The sense of awe brings out the best in all of us. Awe is easy to find on vacation, especially in a place as majestic as Yosemite, but it can be found anywhere if we pause to seek it out. Once we do it expands our minds in new ways, helping to bring out the best in us.
Appreciation:
Family vacation, some of the best experiences in life!
Presence:
Seeing our first sequoias of this trip created a very emotional response deep within me. Something about their grandeur rocked me more deeply to the core than I expected.
Reading The Amen Effect by Sharon Brous has been an incredible gift! While I received an emphatic recommendation for it from my friend, Amanda, I was a little hesitant. Little did I know what an immediate impact it would make on my soul.
The short version of this book is that regardless of our spiritual beliefs the most important thing we can do is love others. Rather than self isolation or ignoring what others feel we are called to act with kindness, be present, and love them.
I took soooooo many notes on this, here’s an example.
My Note on the Topic of Loving Others: Denialism vs wonder – one way creates more conflict, dehumanizes, and fuels hate and separation. The other leads to understanding, compassion, and kindness. Don’t create a monster, listen to the human and love them.
The quote from the book that inspired this note:
Refuse to live in a world which judges people based on their worst behavior. Pray for the end of the sin, not for the end of the sinner. Distinguish between monsters and people who do monstrous things. Fight to awaken others’ humanity even when they do not recognize yours. Help them grow and change.
Sharon Brous, The Amen Effect
So many immediately useful and effective tools to better live into who we are called to be. I will read this book at least once per year!
Presence:
Today we entered National Park #33…. Yosemite!!! Tomorrow we start exploring it!
The challenge: when you’re in conversation with someone, all you have to do is leave two seconds of silence before you speak. Simple, right? Except this was harder than I ever could’ve imagined. I tried several times and failed miserably at first, but after about ten attempts it started to get easier. Eventually, I got to the point where I was able to get through entire conversations by just leaving that two-second window open.
Jason Poole, The Hustler’s Handbook
Appreciation:
Daily life plays out as normal for the most part. It is easy for me to get caught up in the routine and miss seeing things clearly. Once outside of the normal routine so many things become more vibrant and visible. The past few days have been a wonderful step outside of normal to help see the world through a slightly cleaner lens and it was what I needed more than I would’ve expected.
Presence:
Sometimes you just gotta lighten up and enjoy the ride!
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and then go and do that because what the world needs is people who come alive.
Howard Thurman
Appreciation:
In order to think clearly we need space. Having a travel day for work mixed with the change of scenery allowed me an opportunity to attain distance and pause to think. In the same environment it becomes easy to get used to “the same old,” the change helps me view from a different perspective. Very much appreciated today!
Presence:
Nothing quite like sharing a laugh from hundreds of miles away! Dominic sent me a text that cracked me up while I was in the airport.
I just started listening to Endurance, and wow!!! The narrator talking about Shackleton wanting to escape the monotony of everyday life while I’m literally doing the same thing for 10 hours is peak irony!
So thankful for the ability to share jokes and especially for the foundation of our relationship which made this joke both possible and hilarious for us!
Scripts are helpful for planning, but real talking is more authentic and effective.
Appreciation:
While life has been dying by at ludicrous speed lately we received some AMAZING news today – Becky and I got our permits and will be hiking from rim to rim across the Grand Canyon on an epic backpacking adventure this fall!!! Bring on another chapter of the dream list!!!
Presence:
Dominic and fired up a video on skiing down K2 in the Himalayas as we ate supper. We shared a moment of awe in seeing both a spectacular challenge and the epic landscape of the mountains. Even on the TV it was easy to see just how much more grand that range is than any we’ve seen in person.
Look backwards for forward growth rather than for what might have been. One enriches, the other devours joy.
Appreciation:
Nothing like running in the rain and then racing a thunderstorm! What an awesome start to my day!
For real, the sensation of voluntarily running in a relatively warm rain is sublime. To have the addition of pre-storm electricity in the air made it all the more intensely satisfying. By the end I didn’t even mind losing to the storm and being swallowed by the rain, it was beautiful and my heart was full of joy.
Presence:
The moment the lightning struck almost on cue! Wowza!!!
While on our upcoming vacation I’m going to take my family through a little training session as a part practice and part family enrichment exercise. This evening I was compiling the info and prepping for the training and I was smiling the entire time.
When in doubt if whether something is truly a passion or not one need only look at whether they are so fired up about something that they will work on it on a Sunday night voluntarily AND feel more joyful as a result.
Appreciation:
Dominic spent almost two hours making his lunches for the week and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards. He really has been getting the full “adulting” experience with his weekly meal prep and it has me smiling. These moments are an excellent opportunity for him to continue to transition towards being a completely independent adult while still having support all around.
Presence:
Becky and I took Leia for a walk this morning, so relaxing being outside while the weather was perfect! The road we typically walk her on was closed to cars so we had even more chill time in the woods. With the crazy hyper pace we’ll be sprinting until Saturday morning this was a welcome moment of calm together.
Lead by example. Do the right thing. Admit mistakes. Learn and grow. Go outside the comfort zone.
Appreciation:
Spending time at the Wisconsin State Track Meet was wildly rewarding. So motivating to see all the athletes giving their all in the culmination of their hard work throughout the season.
Presence:
The moment we saw the pole vaulter from all the way across the shot put pit and the track launch himself into the air to become the first Wisconsin high schooler to ever fly over a 17’ 2” bar. The roar of celebration from thousands. All the athletes and spectators picking their jaws up off the ground. Truly remarkable!
Thankful for Forty 