“The secret of the mountain is that the mountains simply exist, as I do myself: the mountains exist simply, which I do not. The mountains have no “meaning,” they are meaning; the mountains are. The sun is round. I ring with life, and the mountains ring, and when I can hear it, there is a ringing that we share. I understand all this, not in my mind but in my heart, knowing how meaningless it is to try to capture what cannot be expressed, knowing that mere words will remain when I read it all again, another day.”
Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard
Appreciation:
What a nonstop thrill ride of a day! This has been a runaway train full of productivity, all towards a good cause. That said, I am exhausted and ready to crash. This bit of time on the couch blogging is about the only moment of stillness I’ve had throughout the day. To have a nonstop day is to be very present, very focused on the moment and what is at hand. As I write about later, the moments in which I was not as focused were the moments in which I lost presence and was ocused on what was lacking.
Busyness towards a good cause – a pathway to presence.
Presence:
Pausing to consider my thoughts and emotions, why do I feel this way or that? When feeling unpleasant / unhappy today I realized that the emotions were caused by a “lack” of something. Something wasn’t happening like I’d wished, I wasn’t getting what I wanted. In the moment I realized the unhappiness was caused by lack it was as if a spotlight were shown upon it, I saw it for what it was, and I was able to choose differently.
What we are aware of we can control, what we are not aware of is control of us. Today I’m grateful for the moments of awareness in which I was able to shed a light on my mindset and make a better choice. Here’s to the brief moments of clarity we all hope to cultivate more frequently.
Appreciation was the main theme of toady’s sermon at church and it was a winner! Father John shared examples of how this past week had been a series of struggles, unexpected obstacles in what was planned to be a relatively relaxed week. Throughout those challenges he did as much as could, controlled as much as he could, and then finally have to give in and allow space for help. While he focused on that being the space in which God helped, I saw it slightly differently.
After he tried to do something on his own it was only after he failed when he asked for help. When the help was provided he found gratitude in that space, an appreciation for the help. How true this is in so many ways! What if we all learned to accept help sooner in order to work through a difficulty?
Another note that caught my attention and resonated with the concepts fo so many of the books and stories I’ve read lately – we grow most and have the most to be thankful for when struggle, when we face adversity. That is when we are pushed to grow, to receive help, to see we are not alone, and to be grateful.
So much to take away from this one, I’m glad it is recorded so I can go back and re-listen and absorb it more deeply.
Appreciation:
This afternoon I skipped the Packer game and focused on working on my dream list. Rather than taking in a game I realized my time would be better spent ensuring I was working on the right goals for the upcoming years. It started off a bit uncomfortable, I struggled to get the list up and running. With each successive dream recorded I gained momentum. The sunlight on my face while sitting on the deck, the music playing quietly in the background, and the fresh air provided the perfect environment to stay focused on shaping my future.
While I typically wait until the beginning of the year to reset my dream list I realized last year that there was a benefit to getting this rolling early as I start my annual planning process for 2026. Crazy to think that 2026 is only two and a half months away! If I want to live into my best life I need to remember to put the focus on intentionality and planning. Glad I did both this afternoon!
Presence:
While Becky and I had our mini-date on Friday and Saturday I had a nice pocket of one on one time with Gavin today. Nothing crazy, eating lunch together while watching football. Joking around and playing some cards. No real deep conversation, just enjoying each others company.
There are not too many of these times left, I remember how quickly Dominic’s senior year flew by. The inertia of time somehow continued to increase throughout that school year and was gone before I knew it. To have the opportunity share a pocket of time with Gavin like this was sublime!
Such a perfectly eloquent quote by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451:
We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing.
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
This quote coupled with a couple of recent articles and a podcast or two really hit home. In so many ways we each already have everything we need to be happy – maybe joyful is the more appropriate term. We could feel fulfilled with all that we have in this present moment if we choose to. Instead we allow want / desire / greed / fear / envy get in the way and cloud our judgement, they block our gratitude.
Should we choose gratitude we have all we need right now in this present moment and in every present moment moving forward. When we try to sate our hunger for more by buying more we only push ourselves further from joy.
