“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!
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.
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.
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!
Life happens, the sooner we choose the mind the gap and intentionally focus on growth, appreciation, and presence the sooner we will be joyful again. Why stress something completely out of our control? Instead focus on controlling what we can – how we will respond.
Appreciation:
This is the first time to Iceland when I have not been the driver of our car and I am LOVING it!!! Of course it’s usually more fun to be a passenger, but I’m really noticing how much more focus I can put towards seeing what’s all around this majestic landscape rather than on the road in front of me. My eyes were constantly shifting from one crazy rock feature to the next. So many pictures taken!
I’m also especially grateful as the roads were awful today due to a storm that had rolled in late last night. Steve did an incredible job of keeping our vehicle between the shoulders when even snowplows were struggling to do so!
Presence:
Being able to pause and focus on the landscape around me also provided the opportunity to take so many photos today! Watching for the right moment, snapping as many pics as possible quickly, and then editing and discerning the hundreds into tens while going through less scenic areas was so enjoyable!
How little we actually need to know true joy. How much of life is wasted on thinking more is needed or on fear of losing what we have. Everything we each need for a joyful life is already within us and it cannot be taken away by anyone.
Appreciation:
What is it about certain places and types of moments which help us unlock more of our true selves? When we’re in our normal routine it becomes easy to just do more of the same and follow through momentum of the “same old”.
When placed in a completely new scenario intentionality kicks into overdrive. We’re more focused, more present, and are not held by the same fetters as normal. We break free from the gravity of the mundane and jettison ourselves with purpose.
This trip has been an incredibly well timed opportunity to step back, zoom out, and reassess.
Presence:
Sitting on a ledge overlooking a glacier, a few mountains, and the ocean. Priceless!
Man overcomes himself, affirms himself, and realizes himself in the struggle towards the summit, toward the absolute. In the extreme tension of the struggle, on the frontier of death, the universe disappears and drops away beneath us. Space, time, fear, suffering, no longer exist. Everything then becomes quite simple. As on the crest of a wave, or in the heart of a cyclone, we are strangely calm —not the calm of emptiness, but the heart of action itself. Then we know with absolute certainty that there is something indestructible in us, against which nothing shall prevail.
A flame so kindled can never be extinguished. When we have lost everything it is then we find ourselves most rich.
Maurice Herzog
Appreciation:
Iceland has become a part of my being. My travels to the land of fire and ice have fueled my imagination in unprecedented ways while also creating lifelong memories shared with friends and family. Being here a third time is rejuvenating, my soul is at ease and so comfortably at home. So grateful for the opportunity to be here again, I will appreciate every single moment of it!
Presence:
Within hours of arriving in Iceland we saw the eruption! The pics don’t do justice to just how incredible it was to see lava spurting from the Earth!
I am not required to have an opinion. My opinion is 100% optional. I can choose to have an opinion or I can choose to not concern myself with it.
Choose to withhold an opinion at least three times more often than having one, life will be easier, more joyful, and will contain significantly less stress.
Appreciation:
Almost fifty years of life, so many memories that they come crashing in waves. Largely joyful, even the difficult ones provide opportunities for growth and learning. Maybe even they are the milestones markers of past growth.
Throughout the past few days so many memories have gone through my mind. Times as a child, a teenager, a college student, an adult, a parent, and so many other roles and ages in between. I can’t help but smile at how many wonder human beings I’ve been blessed to interact with throughout those years. They’ve all left fingerprints upon my being. Each made their mark in their own special way, I am who I am as a result of their impact. As a rock in a river they have passed by and indelibly made they mark on me.
How fortunate am I to have had such a kaleidoscope of humans touch my life!
Presence:
The moment of seeing a sales deal worked from start to finish has dry ink on it!
Re-reading Good to Great by Jim Collins has been exactly what my brain needed at exactly the right time. While this was the fourth or fifth time I’ve read the book this time sunk in more than the others. For better and for worse the experiences of my past decade or so of work have really helped to re-shape my understanding of the concepts shared. As I continue to grow forward I’m glad to have this information fresh in my brain!
Appreciation:
This has been a whirlwind of a month! So many changes, so many changes, and so much flexibility needed. It’s also been a month of extreme clarity, focus, and rekindling passion to live into a noble purpose. I am catching myself needing more and more downtime to allow my brain to slow down, yet I am working harder and harder while feeling a greater sense of purpose. An exhausting month in so many ways, a challenging month in even more ways, yet a month I will never forget for its clarity of driving towards the purpose.
Presence:
We had a nice surprise this evening! Dominic was able to leave school a early so we were able to spend some time together this evening. Nothing like getting bonus time with him – even if it is only a couple of hours it is one of the highlights of my entire week!
Thankful for Forty 