“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.
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!
Create space for stillness, room for your mind and soul to open and relax, to not have something which must be done, but rather, to just exist, to be. Sit still, let your mind go, and allow yourself to just be present in the moment. In that quiet, in that stillness – past the initial discomfort of the silence – is joy, your soul, being.
Appreciation:
Being at home today was so rejuvenating! Doing our normal Sunday activities, spending time at home, eating at our table, doing odds and ends around home. Exactly what was needed to get back up to speed after the past week of seemingly nonstop travel.
As I wrap up the night and prepare for bed I am pausing to enjoy some quiet in the living room all alone. It is quiet, I’ve got some excellent music playing (M83 – Outro: https://youtu.be/C0d_74wweFg?si=8ulVjkneFfpHdMB3 ) and I’ve been taking time to allow my mind to be still. Time alone with my thoughts, time with no expectation of progress or result, time existing. So much of what I needed!
Presence:
Those little moments of sharing bits of knowledge learned from others being passed on to others. A nexus of past experiences lived in the present moment with the hope of living again in the future. As simple and mundane as those moments may seem at times they are the points of wonderful memory. today it was in helping to show Gavin how to change windshield wipers and replace the broken glass of a side mirror. In the past it was working with Dad on how to change the air filter. Nothing special in of the moment itself, but beautiful as I step back and savor the memories of the past, enjoy the moment as it happens, and hope that the memory will repeat itself in the future.
In an homage to The Obstacle is the Way I found way to turn a frustrating construction induced traffic jam into an engaging use of the “bonus” time… Nothing like reconnecting with my little brother when our work and life schedules have kept us apart for a while! Rather than wasting energy on stressing over the delay I was able to spend time laughing hard, shooting the bull, and taking a moment to find much needed levity on a heavy day.
Appreciation:
We always have a choice to make, how we will respond to whatever hand we’ve been dealt. These choices aren’t always easy, we often have to choose between the difficult or more difficult decision.
In either case, we must first start with a sense of reality and acceptance of what is happening. We must pause, observe it for what it is – simply an action / issue / challenge – and withhold judgement on whether it is good or bad. The issue is simply what it is, we choose the perspective to attach to it (or choose not to). Once we see it clearly, as it is without our filter applied to it, we can then determine the action to take, the choice to be made.
Throughout this year I’ve been focusing on seeing with clarity. As a natural optimist it is so easy to get an unrealistically positive impression of something. I must focus more on seeing with reality first, and then applying the positivity to the decision. Adding positivity to the challenge itself doesn’t help, it actually hurts. See the issues with clarity and without judgement first, make a decision, and then maintain positivity in the potential outcome while still preparing for failure.
Today I lived into that and it made all the difference.
Presence:
The Black River was sublimely calm this morning as Becky and I struck out on our early morning run. The pre-sunrise painted sky was reflected perfectly in the mirror glass of the water. We were able to look out and see exactly where five fish had jumped almost at once, their ripples all emanating from the launching points. So chill, so calm, so perfect a start to the day.
All great transformations in life start with a very simple step, the awareness of a gap between who we are and who we could be.
If we don’t have awareness we don’t realize how badly we could use the change. We are don’t know that there’s a gap, a place to grow into. This can be such a frustrating moment, unhappy and not seeing a better path forward. We can even begin to feel helpless, constantly fighting against the tide.
Once we have the moment of awareness we can move forward, but can also feel so daunting or impossible. The gap may be significantly larger than we’d thought, possibly on the border of impossible. In its own way, this can be almost more demoralizing than not having awareness as it seems profoundly difficult to grasp.
Once we have the moment of awareness, once we can see across the chasm of where we are versus where we are we should be, we need to put our heads down and focus only on the single footstep ahead. See that spot twelve inches in front of us, will our foot to lift, our leg to move forward, and the foot comes down. One small step, but the greatest step after awareness – the first step! Celebrate it!!! We’ve made our trip across the gap a little shorter AND now we know we have the strength to take a step.
Now take another step, then another. Slow but steady progress, gaining momentum. You’ve got this. After s dozen or so steps look up to make sure you’re still headed the right way, and then head back down and focus on the twelve inches in front of you. In seemingly no time you will make significant progress.
All that progress, all started with a moment of awareness, all started with one tiny and small step.
Over the past 3,424 days I’ve taken tiny steps daily, pausing to reflect on what I appreciate. Each day is one tiny step forward, motion towards closing the gap.
Today I had a conversation with a friend that reminded me to pause and appreciate the momentum I’ve built over the past nine plus years. As I reflect on the journey my mind is blown. This all started with the awareness that I was not happy, in so many ways I felt empty, like a fraud, unsatisfied, always in pursuit of more. I was not in a good place mentally and emotionally. Awareness came first, the awareness of unhappiness and a gigantic gap on the other side of which was full of joy. I wanted to cross. It seemed impossible, but I took one step. And the another. And then more which led to today. The gap is still there, but I’ve made progress.
Awareness, action. One small step at a time leads to profound growth over years.
Appreciation:
Sometimes I get so frustrated I just want to quit. When I get in those funks they can be difficult to get out of. What I’ve found interesting recently is that every time I have felt this way recently I find that the reason for the frustration is something well under my control, something I have the ability to change. I just have pause, breathe, zoom out, look at the situation from afar, have awareness, give myself grace to be frustrated, and then change it.