We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing… Appreciation for what we have.
Appreciation:
As one of my teammates put it this morning as we talked about a book we are both reading based in the mid 1800’s based in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico:
“This book makes me grateful to be alive NOW as opposed to any other time”
No kidding!!! When we think of the challenges we face daily and then compare them to that specific timeframe and location I’m also grateful for being alive now as opposed to then, no question!
One of the reasons I enjoy the occasional historical fiction is the ability to see times long past through the eyes of today. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy is staggering in its ability to punch me in the gut over and over and over… and this is the second time I have read it!
What also really blew my mind today was learning how much of it was based on real life people and their stories! It is nothing short of ridiculous to think we used to be at such a different place as a people and culture.
Nice to pause and be grateful to be alive now, today.
Presence:
Nothing like a surprise visit from a friend bearing a batch of pumpkin rolls to start off a morning in the office!!! Thank you so much to Trissa for an awesome conversation AND delicious treats to boot! There may have been a few more than a few during the day, maybe one or two on the ride home, and definitely more at home. Always fun spending time catching up with some of the people who’ve left an onngoing positive impact!
Quite often we talk about learning from our heroes, wanting to exhibit their courage, strength, wisdom and whatnot. Just as often we can learn from everyone – including our heroes – on how we would prefer not to act, on how not to treat others, and on how to let our personal fears negatively impact our ability to love others.
We can learn from both halves, we each are both halves. Rather idolizing our heroes, remember to learn from all of our human failings. We all fail, we all struggle, we all act without love and kindness.
When we see that may ew also remember not to return their actions with similar actions of our own. Learn from the experience they’ve given, act as you’d hoped they would have.
Appreciation:
Two parter for today as there are a couple of points to cover in my blog to help remind “Future Mike” of why I was grateful today.
First off, I am most grateful to those who have reached out to regarding the impact of the government shutdown. Even a short message, text, or quick phone call helps others see that they are not alone. Those acts of kindness may seem so tiny to the person providing them, but they can make a huge positive impact on the person who really needs to hear them at the right moment.
Second, I appreciate my reminder to give myself grace, to remember the intent behind the goal, and to take care of myself from a mental standpoint. With so much going on my mind was racing as I listened to my audiobook on my drive north this morning. I quickly became frustrated with my inability to focus on the book which in turn added more stress which added more things for me to get frustrated about. After a quick facepalm I shut off the book, turned on some music, and sang and relaxed while I drove. I then turned everything off and thought through the challenges and created my action plans. Finally, I went back to reading and was able to stay completely present. Slow down Kreiling!
Presence:
Sitting on the deck with Becky on an unusually warm October evening, relaxing, reading my beloved copy of Fahrenheit 451 as the sun goes down. Hearing the sounds of nature, taking in the fresh air, simultaneously completely absorbed in the exquisite writings of Ray Bradbury. Each page causes me to pause for a moment to step back to the ledge upon which I see across into reality and down into the story, the horizon a mixing of the two realities. I melt into both.
Sometimes life can be rough, dishing out things we really would prefer not to have to deal with. We don’t have a choice in these events that happen, but we do have the choice of how we will respond to them. Will we face them with a positive attitude or will we let them cause negativity?
As I drove home tonight I was very frustrated, the government shutdown is particularly maddening – for a variety of reasons. I caught myself getting worked into such a lather that I couldn’t focus on my audiobook. As I sat in anger and silence I realized that I was missing something. I am not in control of what is happening, but I can control how I respond to it. My response was lackluster, if only I had already started working on a way to get my mindset in the right place 😉
With that stroke of insight I literally chuckled to myself and decided it was time for me to hone my own practice. The following is where that took me. Fun fact, it just follows the same blog order I do each day.
Growth (What can I learn from this?):
This is an opportunity to control my emotions, to choose intentionality over emotion. Rather than responding with worry to what I cannot control why not take a moment to appreciate how I can grow through this. This is a chance for me to learn to relinquish control, to accept what is happening and then choose how to respond correctly. Rather than being angry how can I channel this into growth? I can learn to better control my emotions, I can learn to accept reality, I can learn to find ways to best make an argument, I can learn how to better help others see the error of certain actions, I can help people see how fear leads to hate and how love is the real answer (which means accepting others – all others). I can pause and consider how so many of our greatest humans heave thought – how would Jesus, Buddha, the Dalai Lama, and Muhammad handle this situation? What would their advice be?
