When the spirit moves you take action and enjoy it.
This afternoon I caught myself feeling motivated to put time into a project for work. It was a day off, but I really felt compelled to hit it, the creative juices were flowing. Next thing I knew a couple of hours had passed while I was in a total state of flow. What an awesomely rewarding way to spend some time!
Appreciation:
Somehow I’m feeling completely exhausted and totally recharged all at the same time.
We got our run in this morning. The last details of our upcoming vacation are wrapped up. My work week is lined up and looks to be an awesomely solid and productive one. Most the stuff around the house is covered. I’ve had time with family, had dinner with friends, had time alone. It’s been a hell of a long weekend in all the right ways!
Presence:
So many pockets of presence today! The biggest theme was in the ongoing moments of laughter throughout the day. With family, with friends, the laughter seemed to be a constant!
Remember to intentionally create pockets of space to pause and think. In a moment of silence today a couple of ideas I’ve been working on really came together as a result of pausing all the “noise” of life.
Life is busy, there are so many ideas, let my brain relax so it can play.
Appreciation:
Something that jumps out at me today was the fun of listening to the birds on the woods on our walk today. Birding isn’t really a hobby of mine, but I really enjoyed listening to the sounds of birds – especially when using the Merlin Bird ID application on my phone. It is fun to try to guess what I’m hearing and work on my bird call ID skills as well as seeing how many different species of birds we have around us.
When I’m in a place where I can focus on listening to them I’m usually in a place of stillness and am very present. Sweet combo!
Presence:
Graduation parties have been an ongoing theme this weekend! While I’m not a huge fan of big social gatherings these are some awesomely unique opportunities to get together to celebrate with friends! I had a blast having some excellent conversations 😄
Full disclosure, my mental diet has been loaded with possibly too much Neil Gaiman reflections, stories, and ideas as of late – if there is such a thing.
Have you ever met a person who at some deep visceral level you could tell that they were more than a person?
Yesterday I had the opportunity to do a little bit of trail running in between Gavin’s races and I found this beautiful rocky valley just a short drive away.
As I ran into the valley, I just had to pause and take it all in. Surrounded by beautiful rock walls that had been carved out by thousands and thousands of years of water slowly cutting through the rock from the glacial activity, I was completely alone.
There were roots holding trees up at impossible angles right on edges of the cliffs where no tree should be able to exist. And yet there they all were.
When I hit the end of the trail I just paused and soaked it all in, and savored a moment by the little waterfall. I stood on a couple of the big rocks right in the middle of the canyon and just took it all in with each of my senses.
As I was walking back, I encountered someone who just seemed to be more than just a someone. In so many ways, they seemed to be the incarnation of that area that I was in. They seemed to have been carved out of the surrounding environment, their eyes the same dark brown as the surrounding rock walls, their hair blowing in the valley breeze as if one with the shadows created by the swaying leaves.
They had said they’d been here many times before, it’s one of their favorite places on earth. Their face lights up as they say this as the sun shines on the rocks over their shoulder.
There was this sly smile on their face, a smile that was so knowing, almost as if to say, “I’m going to tell you about these other places to go, these other trails here, but I’m not going to tell you about all of them because you have to find and experience them yourself, you have to come back.”
And there was just something about them that was just so similar to the enchanting landscape surrounding me. Even the surreally intricate tattoo of a feather on their right forearm seemed to have been plucked off the floor of the valley after having recently dropped by an eagle soaring by. It was incredibly intense and yet the edges of memory are already starting to slightly fray as a dream does throughout the morning.
I don’t know a better way to explain it other than I met someone, someone who was more than someone. They were of the valley.
Our mental diet is as important to our joy and well being as our physical diet. What I choose to put into my mind has a profound impact on the rest of my life and colors my views of the world. When I choose to read insightful and useful books and articles my choices and thoughts are much improved. When I choose to rely on mental junk food my life suffers.
Be smart, intentionally choose the right mental diet!
