Remember to slow it down a bit. Big things don’t happen quickly, they happen through repetition and momentum. One step at a time, focus on what’s most important and then build upon it. Slow and steady wins the race.
Appreciation:
Each season of life brings different rewards and challenges. Throughout each it is up to us to determine how we will utilize the season. Will we focus on growth, will we capitulate to whatever life throws our way, will we write the next chapter, or will we break under the pressure. As I think through all that is currently going on professionally and personally I can easily get lost and feel out of control. When I remember to mind the gap, to choose growth, appreciation, and presence it all seems to make more sense. Here is to all the hard work and preparation over the past twenty five years that have strengthened me for today.
Presence:
Getting outside this morning was priceless. Nice and cool, light mist, grey skies. It all helped colors like the red holly berries and a the bright green grass really pop out. The fresh scent of autumn was thick, stirring in the light breeze. Everything makes more sense in the woods.
When in doubt, do useful physical work or get outside and walk, or better yet, do both. Nothing about whatever is stressing you out really gets fixed during that time, but your perspective shifts in beautiful ways.
Appreciation:
In so many ways today was what I needed. I slept in and racked up over nine hours of sleep. Upon waking we took Leia for a long hike throughout the woods surrounding my in laws’ home. I then helped Gavin and Ken shovel and move the manure pile to the gardens. A quick lunch and then back outside helping to pound a fence post into the ground. From there I went back into the woods, hiking the trails while also intentionally “losing” myself off some small game trails before find a deer stand to sit in. Enjoying quiet stillness alone in the stand before coming back inside.
The fresh air and motion helped ease my soul. Everything gets put into perspective when the noise and busyness of the normal daily life are muted. Exactly what I needed today.
Presence:
Sitting in a tree stand with no bow or gun, just listening and taking in the woods all around, enjoying the serenity of stillness in the woods. My soul at peace.
A completely packed day can be either productive or a mess, so much depends upon the preparation and discipline.
Appreciation:
Tonight I’m going to bed absolutely exhausted from a long day and a long week . I’m tired, worn out, and ready to recharge. So much life lived in the past week, I’m grateful for the opportunity to crash as well as all the moments which led to this profound tiredness.
Presence:
Gavin’s football game tonight was a wild back and forth slugfest. The lead changed hands with the regularity of a metronome. The game came down to the final twenty seconds and it was awesome! So glad they pulled out victory at the end!
Over the past couple of years I’ve worked towards splitting my blog into three parts – Growth, Appreciation, and Presence – an homage of sorts to one of my first mentors who goes out of her way to find one thing that is beautiful each day. When I first learned of her practice it helped me see that I would benefit from finding one way I grew one thing I appreciated, and one moment of true presence each day. This practice has increased my awareness of those three categories more than expected and has led to growth through introspection.
That said, when I started blogging daily almost ten years ago I focused on one specific thing I was thankful for each day and I went deeper into that singular topic. Occasionally I had “list days” in which I had to go through an entire list of what I was grateful for as there seemed to be blessing after blessing after blessing. For sure, they weren’t all initially seen as “blessings,” some were very challenging moments in which I was able to grow, but they were moments that shaped and molded me, hence I was grateful for them even though they hurt. As another of my mentors once said, “‘Joy’ isn’t the same as happiness, and it is often the opposite of comfort.”
Lately I’ve been a fan of breaking the blog into smaller bite sized pieces as it provides the opportunity to not go too deep into too many categories, especially the ones I need to write about but don’t want to go deep into because they hurt. What’s interesting is that it is in exactly those moments in which I need to go a little deeper and work through my thoughts and emotions. In processing all of life, the blessings and the frustrations and the sufferings, gratitude helps transform all the experiences into growth. It is in that vein that I am opting to go “old school” tonight and dive a little deeper.
Whew – and that was all just the intro! 😉
Today has been a difficult day, one filled with emotion, one in which I can’t help but pause, take a step back, and feel incredibly discouraged. Due to compounding of mistakes and missteps there are challenges I need to face in business and they have a large impact. By the end of the work day I was feeling drained and questioning my ability to live into the purpose I feel called to live into, to brighten lives through shared experiences. In short, I was feeling like a failure. There were bright spots throughout the day to be sure, but the biggest challenge just kept pulling me down and it seemed to be the only place I could focus my attention. I felt defeated.
