Day 3,622

Going a little off the normal script tonight… sometimes it’s helpful to change this up to keep it fresh in my brain.

First off is a quote from Awareness by Anthony de Mello. I know, bit of an ongoing topic recently, but there is so much wisdom to be found in that insightful book.

It will help, too, if you return to nature. Send the crowds away, go up to the mountains, and silently commune with trees and flowers and animals and birds, with sea and clouds and sky and stars. I’ve told you what a spiritual exercise it is to gaze at things, to be aware of things around you. Hopefully, the words will drop, the concepts will drop, and you will see, you will make contact with reality. That is the cure for loneliness.

Generally, we seek to cure our loneliness through emotional dependence on people, through gregariousness and noise. That is no cure. Get back to things, get back to na-ture, go up in the mountains. Then you will know that your heart has brought you to the vast desert of solitude, there is no one there at your side, absolutely no one.

At first this will seem unbearable. But it is only because you are unaccustomed to aloneness. If you manage to stay there for a while, the desert will suddenly blossom into love. Your heart will burst into song.

And it will be springtime forever; the drug will be out; you’re free. Then you will understand what freedom is, what love is, what happiness is, what reality is, what truth is, what God is. You will see, you will know beyond concepts and condition-ing, addictions and attachments.

Anthony de Mello

Today was the second day of training and it was EPIC!!! Nothing like having very engaged participants who ask a lot of insightful questions and dive deep into the topic. We got into some very deep topics and they soaked it all right up and showed how they can grow and implement the concepts. Such an awesome investment of time.

After lunch we all went up to Garvin Heights to look out over Winona, took a short hike to a cliff; and then got a walk in my favorite cemetery, the beautiful and scenic Woodlawn Cemetery. So much fun exploring areas you live with people who have never been there!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,621

Growth:

A wonderful quote hitting humility, awe, & wonder in one fell swoop:

“God does not die on the day we cease to believe in a personal deity. But we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance of wonder renewed daily, the source of which is beyond all reason.”

Dag Hammarskjöld

Appreciation:

Over preparation takes a large amount of time, but the results are well worth the investment even if they are not used. Flexibility in learning is difficult to create space for, but it makes all the difference in long term success. The right combination of brutal honesty and overwhelming optimism help work through the most challenging of situations. Working alongside people you respect and admire makes a huge difference.

Here’s to a day that helped remind me of all of these!

Presence:

Excellent day and evening of bonding with teammates today! Nonstop focus on work, very much present in very positive ways, so energizing!

Thanks!

Day 3,620

Growth:

Interesting quote created in my brain while reading Awareness by Anthony de Mello this morning through connecting several dots and bread crumbs from throughout the past couple of years.

Much of our stress comes from the friction of our desired freedoms rubbing against the grain of the prisons we have created for ourselves. 

Mike Kreiling

Appreciation:

I usually read Awareness by Anthony de Mello once every three to six months. The book reads like a perfectly snug sweatshirt that is perfectly formed for my body after years of wear, only in this case I am the sweatshirt shaping around the book. Slowly but surely I find more and more understanding within its words. The more I take apart the concepts and test them the more they seem to play out true.

“What you need is to be free. What you need is to love. That’s it; that’s your nature. But what you’re really telling me is that you want to be desired.

You want to be applauded, to be attractive, to have all the little monkeys running after you. You’re wasting your life. Wake up! You don’t need this. You can be blissfully happy without it.

Your society is not going to be happy to hear this, because you become terrifying when you open your eyes and understand this. How do you control a person like this?

He doesn’t need you; he’s not threatened by your criticism; he doesn’t care what you think of him or what you say about him.

He’s cut all those strings; he’s not a puppet any longer. It’s terrifying. “So we’ve got to get rid of him. He tells the truth; he has become fearless; he has stopped being human.” 

Human! Behold! A human being at last! He broke out of his slavery, broke out of their prison.”

Anthony de Mello, Awareness

Presence:

Running in cool fall feeling weather! Stepping out of the car at work into a cool morning. Walking out from yoga into the perfectly chill air. Perfect weather day for sure!!!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,619

Throughout the past couple of weeks I’ve been wildly busy, but there’s also been quite a bit of room for introspection. Self-observation has been very enlightening as of late, seeing more and more of why I feel and do what I do when I do based on where my brain is at. The more I take that outside approach to seeing things as if they were happening in the third person the more and more I continue to learn about myself.

