While on our upcoming vacation I’m going to take my family through a little training session as a part practice and part family enrichment exercise. This evening I was compiling the info and prepping for the training and I was smiling the entire time.
When in doubt if whether something is truly a passion or not one need only look at whether they are so fired up about something that they will work on it on a Sunday night voluntarily AND feel more joyful as a result.
Appreciation:
Dominic spent almost two hours making his lunches for the week and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards. He really has been getting the full “adulting” experience with his weekly meal prep and it has me smiling. These moments are an excellent opportunity for him to continue to transition towards being a completely independent adult while still having support all around.
Presence:
Becky and I took Leia for a walk this morning, so relaxing being outside while the weather was perfect! The road we typically walk her on was closed to cars so we had even more chill time in the woods. With the crazy hyper pace we’ll be sprinting until Saturday morning this was a welcome moment of calm together.
Lead by example. Do the right thing. Admit mistakes. Learn and grow. Go outside the comfort zone.
Appreciation:
Spending time at the Wisconsin State Track Meet was wildly rewarding. So motivating to see all the athletes giving their all in the culmination of their hard work throughout the season.
Presence:
The moment we saw the pole vaulter from all the way across the shot put pit and the track launch himself into the air to become the first Wisconsin high schooler to ever fly over a 17’ 2” bar. The roar of celebration from thousands. All the athletes and spectators picking their jaws up off the ground. Truly remarkable!
Is the universe putting more opportunity in front of me or am I just finally opening my eyes and becoming aware of what has been all around me this whole time? Regardless of the answer, how cool to see bread crumbs leading me in the right direction from so many different sources recently!
Appreciation:
What a feeling when the work day is full of work that brings much joy and almost the entirety of it is spent in a state of flow! So many things worked out better than expected, there were many unanticipated wins, and each time I went outside of my comfort zone and tried something new I was rewarded with growth and/or success. Remembering to rely on the strengths of others really paid off over and over again, as well as looking back to past experiences to help direct right action. An awesome day all around!
Presence:
I’m going in a fairly different direction on this one today. There was a moment of awareness when I was about to move into another task. Rather than jumping in I opted to pause and let my brain chill, to do something distracting rather than productive. Though it was only for a moment I caught myself in the act of the process and did some quick self assessment on why I was choosing to waste a couple of minutes rather than be productive. It was an interesting moment of insight, one which will help me make better choices in the future.
Nothing like a little awareness to bring immediate presence!
There’s a huge gap between intentionally living towards a goal and drifting towards wherever life decides to take us. While there’s nothing wrong with drifting we can’t be certain that we will head in the right direction. When living towards a goal we need to maintain flexibility to be grateful for something close to the goal we wanted as life doesn’t always allow exactly what we want… but it will more often be closer to the original goal than just following the drift.
Live intentionally, move in the direction of big dreams on purpose. Adjust the sails as needed, be flexible.
Appreciation:
When we get outside of ourselves and remember that we can accomplish more with others it is amazing how the world seems to open itself up to us! Over the past two days there have been several times in which I normally would have taken something on myself rather than “bother” someone else with the task. Instead I’ve been intentional in keeping myself open and listening for opportunities to let others help towards a common goal. The more I listen the more people want to jump in and the more joy we all have as we accomplish more than we would have individually. What fun!
I wrote about this concept of allowing others the opportunity to help, funny that I am still slowly but surely starting to work on living into that better almost seven years later!
Presence:
When I was a kid, mowing the lawn was the WORST!!! Not only was it tedious, but I was so allergic to the grass, dust, & mold that I would be stuffed up for days afterwards.
As an adult, what a relaxing and chill recreational activity! Put in my earbuds, listen to a little music, savor some outdoor time, feel productive with minimal effort, AND my allergies have pretty much disappeared. This evening was a reminder of how much I enjoy the time outside!
Read wide and then read deep. Get as many different flavors and ideas going in my brain as possible, let them continue to bounce off each, allow them to marinate, and when the timing is right dive deep into the books which are most connected.
I’m continually amazed by the ability of a book I skimmed through over a decade ago to quickly come roaring back to top of mind when it finds the right combination of new ideas and challenges.
Appreciation:
When the right idea or opportunity presents itself it is interesting to see how many signs point in that direction. Today there were three conversations which all led back to another crazy idea I’m hatching!
Presence:
Driving through three distinct downpours, seeing a steady stream of blue skies followed by clouds followed by blue skies followed by clouds, and observing a rainbow painted on a tapestry of rain of the past downpour was amazing!!!
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.
