Tag: presence

Day 1,988 – Thankful for Another Gift Within a Gift at Yoga

Another Monday night yoga practice, another moment of profound insight nestled in the deeply calm state of presence.

The two biggest reasons I love hitting yoga are the physical workout as well as the focused presence. Put those two components together and I’m always grateful for taking the time to get all namaste.

While those two are the headliners there’s an awesome added bonus which sometimes appears when my mind is deep in that state of serenity. Occasionally an idea will hatch during the practice. A little nugget of wisdom worth more than one hundred times it’s weight in gold. A magical moment of clarity and understanding which help me understand some better than before.

Tonight that gem was the realization that when learning and attempting something I’ve never done there is no stress about anything else in life. The act of focused and intentional learning create a state in which there is no concern or anxiety about anything outside the task. If I’ve truly set my soul properly there is also no anxiety in what I am learning, there is only the bliss of play. How wild is that? When I find myself stressing or anxious I need only play a little game with myself – what can I learn from this – to transition from anxiety into calm.

That bonus lesson buried within a yoga practice was yet another example of how much can be gained by pausing the busyness of life and intentionally choosing stillness and presence. As Becky pointed out on Friday, the world would be a much better place if everyone paused for a moment to practice yoga. The entire world would quickly become all namaste.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,985 – Thankful for a Workweek Bookended by Yoga

After getting home from being out of town for work for a handful of days I took Monday off. After our morning run early Monday morning (Becky was working so we stayed with our normal time) I took a little nap and then hit yoga at Root Down for the 8:30am yoga class. After getting home tonight Becky and I loaded up and headed out to Root Down for another awesome yoga session.

Yoga, work, yoga, weekend. Kind of has a nice ring to it! I might have to do this again sometime 🙂

Yoga as a tool to center myself before getting back into the swing of things was exactly what my brain needed. My mind was racing with ideas from the days of training as well as with everything I needed to do in order to catch up. By bending, twisting, sweating, and breathing I was able to calm my neurons down and re-focus on the present moment. A profound state fo chill to create space for me to get to work.

Throughout the week I flew at a crazy pace. The days blew past me quickly as they were each filled with very necessary activity from start to stop. Even with Monday off I cruised well beyond 40 hours worked. My mind was still racing as I questioned whether or not I could wrap up in time for yoga. I knew my brain needed it so I wrapped up with creating my task list which will be waiting for me on Monday early morning when I get back to the office.

Yoga as a path to chilling my crazy busy thought processes was the perfect switch to flip to move me from work mode to weekend mode. It pushed me to wrap up and find the end of the page, put the bookmark in, and then move on to some lighter reading. By bending, twisting, sweating, and breathing I was able to relax, reduce the stress, and focus on moving forward on what I want to accomplish at home. It was exactly what I needed.

Ahh… I’m now showered up, full from an awesome dinner, and wrapping up my day with my blog.

Yoga, work, yoga, weekend. Namaste.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,981 – Thankful for a Subtle Shift Making All the Difference & Realizing Becky Was Right Yet Again

Rather than jumping right back into work after our conference I opted to take the day off. Full disclosure, Gavin has already given me a little bit of a hard time as I was working when he got home from school. It wasn’t a complete day off from work, but it was exactly what I needed.

Several years ago I wrote about appreciating Becky’s advice to cut a vacation a day short to have a one day cushion in between vacation and real life. I was originally not in favor of this approach but I quickly realized how right she was after trying it the first time. Have a day to bounce back really helps me get back into the right headspace before going back to work.

This time I was flying back from a wildly successful and profoundly thought provoking training trip for work. My mind was going a million miles per hour throughout the entire event and into this morning until I paused for yoga. Yoga was pretty much the reset button I needed to start snapping back into real life mode. After the excellent workout I jumped into productive mode and knocked out the larger than expected list of things I wanted to get done. Much of this was non-work related stuff I’d put off for a while. Throughout the morning I was able to get my laundry done, write out a few checks, figure out a plan for an upcoming soccer tournament, pull some tax information together, get supper prepped, complete my Advance Health Directive (which I’d been meaning to do for almost five years), clean up everything I need to have ready for work, and schedule an excursion for our Iceland trip. By the time Becky got home and was ready to take the girls for a walk I’d also had enough time to quickly sift through some email, prep information for tomorrow, and finish a couple of work related tasks. It was quite the productive day!

Had I not followed Becky’s advice I would have rushed back to work today, left everything piled up, and then stressed throughout the week when there wasn’t enough time to complete it all. I would have been a mess all week and by the time the weekend hit I’d have been ready to scream or cry or both. Instead I’m feeling calm, rested, and ready for tomorrow.

