OMG!!! For reals? Did I really hear that correctly? Did I see what I thought I saw? Are they serious??? What about the time when…

Too often the voice in my head fires off these thoughts (& many more, and many worse) before I can pause and take a deep breath. It is so easy for me to lash out in those moments. I’ve made the mistake too many times of getting caught up in that emotion and unleashing a torrent of hellfire that can thoroughly thrash someone. It’s a horrible feeling that kicks in as I see the last sound waves leave my mouth. I often want to take back what I said and wish I could have a do over, but I can’t. Once that genie has been uncorked it’s out for the world to see.

I’m continuing to focus on setting the emotion aside first, think logically, and then respond appropriately. There is still a huge gap for me to overcome on this. This is particularly true when someone says something about my family, friends, and team. It still seems like hard work to take a deep breath and let logic win instead of ripping into someone or showing them and others just how wrong they are. The more and more I’ve thought on it the more I realize that this doesn’t help my case at all. Regardless of the point I’m trying to prove it loses it’s meaning when I go off half cocked. Proving to the world that someone else is wrong is also a horrible thing. It doesn’t prove anything other than that I am not doing a good job of loving everyone and treating everyone with respect as we all deserve as humans. When I unleash the beast it hurts the person, others involved, my friends, my family, my team, and me. In those moments I am a part of the problem and not a part of the solution. This is a gap I continue to work to close.

Today I made progress. There was a moment in which I remembered the great line from the movie Bambi. It’s a priceless piece of advice that I will keep close to my brain in those moments when I want to voice my frustration the wrong way. To quote the advice Thumper received from his mom, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”

The interesting thing that strikes me as I type this is maybe that advice is close but off just a tad. Maybe it should be something like “If you can’t say something nice, find a reason to love them, and give them the love they deserve as a fellow human.” I don’t know. There are a handful of people I’d struggle to do that with, but I wonder just how much of a better place our world would be if that was the case. Regardless, I’ll focus on the advice from Thumper’s mom first and then stretch into the second part once I’ve got it down a little better.

Thanks!!!

My buddy Jeremy shot me this one late last week and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. Not only is it catchy but the lyrics are pretty awesome! There were a few times in the course of my workday today when it really sunk in just how much I agree with this song. It’s one to file away in the back of my head for a day when I’m frustrated, it’ll help me take a deep breath and remind me to be thankful for the opportunity I have to do what I do every day.

Here is the video and the lyrics, enjoy!

https://youtu.be/7zok9co_8E4

Thanks!!!

With all the driving Ive done recently it’s been a wonderful opportunity to amp up my reading.  Over the past couple of weeks I’ve enjoyed a couple of books that are outside of my normal reading cycle (in addition to some that were within my usual topics).  Both of them have stuck out for very different reasons.

The first was How to Read Water by Tristan Gooley.  I don’t know that I’ll ever quite look at ripples, waves, swells and tides the same.  There were so many interesting facts about water that I’d never heard before.  While I’m not planning on boating to some crazy location across the ocean anytime soon I can tell you that if I did I’d certainly pay more attention to the types of birds I saw.  Heck, I even finally understand the concept of using a sextant now.  Every stream I’ve driven past recently I’ve tried to decipher if it was a highland or lowland stream.  Crazy, so many interesting things about water that I hadn’t known before and can’t help but look for now.  It even kind of inspired me to consider fly fishing!

I’m almost halfway through Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and I’m very much enthralled by it.  He’s covered so much already I can’t believe there at least this much more to go.  The general concept is talking about the history of humankind.  Amongst some of the more interesting things I’ve found so far are why humans thrived over other animals, how many different types of human-like creatures there were back in the day, and the impact of farming culture.  One of the concepts that still has my head reeling is the concept that humans were domesticated by wheat…  For reals, I know it sounds crazy but read the book and you’ll see what I mean.  Hint, wheat caused humans to stop roaming and stay in one spot.  All in all it’s been incredibly thought provoking and is helping me see the world through a slightly different lens.  To be clear, I’m not sure I believe 100% of what he’s saying, but even the stuff I am in disagreement with has me thinking.

Two great books from outside what I’d normally read.  Nice change of pace and info that translates into other aspects of life.  I’m thankful I took the time to pick them up.

