Month: December 2024

Thankful for Running AND Resting, Collections of Wisdom, & Compassion

Day 3,362

Growth:

If is okay to feel tired and exhausted, it is not okay to not do something about it… especially resting. If I am going to run hard I also need to remember to rest hard.

Appreciation:

Throughout the years I’ve collected some of the best advice and quotes I’ve heard into a handful of different resources. When life becomes challenging I have s tendency to pull them out and find one or two which really call out to me in any given moment. They provide a ledge to stand on, the oxygen needed to breathe through the challenge.


Sometimes when I set to thinking about the various activities of men, the dangers and troubles which they face at court, or in war, giving rise to so many quarrels and passions … I have often said that the sole cause of our unhappiness is that we do not know how to stay quietly in our room.

Blaise Pascal

This phrase comes up far more often than I care to admit. It is a reminder to pause and consider whether I’m taking the time needed to think or if I’m seeking out distraction so as not to have to work on something larger. When this line catches my eye it typically means I am avoiding alone time rather than seeking it out.

Tonight I’m grateful for my collection of quotes and wisdom, they continue to pay off!

Presence:

The moments in which we witness the compassion of other humans, true beauty!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Grace, Choice, & Diamond Beach

Day 3,361

Growth:

There is only so much one can do at any given time. To push to hard while taking on too much will only lead to further issues. Pause, assess capabilities, determine priorities, accept that not everything can be done at once, and then take action on what must happen first. Give yourself grace, breathe, do what you can, don’t create further challenges by being too headstrong.

Appreciation:

Where do we choose to focus? When the day is done where do we reflect – the positive, the negative, or both? How wonderful that we have the choice to make each night as we go to bed!

Today was a wild one, so many unexpected twists and turns, completely different than expected when I woke up. From about 6:30am until 6:30pm it was a whirlwind of unscripted craziness, but I’m still smiling as I wind down for the evening. While I could focus on the frustrations I’m instead choosing to stay focused on the positives – the opportunity to grow, to learn more about my teams, to remember purpose, the chance to role model how we can have a bad day but still smile for Gavin, time to smile as I talk with family, and remembering why I put gratitude at the forefront of my evening practice. Throughout the craziness there was stress, but tonight I’ll go to bed completely chill and almost energized in knowing that as much as today threw at me I was able to thrive. Whatever tomorrow may bring I will face with the attitude I choose.

I am so grateful for that choice each and every moment of my life!

Presence:

This moment at Diamond Beach in Iceland, one that will be burned into my brain forever.

BTW – if you want more travel videos like this please check out my @HikeWanderWonder page on Intagram

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Consider Before Committing, Stillness Creating Space, & a Moment on Film

Day 3,360

Growth:

Think through the entire project before committing too much time to any specific solution. Today’s projects included getting our WiFi router moved to a better location and I wasted more time than I care to admit on something which was quickly negated by the electrical outlet being on a switch rather than always being on. Lesson learned, think through and test it all first, then commit resources to it.

Appreciation:

Two different yet similar moments today which blended.

First was a walk Becky and I took in the woods this morning, a peaceful moment of completely stillness enjoying being outside. This moment was captured so well in this pic, there was almost no movement in the water, just a mirror reflecting nature and the heavens.

Second was an instrumental piece at church which was so hauntingly beautiful it almost brought me to tears. Closing my eyes I could feel the entire Universe wrap around me with love like a warm blanket on a cold day. It was so powerful and soul warming.

Two very different moments of stillness, two moments in which I could feel so close to God. In those moments of quiet stillness our heart is free to hear everything so much more clearly.

Presence:

Gotta love the unexpected moments caught on video. Today we were cutting down our Christmas tree and I wanted a quick selfie of Becky and I. We just happened to catch this gem!

After sawing most of the way through the tree Gavin decided to put his football skills to work 😂

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Helpful Advice, Weekend Normalcy, & Watching Dogs Play

Day 3,359

Growth:

You can always say something you haven’t said, but you can’t unsay something you’ve already said. Pause, breathe, and think before communicating.

Appreciation:

Normalcy! A weekend day at home doing the normal adulting mixed with outside time, family dinner, and board games. Exactly what I ordered up after our travels! Travel is always one of my favorites, but time at home with family is even better.

Presence:

Walking in the woods with Becky, watching our dog run around with another dog smiling from ear to ear, so much fun to see! She was having such a blast that I couldn’t help but just stand and smile as they ran back and forth over and over again.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Experience, Small Actions, & Beauty in Change

Day 3,358

Growth:

Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.

