Tag: neil-gaiman

Thankful for a Hard Hitting Story, Living a Full Day, & Lighting

Day 3,775

Growth:

This morning I took Leia out for a run, bundled up from head to toe, even wearing Dominic’s snowboarding goggles to keep my eyeballs from freezing up. As we ran down one of her favorite trails I heard a part of American Gods by Neil Gaiman which has always struck a chord, but this time it almost brought me to tears.

If you have a copy of the book be sure to pause, skip ahead to Coming to America, 1778 at the end of Chapter 11. The first 2-3 pages will deliver a gut punch to the soul in the best possible way.

“There are stories that are true, in which each individual’s tale is unique and tragic, and the worst of the tragedy is that we have heard it before, and we cannot allow ourselves to feel it too deeply. We build a shell around it like an oyster dealing with a painful particle of grit, coating it with smooth pearl layers in order to cope. This is how we walk and talk and function, day in, day out, immune to others’ pain and loss. If it were to touch us it would cripple us or make saints of us; but, for the most part, it does not touch us. We cannot allow it to… …There are accounts which, if we open our hearts to them, will cut us too deeply.” Neil Gaiman, American Gods – Coming to America, 1778

Appreciation:

This has been a day of action, of moving forward, of busyness, of flow. Throughout the day I’ve been going almost nonstop with very little time to pause in between – and I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it! As I think about it I can’t help but think back to Jim Valvano’s speech and his insight: “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that is a full day.”

Today I’m grateful for having lived a full day!

Presence:

Several years ago I read Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson and it had a profound impact on a part of my life I was not expecting. In the book Isaacson shares how da Vinci would paint the same scene multiple times – and always at a different time of day in order to learn more about how the ever changing sunlight transforms the colors and the highlights of the scene. Ever since reading that nugget I can’t help but take a moment to appreciate the bluffs in the Mississippi River Valley on my drive each day with the sun changing the hues ever so slightly based on the exact time I drive past.

Yesterday was a seeming fire erupting from the horizon, today was golden lit bluff tops. Each morning and evening the lighting changes just a little, but just enough to amplify the majesty of the natural world all around me. I’ve made that drive at least 5,000 times and it never ceases to draw me in.

Huge thank you to Walter Isaacson for a wonderful bit of wisdom which has sustained and grown my appreciation for the natural world.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for a Surreal Moment in Parfrey’s Glen

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.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for a Neil Gaiman Quote, Those Who Help Me See Others More Clearly and with More Love, & Ordinary Time with Becky

Day 3,148

Growth:

What a beautiful quote by Neil Gaiman which takes just a moment to sink in.

If you, as a parent, raise your children well, they won’t need you anymore. If you did it properly, they go away.

Neil Gaiman

Appreciation:

I’m not quite sure how to put this one so I’m going to just type it and see how it comes out. Fingers crossed that it portrays the sense of profound appreciation I have for so many today.

For a variety of reasons I am deeply grateful for all of the people who have helped me step outside of myself and my very limited vision to see the larger scope of how we all fit together as people. I’ve been a slow learner and I haven’t always seen things as quickly or clearly as I would have hope. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time, shown the patience, and provided me the grace to slowly become aware of the different challenges all types of people face. Your patience, love, and faith in my heart have helped to grant me one of the most priceless gifts in the world, the seeds of awareness. Thank you for helping me step outside of myself, to see the world from different perspectives, and to slowly work towards closing the gap between who I am and who I am meant to be.

I have such a large distance to go to keep growing past my own filters of the world, please continue to help guide me, inform me, question me, support me, and love me throughout the successes and stumbles I have along the way. You have had a significant impact on my life, please know I am doing my best to pass it on others – especially my sons. Thank you for your patience and faith in my ability to become more aware!

Presence:

Making dinner with Becky, both joking around in the kitchen, enjoying each other’s company, now relaxing on the couch reading/writing. What beautifully ordinary ways to spend part of our evening together! We’re in the midst of a three plus week stretch in which we’re each rarely in the same state, this dose of normalcy is incredible!

Not from today, but a fun one regardless 😉

Thanks!!!