“People only see the present through the lenses of their personal pasts.”
Max Brooks, Devolution
Appreciation:
Nothing like getting into an engaging conversation with people who are completely present throughout. Spending time learning about each other, sharing ideas and viewpoints, bringing up old memories, enjoying each others company. No specific agenda or goal, only sharing time together while staying present and without distraction. The best of times shared with others!
Presence:
Another day of hiking led to an awesome pelican experience!
Spending hours outside doing physical work, enjoying the smells of fresh cut pine, hearing the birds talk, being completely disconnected, and 100% present in each moment… what other paradise on Earth is needed?
It was not a vacation, yet so many similarities in the stirring of my soul. Many memories of times outdoors with loved ones intermingled with new experiences.
How little we actually need to be happy, how much joy can be created through work.
So easy to see when someone else has pushed themselves to the edge and need to take time to rest and recover, so much more difficult to see it in ourselves.
Appreciation:
I so love those moments in which you can see the tangible results of all of the hard work, focus, and energy someone has poured into to a goal or dream pay off in dramatic fashion.
Presence:
Hearing Gavin’s excitement over some incredible news as he crushed a goal… outstanding!!!
All of the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.
St Francis of Assisi
Appreciation:
This was quite the day for quite a few reasons. What I think I’m most grateful for today (outside of the usual) is the growth that comes through challenge. While happy times are delightful it is really in challenging situations in which we grow. Here’s to the discomfort that leads to growth!
Presence:
Tonight Becky took me to watch The Letter: A Message for Our Earth. It was engaging, enlightening, and moved me to tears. This one is going to stick with me for quite a while.
Get things done when the spirit moves you. While I was still damp with sweat after our run I felt like diving into my work for the day so I did just that and had an amazingly productive start to the day!
Appreciation:
I’m now remembering the differences between powerlifting season and track season 🤪. Thus evening I’m exhausted and easy for bed and it’s not even 8pm yet. After a late night at track followed by a late dinner and then a late bed time I was back up and moving by 4:40am for our morning run. I’m exhausted!
All that said, it is one of those good exhaustions, kind of like after working out. It is for good purpose, very intentional, and 110% worthwhile.
Here’s to the long days and nights, I’m enjoying soaking them in while I have the opportunity!
Presence:
Winding down for the night on the couch, curled up with a good book – a great way to spend part of the evening!
So easy to learn from observing others and considering the advice we would offer them, so often it is what we need to hear ourselves.
Appreciation:
I’m very grateful for the ongoing focus I’ve put on weekly and monthly personal goals. As a result I was able to sneak in some extra mileage and get more prepared for an upcoming adventure. Without that focus I likely would have made other choices either my time.
Simple, simple, simple. Don’t overcomplicate that which should be simple.
Appreciation:
Funny how the very things we think and write about can come back to be useful sources of inspiration and guidance. As I work through some challenges I stumbled upon some old notes I’d written and it was interesting seeing the potential positive impact of following my own advice!
Does it make me smart for giving good advice or a moron for not taking my own advice sooner? 😉
If we truly want to grow into the people we are called to be we must learn to love everyone, especially those we don’t agree with. This doesn’t mean capitulate to their beliefs if they are harming others, but rather love them help guide them towards loving others as we all should. We must go first if they are to follow.
I’m still very much struggling with this personally as I want to just write off those who seem to be guided by fear, but that is not right. I must love them lest I am in the same situation as I’m trying to help.
As a very wise person is once known to have said,
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother ‘s eye.
Appreciation:
Waking up without an alarm. Making a hot breakfast and drinking fresh coffee. Finishing an audiobook while doing the weekly house cleaning. Making a quick stop to plan a project and then heading to church. Lunch as a family and then off to a hike in one of our favorite parks. Working on prepping for a camping trip while making supper. Relaxing on the couch and reading. Heading to bed early. A very full Sunday, perfectly ordinary, everything I’d hoped for!
Presence:
The time of stillness and calm in the woods, the opportunity for the mind to freely wander without distraction of busyness, goals, and whatnot, to create the space for introspection. Moments of calm in the woods, medicine for the soul.
The more I review my goals the more focused on them I stay, the more disciplined I am, the more intentional I act. Review them daily, they will help guide my way.
Appreciation:
Out of the blue we got a text from Dominic that he was going to be home for a while, what an awesome surprise! The five of us (& a couple of dogs) got a bonus chunk of hours together, laughing, talking, walking, playing games, and relaxing. Who could ask for more? Always grateful for bonus time like that!
Presence:
The moment when life is lived into its purpose, a moment and smile shared with a loved one who is no longer with us physically but their presence is still deeply felt. A reminder of all the really matters in live. Love shared.
I remember spending hours curled up with a good book when I was a kid. The story would wrap itself up all around me and keep a firm grasp on me until I finished it. In high school I read a novel from cover to cover from after practice until late in the evening, I just couldn’t let it go. There are still a fans full of those books on my shelves, reminders of the joy I found in reading so long ago.
Over the past few weeks I’ve allowed myself to get more wrapped up in reading than I have in a while. As I pore over the pages I can’t seem to let the story go. There’s something so calming about going to a book rather than the news, social media, television, sports, and whatnot. A sense of lasting, of enduring. More of a sense of truth, of reality.
Reading is like a hike in the woods for my brain, an opportunity to breathe, to exercise, and to experience.
Thankful for Forty 