Appreciation:
LOL – I started writing during the meet and never finished this section up. Maybe the best thing to say before heading to bed exhausted is that I’m grateful for all the track peeps giving their all this evening! Everyone busted their butts and saw all types of success!
Presence:
One of the benefits of having the first and last race of the night is the bonus time in between the races. Today I utilized it the right way.
After the 4×800 I grabbed a quick bite to eat and checked my AllTrails app for a nice trail. I bypassed nice and went straight to epic!
I had no idea just how beautiful Parfrey’s Glen was and my mind was blown as I went deep into the rocky canyon! It was amazing!!!
What an awesome way to get some bonus outside time, a trail run, and escape into the woods.
It is okay to be stressed. It is okay to acknowledge that I am stressed. It is okay to ask for help. It is okay to pause to breathe. It is okay to take a step back to zoom out.
It is not okay to let stress cause panic. It is not okay to freeze and do nothing under stress. It is not okay to take a victim mentality due to stress.
Acknowledge the stress, zoom out, breathe, adjust, then react. Ask myself, “what can I learn from this?”
Whenever I am tempted to “just work harder” remember how well that worked out for Boxer the horse.
Appreciation:
So often that which we deeply want lies available to us on the other side of challenge. While the stresses may be frustrating they often lead to incredible opportunities if we choose to grow through them. My mind was pretty much blown when I realized the direction I want to go was revealed as a solution to some of the other challenges I am facing. What an awesome twist of fate when we keep our mind open for opportunity!
Presence:
I had a neat handful of surprises during my run this morning including this scene:
I’m not usually a Canadian Goose fan, but seeing dozens of the little ones was pretty cool!
“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.” 😉
Yet again I’m impressed by the ability of the universe to provide exactly what is needed at the right time. A lunchtime webinar on teamwork really helped me fill in some gaps while a podcast helped flesh out the ideas.
Maybe all we ever need is always there waiting for us, it is only up to us to pause and look for it?
Appreciation:
Neil Gaiman has long been one of my favorite fiction authors, but he’s now quickly becoming one of my favorite nonfiction writers as well!
Presence:
Standing outside and looking to the heavens just as the storm front and its 60mph are about to roll in… epic!
Closing the door as I get inside just as the gusts really take off…. Perfect!
Very interesting idea during a “spontaneous group therapy” from a business call this morning. While the conversation went in a few different random directions there was a central thought I kept coming back to. I wrote it up on my whiteboard to help it sink a bit more deeply.
What are the trade offs I am willing to accept? Am I intentionally choosing them or am I just allowing them to happen? What are the trade offs I have unintentionally accepted?
Me
Rather than allowing something to happen through “gravity” or “drifting” I should only intentionally make trade offs. Intentionality helps me choose the right obstacles to face and which to avoid in order to live into my purpose and dreams. By not choosing I am allowing pull of gravity or the drifting of life to dictate where I go – which may or may not lead towards where I want to end up.
Zoom out, choose the right trade offs, be okay with them, and keep the focus on what is most important.
Appreciation:
This morning on my drive to work I did something I don’t usually do and it made all the difference in the productivity of my day. I started the drive with my audiobook but then quickly turned it off and enjoyed the ride in silence. My brain needed space to think. It was almost as if the sound bath from last night broke some ideas loose and they needed to full flush themselves out of my brain before I could fully focus. While it set me backwards in my book it really moved my day forward in all the right ways. I had a much more concise plan of attack for the day. I had more time to put together right solutions. Most importantly, I gave my brain time to breathe and relax. It was exactly what I needed to get mentally prepped for the day.
Presence:
What a difference a year makes in the level of stress in watching the boy’s sporting events!
Last year for Regionals (and Sectionals and State) I was so amped up, worked up, and all nervous I could hardly sit still. Knowing that each race was potentially Dominic’s last high school sporting event ever had me all twisted and torqued up! In the previous years there was always a little nervousness, but it wasn’t anything like Dominic’s senior season last year.