Today there were several moments in which I saw clearly I was in a perfect position to live into my purpose, to live towards the goal which brings me the most joy and fulfillment, which almost can’t help but pull me across the gap to where I should be.
To all those who brought me a smile, warmed my soul, reminded me of purpose, and helped in so many ways to get out of my own way while simultaneously helping to guide me back to the right path – thank you. Today was a beautiful day, a +2 day, thanks to you!
Presence:
This morning I had a tight deadline for a client. It would be just enough time, but not so much I could take my time. As luck would have it Dominic happened to send a text “Some great hype up songs for your day!” His timing was impeccable. I closed my door, put in my noise canceling AirPods, and proceeded to “massage” my ear drums with wave after wave of excellent music. My field of vision narrowed to only the project and I truly crushed it. With only fifteen minutes to spare I took out the AirPods, inhaled deeply and let it roll in my chest, and turn exhaled slowly as I punched the Send button.
An hour or two of being in a total state flow, consumed by the task at hand without distraction. Glorious!
Where do I choose to put my focus and energy? Life is full of situations, challenges, moments, and unexpected changes. Whatever they may be there is always a choice to make – what attitude will I choose? Once that mindset is chosen there is another choice to make – where do I put my focus and my energy?
In the moments when everything is going well it is so easy to make the right choices. When life becomes increasingly more complex it becomes more difficult to default to the right option.
As I navigate my current reality I’m also reminded to give myself grace throughout. While I can always work and strive to choose wisely there will likely always be times when I stumble. When I trip it is so easy to focus on that and then slowly spiral down. In those moments when I fall I must remember to give myself grace, take a step back to have better awareness of what happened, learn from it, and then move forward. That’s the appropriate choice after choosing poorly.
Appreciation:
Spending time talking with others about their adventures, their travels, and their dreams is always so enlightening! When hearing how others are maximizing their lives and living into their dreams I can’t help but have a heart full of joy and feel more motivated to grow into that myself. So much of our joy is truly to be found only within ourselves and independent of others, yet sharing time with those who live the way you wish to so quickly amplifies our joy as well. Tonight I’m grateful for the moments over the past few days in which I’ve been surrounded by those in noble pursuit of joy and living their dreams, they’ve warmed my heart for sure!
Presence:
On my drive home from work my mind was racing a million miles per hour and I was feeling very overwhelmed. As I happen to glance to my left I noticed the full moon rising over the Mississippi River Valley. It was stunningly vibrant, while simultaneously softened by the clouds. The silvery reflection off the snow, ice, and bluffs was simply breathtaking!
While I’ve been tracking many things to start the year I am far from putting up a perfect score for a week, let alone a single day. What’s been most important to me is the pausing to be aware of my thoughts, my emotions, my actions, and my mindset. While there’s a very long way to go I’m seeing the little bits of progress like walking by the Butterfingers bars in the candy dish over half a dozen times rather than grabbing one or two every other trip by. That alone is not going to get me to the fitness standards I want to get to for my backpacking trips, but it certainly helps a little bit each time. Small changes that will all keep adding up over time with daily tracking to keep each action at the top of mind. Even when I fail I’m able to learn from the mistake and figure out a different plan for next time.
Appreciation:
I often mentioned the benefits of writing a blog post each day. The unintentional tracking of life, events, adventures, trials, triumphs, and everything in between has become a wonderful tool for reflection and growth. Sometimes I pull up a random post and read the posts that follow, so many memories are quickly rekindled. This has become a gift to myself, the bread crumbs my mind will need to bring back memories when I want to savor them.
Additionally, there’s another interesting benefit when I couple them with an AI tool, ChatGPT. I had ChatGPT review my blog posts, scour them for their content, and then asked a simply task: Review each calendar year of posts and write a tagline / theme for each year based on what I blogged about. The results were uncanny and certainly thought provoking! Not perfect, but interesting to see what a completely unbiased outside observer thought of my posts 🙂
2015:“Embarking on a Journey: The First Steps into Daily Gratitude.”
2016:“Building Foundations: Establishing a Habit, Discovering Joy.”
2017:“Trials and Triumphs: Choosing Gratitude Amidst Life’s Tests.” – This was the year I lost Dad
2018:“Deepening the Practice: Unveiling Layers of Thankfulness.”
2019:“Embracing the Everyday: Finding Beauty in the Mundane.”
2020:“Resilience in Reflection: Gratitude During Global Uncertainty.”
2021:“Renewal and Growth: Gratitude Fuels Personal Evolution.”
2022:“Strengthening Connections: Thankfulness in Relationships.”
2023:“Mindful Moments: Savoring the Present Through Gratitude.”
2024:“Less is More: Appreciating Simplicity and Presence.”
2025:“A Decade of Thanks: Reflecting on Ten Years of Gratitude.”
Presence:
One of the books I’m currently reading, The Humans by Matt Haig has totally wrapped me up in itself. Time seems to fly by as I get completely lost in the story. I find myself laughing out loud at the humor, having my emotions deeply moved by certain themes, and have to stop for a moment to soak in the concepts just shared. So much fun getting completely enthralled in great stories!
Thankful for Forty 