As I tried to put it behind me for the night and spend time focused on my family and being home I kept drifting back to that challenge. I could feel the weight of it on my shoulders and my soul.
Out of the blue I received a phone call from someone I had not spoken with in over four years. They were reaching out to ask me to be a reference for them as they considered a path towards a dream they want to live into. As we spoke they shared the positive impact I’d had on their life at a pivotal time. The thoughts and appreciation I shared for them helped them out with providing the right message at the right time and they are still grateful for that interaction. My eyes were watering up as they shared the positive impact I’d had. In a sentence, they shared that I had lived into my purpose – to brighten lives through shared experiences.
What a dichotomy! In one case I was feeling as if I was failing at my purpose, yet in the other I’d lived into it without intention. Two distinct moments of the day, both overshadowing all the rest, both focused on purpose, and yet both going in polar opposite directions.
As I spend time reflecting on today and both of those interactions I can’t help but remember a handful of nuggets of wisdom others have taught:
The question we should be asking ourselves isn’t “What should I do?” rather, it should be “How can I be useful?” In that question we find the direction we should really pursue.
Each day we should ask ourselves, “How have we impacted the lives of others?” This question will also help us see the positive, but it can also cut deeply and help us learn from our mistakes. Asking myself this question has led to tremendous insight into whether or not I’m living into the best version of me.
Never underestimate the power of small gestures. This was advice I’ve learned from many others, but Jim Collins summarized so concisely. Don’t hesitate to reach out and share what a positive impact someone has made on you – you never know when that is exactly what they needed at the right time. The conversation this evening was an exquisite balance of sharing my gratitude four years ago when the other person needed it and their sharing of their gratitude exactly when I needed it. The Universe dances so beautifully and moves us all exactly where we need to be if we allow it to. Never hesitate to share our gratitude or kind words, those small gestures may have an enormous positive impact on the other person and cause a ripple of positivity which will grow and grow.
Control what you can control. This was what started the conversation with my friend and I a handful of years ago and I chuckled as I re-read what I wrote for them back then. Little did I know how much the world would change and how much difficulty and challenge that phrase would get me through. Even tonight I can’t help but be reminded of how much this is a guiding light in my life – when I remember to seek the advice out for myself.
As I finally wrap this all up I can’t help but smile. My challenge still lies in front of me, but I feel more bolstered to figure it out while also remembering that there are ways to live into my purpose while doing so. I’m reminded of, and grateful for, the small gestures which help us see the world more clearly when we’ve let it get hazy. The clarity provided this evening was truly stunning and moving. If it were my story to share I would get into more detail, but that is for them. At least I can share that their motivation, selflessness, gratitude, passion, and integrity are inspiring to me, in many ways they have had a very positive impact on me.
To my friend – thank you for the incredibly positive impact you’ve had on me today. The writing of my blog was cathartic, and inspired by you. Thank you for reminding me that one misstep doesn’t define us, we have the opportunity to live into our purpose daily, and inspiring me to live into my dreams – especially when it isn’t easy.
Work within my strengths, focus on one challenge at a time, expect everything to take a little longer than expected, build it right the first time, breathe, ask for help, keep the purpose in mind, and remember that clarity is the key. Just do that, everything will work out.
Appreciation:
So thankful for our morning run today! It was exactly what I needed to get my brain in gear and headed in the right direction. Becky and I had time to talk through the news and the blood pumping really helped me to choose the right mindset. Routines are so helpful when the world is anything but.
Presence:
Sometimes I just need to let my brain unwind. I forget that it can often be like a muscle, it needs some rest.
Remember that it needs to watch its diet though too. Feed it wholesome and healthy foods and it will rest better. Shovel in junk food and it won’t recover as well.
Tonight I chose to unwind and I did so with junk food, comfort food for the brain. In some ways I needed that complete pause to recuperate. Tomorrow will be back to the healthy mental diet!
Where do I put the focus from the day? When I go to bed do I think on the negative or do I reflect on the positive? The right answer seems to be both in the right amounts and for the right reasons. The negative to find how to grow through the frustration. The positive to remember to grow into more of this. Gratitude for both sides, they both make me who I am.
