Day 3,662

Growth:

So easy to get caught in the drift of the normal stream of life. So easy to allow gravity to slowly pull us off track and then trap us in orbit. Remember to jolt ourselves awake, to stay vigilant of our dreams and goals, to remember to fully be alive!

‘Stuff your eyes with wonder,’ he said, ‘live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that,’ he said, ‘shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass.'”

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Appreciation:

Once in a while we need to get caught up in a rut. The fight against the hills on either side get our blood pumping. The jarring sensation of popping out of it awakens our soul.

Today I was in a rut for the majority of the day. Just woke up feeling that way, no real good excuse. Just a “meh” kind of feeling for the day. There were several positives, specifically, a handful of extremely engaging conversations that got my mind working, but then, just as quickly, the spark sputtered out. Oof.

As I pause I realize it was largely due to the feeling of above, the sense of drifting rather than charting my course and controlling the rudder. I’ve been reminded that I am the captain of myself, I need to choose my direction and go after it rather than the winds of life to blow me askew.

Even bad days give us a reason to be thankful if we look closely enough!

Presence:

This morning a song came on the radio that led to me sharing a story with my teammates from back in the mid to late nineties.

Some friends and I were taking a road trip and someone put in CD by Hootie and the Blowfish. My buddy ejected the CD (which was his own), rolled down his window, said something along the lines of “who would listen to this garbage,” and then promptly threw it right out of the open window!

The only sound was the dropping of all of our jaws as we kept driving well over 60mph on the highway as the shining CD sailed into the distant woods.

“Why did you do that???”

“Umm… I was just joking, but the wind caught it.”

More stunned silence… …then thunderous laughter from all of us!

That moment is still brought up often, such a surreal and hysterical moment of presence!

Thanks!!!