The more I recognize patterns and work to change my behaviors the more I can live into a better version of myself. These past weeks have been tiring, but so wonderfully eye opening!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,618

So many different directions to potentially go today, let’s see where this goes…

Awesome day spent with family / a walk and coffee with Becky, time with Mom, touring my brother’s new home, dinner and a campfire with my family. It was a day revolving around family with so much bonus family time.

While that was going on there was also time for introspection, time reading, a nap, and time for quiet reflection.

Today was a wonderful mix of large family time, pockets of smaller family moments, and a little time alone. A day of balance.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,617

Growth:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is faith! An openness to the truth, no matter what the consequences, no matter where it leads you and when you don’t even know where it’s going to lead you. That’s faith.  Not belief, but faith. Your beliefs give you a lot of security, but faith is insecurity.  You don’t know. You’re ready to follow and you’re open, you’re wide open! You’re ready to listen. And, mind you, being open does not mean being gullible, it doesn’t mean swallowing whatever the speaker is saying.  Oh no. You’ve got to challenge everything I’m saying. But challenge it from an attitude of openness, not from an attitude of stubbornness. And challenge it all. Recall those lovely words of Buddha when he said, “Monks and scholars must not accept my words out of respect, but must analyze them the way a goldsmith analyzes gold— by cutting, scraping, rubbing, melting.

Anthony de Mello

Appreciation:

Remember! You don’t have to haus an opinion about this.

Ryan Holiday

Presence:

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

Marcus Aurelius

Thanks!!!

Day 3,616

I had an awesome time watching Gavin’s football game tonight for a variety of reasons!

Gavin started in a new position, his first time at guard, and he did a great job. So much fun watching him do something he enjoys! Watching them win was an added bonus too.

During the first half of the game we got to spend time with his Powerlifting coach, it was a blast catching up with him and hearing how excited he is for their team this season.

Dominic joined Becky and I for the game which was pretty sweet! All three of us had fun talking and joking while watching, an added bonus gif sure!

The day itself was a pretty solid day, capping it off with the fans like that was awesome!

Thanks!!!

Day 3,615

How much of life is spent in a state of normal? Caught in the well worn ruts of our usual routine? Stuck in the gravitational pull of the same old?

Sometimes we need to shock the system by getting outside of the routine. Maybe it is travel, a change of scenery, or possibly a moment of deep awareness that awakens something within us. In that moment, the shroud of normalcy lifts and we have a clear vision of what should be or could be.

Throughout my day I’ve had the benefit of getting outside of the normal and it’s help me attain more clarity.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,614

Growth:

Control what I can control. As frustrations and challenges appear remember that they are without context – I determine if they are frustrating or opportunities to learn and grow (or both!). Take a deep breath, zoom out, see the issue as if it were happening to someone else, without emotion, remember that in the big picture it is likely trivial, and act accordingly. Our attitude is the only thing in life we truly have control over, speed bumps are opportunities to exercise that muscle.

Appreciation:

Yoga, beautiful yoga! As life’s pace changes next year the addition of multiple yoga sessions each week will definitely be life changing! No matter where my mind is prior, during yoga the self eventually gets blown up, replaced only by the present. In that moment of breathing, sweating, twisting, stretching, and holding there is no space for stressors, no space for distraction. As the practice goes on the self slowly fades to the background, replaced by breath. Such a wonderful way to work out the mind, body, & soul!

Presence:

The feeling of total absorption on a project for a client, working through the best possible solution based on their unique challenges and a unique combination of strategies. Turning off the outside world to stay focused in that one singular task, getting into a state of flow.

Thanks!!!

Day 3,613

Growth:

Be clear on expectations, know what you are willing to accept and what you choose not to. When all else fails choose positivity and optimism, control what you can control.

Appreciation:

This may seem a little off or like a backhanded gratitude, but it is really not. I’m reminded today of how grateful I am to not drive 90+ minutes to work each way more than once a week. Just thinking back to how I used to drive 17 hours each week to and from my offices exhausts me! My life is so improved in so many ways by eliminating the wasted time on the road. Even when used for reading and calls it still never was an equal hour for hour comparison to working in the office and it chewed up so many hours of my home life. Glad I figured it out and made the shift!

Presence:

Running in the rain well before sunrise with Becky. Playing a game of cards with Gavin while winding down the day. Wonderful bookends to the day!

Thanks!!!