This is a unique opportunity to get outside of myself, consider the wider perspective, and then determine how to act accordingly. This is an opportunity grow into the person I should be, to close the gap a little.
Appreciation (How can I be thankful, even in this challenge?):
If I can find a way to grow through this I’ve already started to find a way I can appreciate this moment. I am certainly not grateful that this bad thing has happened, but I can be thankful for an opportunity to learn and grow. I can pause and think about all of the past difficult times I’ve gone through in my life and see how each of those – even though they’ve hurt in the moment – have led to some of the greatest moments of growth in my life.
Difficult things suck, no question, but they are the furnaces our souls are forged within. This challenge is an opportunity to grow into a better version of me, an opportunity to work through the discomfort to see what I am truly made of. I can be grateful for anything, including and especially this frustration.
Presence (How can I stay focused in the moment, even when it is difficult?):
It would be so easy to gloss over this, to say it really isn’t so bad. I could numb myself with distractions and just not think about it. I could choose toxic optimism (which is really a thing) and delude myself into thinking this is not a big deal. All of that would be so easy, but it would be a complete waste of an opportunity.
If I know I can learn from this, if I know I can grow through this, if I know I can be thankful even in this challenge, I can be present in the moment. I can soak in all of the anger, pain, hurt, frustration, all of it, and then transform it into something truly beautiful, into growth, into a display of love over hate. I can only really grow in this moment if I am present in it, an active and intentional participant. If I am strong, I stay intentionally focused, and I choose to be completely present it will hurt, for sure, but that is where I know I will actually grow. In that pain I will find growth, I will find appreciation, but only if I am present in it.
And that was how I worked myself through this. I took it apart, I worked through the circle of Growth to Appreciation to Presence and back around. By the time I got home I was still very frustrated, but I was able to find joy in moments of growth, in moments of appreciation, and in the present moment.
In moments of frustration we all have a choice to make. Choose to mind the GAP, choose Growth, Appreciation, and Presence. Choose joy and love.
This is it, tonight’s post marks the 3,652nd straight day of blogging about at least one thing I am grateful for – one full decade of daily gratitude blogging is complete! So crazy that I can still remember the very first day of blogging and how I hoped to keep it going for one year (or at least a few months).
Taking time to pause real life to focus on what I am thankful for has had a more profound positive impact on my life than I ever initially thought it could. This process has helped me through incredibly difficult times (like Dad’s sudden and very unexpected death). This process has helped me better appreciate the incredibly excellent times (like all the milestones with Becky and the boys). This process has also helped me be so much more thankful for all of the ordinary days filled with work, yoga, outside time, and whatnot. Had it not been for this ongoing effort to be more intentionally thankful there are so many moments I would have missed or at least missed the deeper meaning of.
Each day the focus on appreciation shifts the filter of my brain as I know each day I will be accountable to myself for blogging about something I am grateful for, this means each of my mornings start off with the question, “what am I going to be thankful for today?” That subtle behavior shift causes me to start looking for the upside in everything right off the bat.
Throughout the past decade I’ve also unintentionally created a journal of my life. Stories I would have potentially forgotten have been recorded to go back to, to remind me of so many of the simple treasures in life. Taking time to go back and read them reminds me of where I’ve been, remind me of lessons to remember, and bring back so many smiles.
This daily process has also helped me learn what is truly important in life. “Stuff” doesn’t bring joy, enjoying what we already have does. The concept of joy being “wanting what we have rather than having what we want” has become so clear to me. The more I am grateful for what I have the more I realize the less I actually need. Quite often the introduction of that which I do not need leads to additional stress and anxiety, certainly the opposite of joy.
