Day 3,247

From dream…

…to reality!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,246

Whew, I’m switching up tonight as this has been an interesting day. My sinus infection is totally kicking my butt. After getting better for the past few days it took a turn and I’ve spent more of the day with complete sinus congestion and blockage than I think I’ve had in total over the past decade. All types of uncomfortable. Concentration has been almost impossible, I’m spending more time trying to remedy it than I am not, it’s been a day on the struggle bus for sure.

All that said, it’s really not that bad. Lots of discomfort and pressure, but no pain. I know it is temporary, nothing terminal or long lasting. The rest of my body is totally fine, just the nonstop sinus pressure and having to breathe through my mouth.

Over the past handful of years I’ve really done a lot of work on my breath. From breathing techniques for health to a stronger focus on nose breathing to stunts of training to run while only breathing through my nose to taping my mouth shut each night for the past almost two years (which I swear has helped more than any of the previous). Throw in all the breath work from yoga and it’s something I try to focus on doing well. What’s wild is that up until I can’t I didn’t realize how much I still take breathing well for granted.

This past week has really helped me see just how important breathing is to living the life I want to live. The sinus infection has impacted my sleep big time. Trying to focus on work today was next to impossible. I haven’t been able to do all the things with my family that I would have liked to due to this. My overall attitude has had a dip.

When I’m breathing fine, none of this is an issue and rarely thought about.

Even during illness and discomfort there’s always something to learn, a way for us to grow. For me, this has inspired me to go even more intense into working on my breathing!

One other caveat, timing is truly spectacular sometimes, isn’t it? In re-reading Awareness by Anthony de Mello there was a section that really hit home talking about being appreciative for all the little things, the little moments, to be aware of the bits of magic all around us rather than being distracted by our attachments. In so many ways I’ve been much more aware of something that I do so often each day, often taking time today to appreciate that sensation of fresh air slowly being drawn through my nose in those fleeting moments when it has happened.

Off to bed… until I wake myself up due to breathing through my mouth and fire up a home remedy regimen to get my nose a little open again. 😉

Thanks!!!

Day 3,245

Growth:

All of the stress in my life is created by myself. It is either as a result of my actions or due to my mindset towards attachments. The natural state of man is happiness, the obstacle to that is ourselves. Release my attachments, open myself to joy.

Appreciation:

All around us are miracles, lessons, reminders, opportunities for growth, and moments of connection with others. We need only keep our hearts open and our souls grateful. Thanks to my morning mental diet I did a better job of doing that than usual today and it made a tremendously positive impact on my day.

Presence:

Laying on my back on a standup paddle board in the middle of a still and serene lake, listening to the sounds of birds all around, watching the reflections of the sun off the lightly rippling water dance atop the purple flowers amongst the trees, and all as the sun slowly warms the right reside of my face. Heaven.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,244

Another spin around the sun with Gavin has now wrapped up! He celebrated his birthday by taking his driving test, crushing it, and earning his license. Gavin is now off to hang out with his girlfriend and likely savoring the newfound taste of freedom that comes with having a driver’s license. One huge step towards adulthood has been taken, he’s now got wheels. So happy for him!

While he’s off exploring his new freedoms I’m here at home going through old photos of him from throughout the past year. We went through them earlier as a family over dinner and enjoyed the time capsule of the past twelve months in my iPhone. It has been a year of epic adventures, life lessons learned, new experiences tried, a fear or two being conquered, and so much love and laughter.

Birthdays do such a wonderful job of reminding us to slow down the crazy for a moment to pause and enjoy the ride. This past year with Gavin has been a hell of a ride! Each year somehow seems to get better than the last with him!

So proud of the young man he continues to grow into, so thankful for the way he inspires me to be my best me, and for all of the laughter, love, and joy he brings into our lives! Love you Bud!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,243

Growth:

When I avoid conflict why am I making that decision? What am I choosing to accept by not tackling the conflict straight on? Is that trade off really worth the short term discomfort of the conflict?

Appreciation:

Two things hit at once today. I’m feeling under the weather due to sinus pressure for the first time in a long while and it kept me up last night which has led to being more tired than normal. I’ve also started re-reading Awareness by Anthony de Mello and the timing of the chapters read today were so spot on with what I needed to hear.