Thanks!!!

There sure was a lot of snow this morning, wasn’t there? Between not having too many heavy snow days and focusing on being positive about winter I found it quite beautiful today.

The drive back from Mom’s was uneventful; another thing I’m thankful for. Part of the reason it went so well is all of the time I’ve spent driving on snowy roads.

Even before I started driving I loved the snow covered roads. I still remember enjoying the way Dad would spin and slide the truck on purpose on snowy roads to get a laugh out of Nick and I. The way the truck handle in the snow was awesome; so different from normal driving. When you grow up in northern WI you pretty much have no choice but to learn how to drive in the snow. My one year at Michigan Tech further pushed my snow driving experience. All those miles have helped me get more comfortable with driving on snowy roads. Of course I’d prefer perfectly clear roads, but in a very weird way I really enjoy snowy roads. They provide an opportunity to test my skills and help me improve on my winter driving. This interest in driving in snow and the years of experience have helped me feel confident in my winter driving skills, but the times I’ve made mistakes have also helped me not become arrogant. Rather, those experiences seem to be around the corner to humble me should I get a little too confident and it’s the fear of another humbling experience that keeps me focused. I’m thankful for all those miles and years of winter driving and the confidence they’ve built.

My inner teenager is going to throw a fit over this next comment, but I was really looking forward to snowblowing today! Twisted, right? For some reason I was craving the task of doing something with a clear end goal and immediate progress. Being outside, doing physical activity, and working on something that doesn’t require a huge amount of mental exercise was exactly what the doctor ordered. How crazy, I was thoroughly excited about and grateful for the opportunity to do a chore I would’ve groaned about when I was younger. Today snowblowing was awesome!

Thanks!!!

Isn’t it funny how we can take some things for granted until that moment they are most desperately needed? While I won’t get into specifics I was reminded today of just how grateful I should be each day for all the people who help in an emergency.

Whether you’re a First Responder, someone who’s CPR certified or someone who just takes action in an emergency – THANK YOU!!!

Thank you for taking the time to study, learn and train. Thank you for your willingness to help in a moment’s notice. Thank you for always giving 100+% in order to save others. Even when it may be too late or the trauma is too much – thank you for giving it your all and providing the the opportunity for a miracle. Thank you for loving everyone so much you would sacrifice your time and energy to save a total stranger. You all are the super heroes amongst us who immediately bust out your capes in our darkest moments.

Thank you all so much – today and every single day! We appreciate you greatly!

Thanks!!!

This morning before I got out of bed I grabbed my phone and for some reason decided to check Facebook. I’ve been working on weening myself off of Facebook over the past few months so I was even more surprised at my initial movement this morning.

As I scrolled through the newsfeed quickly I caught something that got me upset. Nothing crazy, but just one of those posts in which someone didn’t think all the way through (I’m hoping so anyways). My first reaction was to start typing a scathing response helping them see how they were totally stereotyping a group of people and missing the point of the post itself. Taking that type of action would have been so easy. Jump right in, take the gloves off, and hide behind the toughness of the screen. Really, how easy is it to just fire away with comments?

Then I took a deep breath and thought for a moment. If I truly care about the individual would I feel right having that conversation face to face or would I change the delivery? Why resort to taking action on this when I could have a much better conversation with them in person? As I saw it I had a choice to make, how to respond.

I’m thankful for taking that moment to think first as opposed to just reacting. Over the next few weeks I’ll most likely have that conversation with them in person and we’ll see how it goes. I can guarantee that it will go better than an off the cuff Facebook response would have.

Throughout the day I caught myself enjoying the sunshine. Ahh… At one point I even had the moon roof open and was letting the sun beat down directly onto my face while I was driving. It was glorious! For a moment I could’ve swore I was sitting by the beach in the summer. Then I quickly remembered what season it was and took time to enjoy the way the sunlight was making the snow a beautiful dazzling white. It was awesome! Sunshine is always wonderful, but there’s a different type of wonderful in the winter. Today I was thankful for the winter sun, it had me smiling all day.

Thanks!!!

Today I finally cashed in many of the gift cards I’ve received over the past few years. Whether they were for Christmas, my birthday, Father’s Day, or whatever they were all cashed in this evening. As I added them to the payment I smiled and thought back to the people who gave them to me.