The more I’ve blogged the more I realize how much I appreciate time with Becky and my boys, spending time with outdoors in motion, taking in the simple moments of stillness in life. A good book, an emotion provoking song, a sweaty yoga session, a hike. Even writing – something I never enjoyed before this blog – has become one of my sanctums of joy. My joy doesn’t come from shiny things, from approval of others, or status and achievement, rather it comes from appreciating time with my family, time alone in thought, and all the splendor and beauty of the natural world.
This daily process, this time for daily reflection, has become a cornerstone of who I am. It has helped me work on closing the gap between who I am and who I am called to be. This daily gratitude journaling has helped me become a more joyful me.
Cheers to the first decade of this daily appreciation process, and I look forward to decades to come!
Cut out all the distractions, put 100% focus into the task at hand, be amazed at how quickly you can slip into a flow state – even when it is something you typically don’t enjoy! Working on a project today reminded me of how important all of those components are and how they all work in unison to generate a very fulfilling and productive result.
Appreciation:
Each night before bed I pause and fill out a scorecard for the day. Yes, totally nerdy, but 100+% more effective than I realized!
Knowing I’ll be tracking and scoring myself late leads to behavior change on its own, a very positive and worthwhile endeavor there on its own.
What is really interesting to me is how much that daily tracking has become an unintentional journaling process which is helping me learn more about myself! As I analyzed my scorecard results form this year I learned some very interesting things. Here are some of those:
Joy spikes with people + nature + progress. Your +2 days almost always include one or more of: time with Becky/your boys, outside time/hiking/van days, and meaningful progress (training teammates, closing new clients, backpacking planning, sunrise hunting).
Joy dips with screens, over-packed weeks, and “drift.” Your -1/-2 entries regularly mention doomscrolling/screens/games, driving/commutes, too many meetings, sleep debt, being sick, and negativity (politics, conflict, or misaligned teammates/clients).
Intentional eating ≈ better days. When you log +1/+2 eating, Joy is typically ≥1. When eating is -1/-2, your notes often include “felt gross,” “junk food,” or “no exercise.”
Sleep is a quiet accelerator. The happiest streaks show ~7.5–9.0 hours. Sub-7 shows up around “exhausted / grumpy / mid.”
Movement helps—but being outdoors multiplies it. Plenty of +2 days have 60–180 min of activity, but the best ones call out woods, hiking, sunrise, van days—not just gym minutes.
Creative time correlates with meaning. Your best stretches include 1–3+ creative hours, especially when you’re writing, planning trips, or building trainings that become shared experiences.
More on this to follow as we near the end of the year!
Presence:
Running under the stars, feeling the cool air in my lungs, moving early in the morning. The early morning run was another win today! Nothing quite like it – being outside, quiet time with Becky, the world is asleep. We move through the darkness and are serenaded by the frogs and crickets. What else does one really need to live a joyful life? Time outdoors in motion and present in each moment.
Remember to put intentionality into where I spend my time. Minutes, hours, and days slip by so quickly if I don’t pause and consider whether I’m intentionally using the them the right way. Stay focused on my goals – both long and short term – and act accordingly with urgency. Don’t let it slip away.
One day, my father, he told me, “Son, don’t let it slip away” He took me in his arms, I heard him say “When you get older, your wild heart will live for younger days Think of me if ever you’re afraid”
Avicii, The Nights
Appreciation:
Along the lines of remembering what is important – I am especially grateful for taking action to do just that today! Between scheduling a weekend for camping with a lifelong friend, choosing to be present and moving early in the morning, taking time to shut down everything except playing a game with Gavin, being focused and present in a conversation with Dominic on Facetime, being there for others as needed, and planning ahead for an adventure (maybe two) I spent a lot of time on working towards where I want to be going, on my purpose, and towards my dreams. Here’s to a day that was largely focused on moving forward with intentionality with a whole lot of fun in the now throughout!
Presence:
Taking the time to go for a five mile walk to start off the morning is always the right answer (unless I’m either running or hiking or yoga is an option). Getting up and getting moving, spending time without a phone or a screen, alternating between interacting with Becky and letting my thoughts drift. It’s almost a walking meditation, letting go of everything else and living exclusively in the now.
Regardless of the decisions I’ll make throughout the rest of the day I know I started the right way, I chose action, and I chose moving stillness.
