things in my mind. Such a perfect state of flow!

Thanks!!!