Usually I’m much more frivolous with my gift cards. I use them up almost immediately on things that are top of mind. A while back I’d shared with Becky how badly I wanted to get a new table saw and she suggested I save up gift cards to help pay for it. She had a pretty great idea so I stuck with it. Whenever I got a gift card (for somewhere besides Amazon, cuz I’m totally spending those immediately 😉) I added it to the box and smiled. Each one that went in got me closer to the table saw.

The big day was today and I placed my order. Thanks to the hoard I’d saved up the overwhelming majority of it was paid for – woo hoo!!! This bad boy is going to find a home in my workshop soon.

Thanks to everyone who’s given me a gift card over the past few years, this post wouldn’t have happened without you!

Thank you to Becky for the great idea of saving them up for one big purpose!

Hey me, thanks for gritting it out and practicing delayed gratification… it was well worth it!

Thanks!!!

My apologies in advance to Uncle Buster. He once recommended that I not swear in my blog and for the most part I’ve been able to honor his request. Sorry Uncle Buster, it needs to happen tonight 😉

After yoga the same scene happens after each practice. Some people get to the cubbies first to get their winter clothes on while other people wait until they’re out of the way. Everyone is always super polite and peaceful. The people in front hustle and do their best to make room for the others. Those waiting totally understand and are very chill. It’s a pretty awesome version of the humanity I wish I could bring to each and every moment of my life regardless of my stress level in that moment.

Tonight was very similar to the normal post-yoga routine. One of the first people changing saw someone waiting behind her and asked if she was in his way. At first he said no to be polite, but then realized it was pretty obvious and he then said yes. Almost immediately after he said “yes” he followed it up with, “it’s totally okay…” in a super polite tone. And then he dropped what I feel is the greatest yoga phrase I’ve ever heard…

“I’m all namaste and shit.”

Totally flat tone, meaning every word of it in a positive and respectful way. It was AWESOME!!!

Amen brother; that’s how I feel after yoga too!!!

I’m still chucking about it as I write this. So why am I thankful for it? Over the past few weeks there’ve been some pretty stressful moments. Over the next few weeks there are bound to be several more. When one of those moments arise I’m totally going to close my eyes for a moment and hear that phrase in my head. You might even see my lips moving in a way that says, “I’m all namaste and shit.” I can guarantee I’ll then smile, take a deep breath, and feel much more at peace and in control of my emotions.

Ahh… I’m totally all namaste and shit. 😊

Thanks!!!

If you were trying to remember some of your favorite thoughts, memories, and mannerisms of a loved one what would come to mind?

While watching the Super Bowl last night there was a commercial that left me looking for the person who was starting to cut onions. The commercial named “Loretta” was one of the most powerful commercials I’ve seen in a long time. You can check it out here if you’d like. If you haven’t seen it yet I’d recommend checking it out prior to reading further.

As the narrator is talking about his love, Loretta, he goes through so many memories. A couple were big milestones, but the majority were all of the little things that make up the big thing. As I watched my head started to put myself into the narrator’s role. If it were me what would be the things I’d want to remember about Becky?

We’ve created so many awesome memories together that for the shortest of seconds I thought I’d be overwhelmed with too many memories. As it turned out there was one specific one that immediately came to mind. Then another, and then another. Three specifically came first and they all had a common trait, her smile. After the flood gates of memories opened after those three I was awash in excellent memories.

The third moment that came to mind was when she saw the Grand Canyon for the first time. I’ll never forget the huge smile and wave of emotion on her face in that moment.

The second memory was when she smiled across the church at me when I fell head over heels for her. That moment lit up my heart.

The first? When we went for a hike on a glacier in the Canadian Rockies I was shooting some video of our time on the ice and happened to catch my favorite mental image of Becky. She’s looking to all the beauty around her with curiosity, passion for nature’s beauty, and pure joy. At one point she looks at her feet for a second and then looks back up and all around her again. That smile and look on her face is one of the biggest reasons I love her so much. Still makes me smile so many years later!

Thank you Google for creating a commercial that hit me right in the feels, reminded me of some of my favorite moments with Becky, and that still has my heart filled with joy so many hours later.

Thanks!!!