I’ve found that sometimes the best lessons sink in a little better when I’m a little less rested. The tiredness seems to open me up a little more, makes me more sensitive to life around me. The combo of these two whirring today really brought a deeper understanding than I’ve had before.

Presence:

My sinuses have been crazy congested over the past couple of days. Last night I sat up awake for over two hours in an attempt to get them to drain a little so I could go to sleep. In doing so I spent more time than ever paying very close attention to the sensations of my sinuses. The feeling of the sinus draining is truly sublime! You can just feel the pressure slowly release as your entire face and head relax.

For sure, I wish it didn’t take feeling like this to realize that, but now that I have I kinda enjoy the feeling of it. Choosing the right mindset really makes all the difference!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,242

Growth:

There’s a tightrope to be walked when helping someone grow. On one side is direction and on the other lies support. Too much or too little of either in conjunction with the other can lead to disaster, but the right balance leads to success. Here’s to continuing to work on building our balance.

Appreciation:

As Gavin wrapped up his driving we happened to notice the dark red sun slowly descending the sky. We made a snap call and drove out to Nelson Park at the north end of the island, a quiet little park with a perfect view to the west over the Mississippi River and across to the bluffs of Minnesota. What got me thinking was just how many times we’ve gone to that spot to soak in beautiful nature sights including sunsets:

Northern Lights:

Thunderstorms rolling in…

And even some crazy ice!

So much beauty in a little park less than three miles from our house.

Presence:

Riding with Gavin as he practiced driving the stick shift was an hour and a half of father son adventures. So many laughs, some good conversations, singing along to some music, and the soaking in an epic sunset. What an awesome experience together!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,241

Growth:

The trouble with people is that they’re busy fixing things they don’t even understand. We’re always fixing things, aren’t we? It never strikes us that things don’t need to be fixed. They really don’t. This is a great illumination. They need to be understood. If you understood them, they’d change.

Anthony de Mello, Awareness

Amen! So simpler said than done.

Appreciation:

Due to Gavin’s final driving lesson he and I left camping before 7am. We had a 90 minute drive ahead of us. Within a few minutes of leaving the campground Gavin and Leia were both out cold. I proceeded to drive silently the entire way.

Having the quiet time to let my mind wander while I savored the morning drive was brilliant. There was no agenda, no audiobook, no podcast, and no music, only quiet and calm thought. Such an entrancing start to the day!

Presence:

The moments in the morning when I am awake while the world sleeps, magnificent!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,240

Short and to the point tonight so I don’t lose some of the magic of today…

Camping has been awesome, so grateful for all the time outdoors and without a screen in front of me. Cheers to quiet, calm, and distraction free time outdoors!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,239

Growth:

Start prepping for rain before the clouds arrive. 😉

Appreciation:

If there’s going to be rain you can’t ask for more than a complete deluge while it is mid 70’s or above. You’re going to get wet in any rain, it is always more fun when it is enjoyable and memorable. As I scrambled to button up our tent I took a moment to just feel the raining pounding down on me. It felt like a crazy massage with the nonstop impact of what seemed to be quart sized rain drops, it was awesome!!! To have another heavy rain during the football game four hours later was wild! Even as I type this less than 30 minutes after the rain the sun is out again already. Awesomely fun weather for sure!

Presence:

Neat moment after the rain dumped on us during the football scrimmage!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,238

Growth:

More technology is definitely not always better. Simplicity is so much more elegant and exquisite than complex, adding tech often multiplies technology.

Appreciation:

Not every day is going to be a +2 day (on my scale of -2 to +2), and that’s okay. When a day is dipping below zero I’m grateful for both the awareness of that fact and for advice from author, Jim Collins. He reminds us that when a day is dipping below zero the best thing we can do is to remember we still have time to change the day, to find a way to get back to positive. That advice helped pull me back up out of negative today.

Presence:

The further one drives into the wilderness the easier presence becomes. Pausing to take in the sight of sandhill cranes crossing the road, watching the six point buck eat grass in an empty campsite. An excellent reminder to watch for similar moments in the ordinary as well.

Thanks!!!