Day 3,492

Growth:

Don’t judge a place until you have been there. Sometimes the places you expect to be the most pedestrian turn out to be gems!

Appreciation:

Spending time with family, so important that it makes a seven plus hour drive one way to get some family time together for a day and a half well worth it. Watching our sons do something they love, getting a couple of meals as a family, joking and laughing, and throw in a game – worth every moment of the fifteen hours of driving!

Presence:

Watching Dominic cut thru a defense to score a try… epic!!!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,491

Growth:

So many of the frustrating times we have will likely become one of two things – a learning experience or repeated. Choose wisely!

Appreciation:

Nothing like putting the campervan to use doing what it was made to do! Road trip!

Presence:

Driving the campervan down unknown twisty turny roads as it starts getting dark. Throw in a horse and buggy, some big bumps, and some u marked curves and it is hard to be anything but present!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,490

Growth:

Great quote that was also a powerful reminder for me today:

If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Appreciation:

Today was an interesting one, some ups, some downs, and a lot of having to get done things I don’t really enjoy getting done. In spite of that, there were a handful of actions I was able to take to help me grow towards filling the gap between who I am and who I should be. There were opportunities to take action focused on long term goals, options to find ways to grow through challenge. Regardless of whether there were more downs than ups there were plenty of opportunities to grow, if I only took the time and had the discipline to choose them.

Presence:

Hiking in the woods as a storm is about to roll in, the sounds of thunder, the scent of fresh rain about to fall, the light tingle of electricity in the air, the sense of excitement and anticipation. While the hike was short lived due to the rain starting to fall the memory will linger!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,489

Growth:

When the rip tide grabs you and starts to pull the worst action to take is to fight harder against it. Pause, relax, and change direction. Rather than pushing against the force slide to the side until you’re out of its grasp, then move forward.

Appreciation:

Throughout my hikes and wanderings in the woods I enjoy snapping a quick pic of scenery that catches my eye. These become wonderful breadcrumbs I stumble upon when I go through my photos or as I have them pop up in different places.

This one in particular showed up a couple of days ago and has continued to hang in the back of my mind. It was from a long hike in the Trempleau Wildlife Refuge around sunrise. As I look at this photo I can’t help but feel a complete sense of calm and awe as I did when I took it.

Presence:

While driving home the audiobook I am currently consuming was sharing the importance of finding a sense of awe in the natural world. In that moment I looked to the sky and saw a beautiful cloud slowly sliding down the sky, elongated by the wind carrying it and couldn’t help but pause the book and just be in the moment watching the cloud (& the road!).

Thanks!!!

Day 3,488

Growth:

“According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”

Leon C Megginson

Appreciation:

Throughout the years I’ve made mistakes, I’ve had successes, and I’ve learned and grown. Today was an opportunity to put some of both sides of those past experiences to work in a positive fashion to produce better results I ever would have expected. Through challenge, growth.

Presence:

Having a grilled lunch with my teammates outside to enjoy a pause in some nonstop action – a great time!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,487

Growth:

While receiving useful advice is very helpful, being able to share that advice with others is deeply fulfilling.

Appreciation:

Clarity of purpose can help us more concisely focus on what must happen rather than being caught up in what may cause discomfort. Once we see the path and take action working towards it the obstacles become so much easier to overcome, the momentum builds, and the action almost happens on its own. What a powerful force, momentum.

Presence:

Spending a moment in Final Rest feeling surrounded by love. Epic! The place my soul went while I was in that pose was truly beautiful and moved me on many levels.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,486

Growth:

“People only see the present through the lenses of their personal pasts.”

Max Brooks, Devolution

Appreciation:

Nothing like getting into an engaging conversation with people who are completely present throughout. Spending time learning about each other, sharing ideas and viewpoints, bringing up old memories, enjoying each others company. No specific agenda or goal, only sharing time together while staying present and without distraction. The best of times shared with others!

Presence:

Another day of hiking led to an awesome pelican experience!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,485

Spending hours outside doing physical work, enjoying the smells of fresh cut pine, hearing the birds talk, being completely disconnected, and 100% present in each moment… what other paradise on Earth is needed?

It was not a vacation, yet so many similarities in the stirring of my soul. Many memories of times outdoors with loved ones intermingled with new experiences.

How little we actually need to be happy, how much joy can be created through work.

Such a treat to have time working outside today!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,484

Growth:

So easy to see when someone else has pushed themselves to the edge and need to take time to rest and recover, so much more difficult to see it in ourselves.

Appreciation:

I so love those moments in which you can see the tangible results of all of the hard work, focus, and energy someone has poured into to a goal or dream pay off in dramatic fashion.

Presence:

Hearing Gavin’s excitement over some incredible news as he crushed a goal… outstanding!!!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,483

Growth:

All of the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.

St Francis of Assisi

Appreciation:

This was quite the day for quite a few reasons. What I think I’m most grateful for today (outside of the usual) is the growth that comes through challenge. While happy times are delightful it is really in challenging situations in which we grow. Here’s to the discomfort that leads to growth!

Presence:

Tonight Becky took me to watch The Letter: A Message for Our Earth. It was engaging, enlightening, and moved me to tears. This one is going to stick with me for quite a while.

Thanks!!!