Appreciation:
Hmm…. Difficult one to blog about today, my mind isn’t in the best of places. I’ll be fine, I’m just not in good spirits at the moment for a handful of reasons. This might sound odd, but days like this I’m thankful for this practice and the concept of stoicism. In the past I’d put up a false front and try to smile through whatever I faced, an incredibly unproductive, tiring, and futile task. Now I pause, soak it in, feel it, and let my emotions be moved by it. Once I’ve allowed it room to breathe I can work through it. I can the process it, I can choose Growth, Appreciation, and Presence to work dnd grow through the challenge. Sure, it still hurts, but if it is going to hurt regardless I may as well turn the suffering into growth!
Presence:
The quiet time on the drive home from work, the time in reflection I needed, an opportunity to sort through thoughts and emotions.
We are forged in the crucible of challenge. When the temperature goes up we have a choice to make – get stronger through the fire or wilt due to heat. I choose strength. Never comfortable, but always growing.
Appreciation:
This short video really puts it all in perspective. So thankful for stumbling upon the gem!
Presence:
Yoga…. ahhh…. Such a perfect opportunity to wrap up a Monday night with some serious presence, sweat, and stretching. In about a year and a half I can see this becoming a two to three night per week routine.
Okay, I know I sound like a broken record with Fahrenheit 451, but there are so many beautiful nuggets tucked away in its pages. Now in my third reading (and fourth as I’m also listening to the audiobook) I’m continuing to catch and understand more of the insights. Here’s the one that has been sticking with me recently.
“I don’t know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help.”
“You’re a hopeless romantic,” said Faber. “It would be funny if it were not serious. It’s not books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books… The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not. No, no, it’s not books at all you’re looking for! Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself. Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them, at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us. “
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Appreciation:
Interesting how we start to see so much of the world so much more clearly as we grow older and gain more experience (and hopefully a little wisdom). While there are a handful of project I want to start or goals I would like to start working towards I’m seeing more and more that I’ve got to get better and better at finishing first. With that in mind I did the right thing and worked on photos and videos from our recent Grand Canyon trip in order to get them into one organized place and to cull the herd from hundreds to the handful which will pay back the most memory dividends. Tedious, not my favorite thing to do, but that just made it all the more rewarding to wrap up!
Presence:
Gavin got a bit of the Grandpa Pete experience today even though Dad passed about seven and a half years ago. One thing I’ve found is to share in experiences with what my boys are interested in, today that was in watching the Packers get beaten down by the Lions. In one specific instance I’m pretty sure Dad possessed me and started hollering at the TV over a a horrible play by the Pack, just as I’d heard him do so many times as a kid during the Brett Favre era. Gavin’s eyes went from huge to laughing at the craziness of the outburst. What can I say, I was present in the moment! 😂
During one of the most difficult times of our lives (COVID) we picked up a family habit of hiking more. Gavin wanted to earn his hiking merit badge so we ended up hiking more and more and more. Without really realizing it this became a habit for our family. Give us a weekend at home and I can almost guarantee that we’ll be out for a hike at some point. Time together as a family without distraction. No screens, only each other, talking, joking, walking together in silence, taking in all the wonders around us.
During a storm we found peace, an enduring peace which we likely would not have happened had we not faced challenge. As in much of life, we grow in moments of challenge and difficulty, not in moments of comfort.
Challenges are difficult, but it’s in the crucible in which we are formed. Seek out the positive change and growth.
Appreciation:
This weekend’s script was a little flipped at the last minute – so very fitting for the past 10 days or so! Due to the shift we had an unexpected couple of days at home, definitely what I needed. While my thoughts drift back to work almost incessantly, the relaxation of being home has been very invigorating. No big projects, nothing too crazy to get done, nowhere to be, the ability to clean and organize, to knock out a few small things I wanted to get done. All in all, exactly what the doctor ordered!
Presence:
The smell of oak leaves and fall, such a wonderful scent inspiring so many memories of joyful moments throughout life. Exactly what my soul needed while on our hike today!
More learning this week than I ever would have asked for, definitely more professional discomfort than I have had in a long time. There are times that shape use, they cause quakes so deep through the core of us that we are remain changed afterwards, but often as a furnace smelting. What follows is closer to closing the gap.
Presence:
So many conversations in so many directions today, all leading in different paths but all convening in the same destination. Each conversation focused and present, leading to deeper introspection.
Thankful for Forty 