So often all we need is all around us, it is up to us to LISTEN for the answer. I was caught off guard while re-reading one of my favorite books today. They very briefly hit upon the concept of “Assuming positive intent,” and the profoundly positive impact this can have on our lives and interactions.
Rather than immediately assuming “the other side” is trying to destroy our nation/world what if we instead paused and considered their actions/words from the starting point of assuming positive intent. Why are they responding as they are? What is the underlying issue leading them down this path? Quite often it is likely similar to our own reasons – just executed differently. If we assume positive intent we can more easily listen to understand rather than listen to prove wrong.
This will be in the forefront of my mind – assume positive intent before being so quick to judge.
Appreciation:
Part way through my drive up north this morning I realized I needed some music therapy for my soul. I like to utilize my drive time as learning time, focusing on how to improve myself with what could so easily be dead time rather than alive time. I feel more productive when I spend the time filling my brain with ideas, pausing to digest and consider what I’ve learned.
This morning I needed to spend some time in quiet calm, listening to music to relax my mind and soul. It was time for some therapy, some rejuvenation. I found it in music. For almost half an hour I went from song to song to soak up the energy I needed to feel recharged and ready for the day.
By the time I got to the office my head and heart were in the right palce to dive in and make a positive impact.
Presence:
With so much discontent and anger and hate and divisiveness in our world I found sanctuary and solace in M83’s song Outro.
While driving to the Eau Claire office this morning I almost had to pull the car over as I was completely overcome with the emotion of pure love and connectedness with all people and all creation while this song reached its crescendo.
Pause your life, shut everything else off, turn on this song, close your eyes, and feel the love and connection you have with all people. I hope you will be moved as I was – awakened in the love of the connections we all share.
When it is my time to go this song (from 1:30 on) will be the last music my soul plays before moving on. Beautiful, breathtaking.
No matter how deeply we disagree with someone’s ideas, murder is never the answer.
No matter how much we disagree with someone’s ideas murder is never the answer. There are so many other ways to deal with disagreement, taking a life cannot be the resolution.
Tonight a family has lost their dad due to hate and fear.
There is always a better way of overcoming. As people face fear and hate with more fear and hate there is no positive end to the story, only a sickening spiral of more and more hate and fear. Is it so difficult to face fear with love instead?
Appreciation:
I don’t know about you, but when I think of “gratitude” and “appreciation” I usually think of happiness. That’s not always the case. Sometimes life hands us challenges so inconceivable that appreciation feels impossible. That said, those are so often the moments in which we have so much to be grateful for. We don’t have to be grateful for the tragedy itself—let’s be real, it sucked. But we can choose how to move forward. But we can’t change it once it has happened, we can only choose how to move forward, how to use that as an opportunity for growth.
Today was rough for me, much more than I ever would have expected, but I think it was largely because it caused a very necessary moment of awareness. While I wish Charlie Kirk would not have been killed, I cannot change it. I can remember this moment, remember the lessons learned about the true vile ugliness of hate and fear – regardless of whether you feel the other person is right or wrong – is never the right answer. Love is. Rather than lashing out in anger or in fear, reach out in love.
Presence:
Oof, this one hit hard today. I’m still not one hundred percent sure why this one after so many others, so many that one seems to almost become numb to all of the ongoing gun violence and loss of life. I wasn’t a fan of his—I disagreed with him on so many levels—but the sudden, instant loss of a life was still jarring. I really don’t have a better way of stating it, the clarity of that moment, the awareness of the wrongness… maybe it had more to do with the frustration and anger I’ve felt over so many things related to politics, seeing where it can go if completely unchecked and unhinged to such an insane extreme, made me instantly aware of how wrong my low level anger and fear are, how wrong I am to fight fear with fear rather than love.
In an instant, I saw where unchecked fear leads—and it was horrifying. Violence, hate, and fear are never the answer. Sometimes there will be pushback, disagreement, but it should always be with love rather than hate.
A wise man tried to teach us that 2,000 years ago—and we killed Him for it. His response was forgiveness. His response was love. That’s the path we should choose too: love over fear.
Thankful for Forty 