Fast forward to this year’s Regionals and watching Gavin compete in pole vaulting and the 4×800 while also being an alternate on the 4×400. I was relaxed and laid back, I thoroughly enjoyed each second of each event and all without the feeling like I could throw up at any minute. Of course I want him and his teammates to compete well and give their all, but there’s not the same sense of finality as there was last year. It was extra peaceful for sure!
Here’s to remembering that it is all a game, all for fun, and all a way to measure the hard work put in throughout preseason and season. Watching with less stress was so much more chill!
This specific quote from Neil Gaiman really summed up one of the reasons I enjoy blogging.
All too often I write to find out what I think about a topic, not because I already know. – Neil Gaiman
Quite often I start with a spark of an idea and it fleshes itself out as I type. Sometimes the entire destination changes as well! Taking the time to write out my blog provides the opportunity to focus on the topic, to breathe life into it, to set it free, and see where it grows to.
Quick aside, tonight’s Presence section is such an example of. Never would I have dreamt of sharing the detail, but it just seems so right, it is the magic which created the moments of presence. The idea was scratching to get out and I’ve now loosed it on the world, my apologies 😉
Appreciation:
Hmm….
Do I write about the wonderful walk in the woods this morning with Becky and Leia as we listened to the birds?
Do I write about the reminder of how much more full life is when I am outdoors and have a focus on appreciation?
Do I write about sharing a life learning experience with Dominic as we went grocery shopping?
Do I write about remembering the story of the monk carrying the woman over the stream to help me stay focused on letting go rather than carrying something?
Do I write about putting in a new exterior door, getting frustrated, having the boys help me out, remembering that I am setting an example for them, and the calming myself down – which leads to a near perfect installation after much frustration earlier?
Do I write about the time chilling with Gavin playing a couple of epic games as we talk about nothing in particular?
Do I write about going to bed early to start the week right?
Hmm…
I guess I just blogged about it all.
Presence:
This evening I went to a very different yoga session than usual, this one was a sound bath. We stretched out and moved a little before settling in on our mats to breathe and focus as the teacher created a very enlightening soundscape.
Prior to starting she advised us to not look up to see how the sounds were made, rather to stay focused on only the sound with our eyes closed. I’m so had I heeded her advice as it added a special twist to the meditation, adding the theme from many myths of a loved one leaving the underworld with you, but if you look back before you’re all the way out you’ll see them for only a second before they dissipate back into the underworld. I was so close to looking up a few times but knew the sensation of peace and chill would vanish if I looked.
It also felt as if I’d somehow cheated Sleep as the group around me all slumbered (the person next to me was snoring in a very pleasant way). The King of Dreams crept around scattering seeds of dreams amongst the sleepers and I had to stay extra calm while pretending to sleep elsewhere he’d jettison me from waking to sleeping and the experience would shift from a memory to a loosely braided dream meant to come undone. If I remained hidden from his sight I could enjoy soaking in the secrets of the world between sleep and waking. Such wild thoughts running through my brain!
The entire experience was at a very different level from that which I am used to. Aside from the engaging imaginations and complete sensation of calm there was another bonus. All of reality seemed more real and tangible afterwards. My sense of presence was heightened and I savored the feel of walking on sidewalks with bare feet, the subtle scent of rain, the sounds of the birds. All around me life was very much the same, yet do much more vibrant as I was more alive in it. What a gift!
This is definitely going to be a short one, I’m exhausted!!!
The day started with a 5:45 wake up, an almost 3 mile run to yoga with Becky, an hour of vigorous hot yoga, and then a run back home.
It continued with a ride to Milwaukee with Dominic to spend time with my brother, my mom, and their families at the zoo and included Dominic and I walking around the river walk in downtown Milwaukee. Throw in a couple of big meals too!
Then it was a long ride home with great conversation and music, and now bed.
A crazy busy day, a very full day, and one filled with joy.
Thankful for Forty 