Randy Pausch

Appreciation:

Taking small actions towards large goals add up to significant progress without feeling like it. As I’m becoming more intentional about utilizing spare moments to type ideas for 2025 into my Notes app I am surprised by how much progress I’ve made in a short period of time. Small actions really make the huge task easier!

Presence:

The moment of extreme beauty completely unintended as someone expresses a heartfelt emotion which ties directly to the core of the culture being built…. So touching on so many levels, a reminder that change is necessary and wonderful part of life.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Awe, Aiding Growth, & Normalcy

Day 3,357

Growth:

“One of the coolest that a human can experience is to feel so small in a world that’s so big.”

Marc-Andre LeClair, The Alpinist

Appreciation:

Sometimes in our attempt to help protect others we actually hamper and stunt their growth. When we offer direction and support mixed with the freedom to try something without eliminating the chance for failure their growth is exceedingly rapid and significant. Today offered up several examples of stepping back to watch others grow and each was pure magic!

Presence:

Eating supper at home with Becky and Gavin, sitting on the couch watching Gavin go through his vacation photos, going to bed at my normal time in my own bed… priceless!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Less, but More

Day 3,355

Going in a slightly different direction today, had a big thing in my head throughout much of day that is calling to be unleashed. The idea of having less, but more.

One of the reasons I love traveling to other countries is to experience the differences in cultures. Almost universally it seems that other countries seem to have less, but more at the same time.

Iceland is possibly the best at showing me a very realistic step or two back from where I currently am. Backpacking does an impeccable job of reminding me how little I actually need, but it is so transcendent from where I currently am that it seems sustainable in only short-ish doses. Iceland splits the distance between where I normally live and where I could be backpacking and inspires a sustainable lifestyle adjustment.

Take the Icelandic grocery stores as an insight. There are only a small handful of cereals to choose from. The soda / soft drink section contains less than a dozen options. The entire store is so much smaller than in the US.

The homes we’ve been renting are rather simple. This last of the four was one of only two with a television. There isn’t much variety of anything, all four have had a mix of the same furniture, silverware, and whatnot. Not just similar, but exactly the same. All the homes have been very small, yet they have everything we need.

For sure, this is definitely a first world realization, there are so many who don’t have what they need. Many would be ecstatic for what I’ve experienced here. What’s interesting is that I feel as if I would be too, but for very different reasons.

How much more simple would life be with less? How much emotional energy and thought is wasted on decisions over which things we need? How much happier would I be with less? How much more grateful would I be for what I have rather than catching myself wanting more and feeling miserable as a result?

We really need very little to live a joyful life. My visit has really helped me see more clearly how easy it would be to have less – less choices, less stuff, less options. For sure, certainly not less freedom, rather the willpower to remind myself much less I need.

As I look ahead to my annual personal planning I am seeing I may have found a very fitting and appropriate theme for myself in 2025, one inspired by my trip to Iceland.

Less, but more.

Less stuff, less unnecessary stress, less running in different directions, less goals, less…. but more. More life, more of what is important, more joy, more gratitude, and more fulfillment.

Less, but more.

Takk!!!

Thankful for Taking Many Shots in Hopes of One, a True Icelandic Winter, & Bruarfoss

Day 3,354

Growth:

Take hundreds of photos in the hopes of one that is everything you want it to be. Learn along the way, each imperfect shot is an opportunity to learn and grow.

Appreciation:

While this is the second time I’ve been to Iceland in the wintertime this has been my first true Icelandic winter experience. We’ve formally been indoctrinated through frigid temps, ridiculously high winds, and so much snow. Two years ago I was here for the most mild winter they’d ever had, but this has been a completely different experience – and largely for the better!

The snow and ice have added so many layers of beauty to this already stellar landscape. So many contours are much more vibrant now, there’s an increased texture of the mountains and the ice atop the rivers and stream is so intricate and ornate.

To have the opportunity to express this magical landscape in this season has been beautiful beyond my wildest dreams.

Presence:

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Opportunity, Travel with Becky, & Northern Lights from a Hot Tub

Day 3,353

Growth:

Take advantage of the moments and opportunities presented to us, you never know how many more of them you will have.

This manifest itself as hopping out of bed while blogging to check to see if the Northern Lights were picking back up again. Why not trade a little sleep for something I might never have the opportunity to experience again, especially in Iceland!

As luck would have it, my gut instinct paid off!

Appreciation:

Whew! So many beautiful sights and experiences today, so thankful for the opportunity to share them with Becky! Travel and hiking are our jam, always s pleasure to enjoy them both with each other.

Presence:

Never gets old…. Especially when viewed from a hot tub in winter in Iceland!

Thanks!!!