Yoga also helped out so much. Nick summed up the entire practice of prepping to go back in a simple instruction while I was flat on my back. We’d just gone through some pretty hard core leg work and I was breathing heavy while heart was pounding as if it were attempting to escape my ribs. Nick told us to tuck our shoulders underneath our backs just a little to open up our airways. I followed his advice and immediately slowed both my breathing and heart rate. One little shift in position made all the difference.

That’s essentially what today was. I made a slight shift, opened up my airways, and that made all the difference.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,979 – Thankful for Creating Space in Nature in a City

I am currently sitting outside our hotel and convention center. If I look with my eyes there are people everywhere, buildings, concrete, fake grass, and palm trees with 2×4 board supports. Anything but being outside in nature. The smell of chlorine, food, and cigarette smoke linger in the air. The breeze blows the sounds of people talking, traffic, and rushing water from the water park towards me and into my ears.

I can choose to focus on this if I wish. If I choose nothing specific to put my attention towards they suffocate my senses. They lock me into a place I don’t find peace, the put me into a self selected purgatory of sorts.

I have made the choice to not see it, to not hear it, to not smell it. I am outside, under the sun, and in nature.

I close my eyes and think about my recent walk around the large pond. Though it may technically be a retaining pool it was a treasure trove of the outdoors for me. The only sounds I heard were those of turtles splashing into the water as I walked by, the wings of birds propelling themselves across the lake in search of fish, and the quiet stillness of the breeze. I don’t see the traffic on the nearby interstate, I choose to see all the miracles of nature in the water. So many birds, fish, and turtles. No gators like earlier in the day, but still so much to see.

I am thankful for the reminder today of how being out in nature is a mindset that is ours to choose and seek out, even when surrounded by people and in urban areas. It’s all a matter of intentionally choosing what I want to focus my thoughts and energy on.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,976 – Thankful for Choosing the Right Mindset, Even When a Flight is Delayed

Attitude is everything and has such incredible power over how we see the world. When I take the time to choose the right mindset the world is a profoundly wonderful place, even when life is a little difficult. When I choose a poor mindset, especially over something minor, the world feels a little colder and I’m left feeling empty.

I’m currently chilling at the Charlotte airport, sitting at a countertop with my phone plugged in. I was supposed to be on my next flight by now, but that’s not how things worked out. Instead I’ve got a couple of hour delay before my last flight of the day.

It would be so easy to be frustrated over the added inconvenience, but that’s not the right choice. The better mindset is to see this as a blessing, some bonus time I’ve been gifted in order to work on a couple of projects. Over the past several hours I’ve both started constructing my presentation for the upcoming CVSHRM conference AND started working on an idea which could end up being my next book. The creative juices are flowing and I’ve now been given extra time to roll with it.

Time to get back at it!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,975 – Thankful for Driving On Snowy Roads

This may sound crazy, but I’m thankful for snowy roads today. My commute to Eau Claire was a bit longer than usual due to the road conditions. Between snow, ice, & wind the speeds in all directions were significantly slower than usual. This led to a couple of unexpected benefits.

Thanks to the slickness of the roads I knew I’d be in for a long ride. With that mindset I calmed way down, accepted whatever was thrown my way, and I could feel my blood pressure drop. It was so much more relaxing when I knew I was in no hurry. Instead I leaned into the slower pace and totally chilled while driving.

The extra time in the car also helped me make some serious progress on the next book I’ve been reading. With the added calmness I felt as if I were able to retain significantly more than usual which was great! There was also time to pause, reflect, plan, and then get back to the book itself. Bonus reading time!

Sure, it’s not ideal, but if I choose the right mindset there’s even something to be thankful for on snowy roads.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,970 – Thankful for the Serenity of Sorting the Gratitudes of the Day

LOL – so I started on my title and ended up writing and re-writing it several times. None of the revisions had quite the right vibe so I’m blowing them all up, deleting the title, and starting with the body. Yes, this is the exact opposite of how writer Carmine Gallo teaches us to start writing a TED talk… thank goodness this is a blog and Carmine won’t be reading this 😉 Forget starting with the point, I’m letting my brain run wild and will come back to the point at the end. {fingers crossed}

Funny, I think I just landed on the topic, it wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but it is spot on. I’m grateful for creating the habit of writing about my gratitude each day. In the past I’ve written similar posts, but it just feels right to focus on it again this evening. As someone once wisely said, “we never step in the same river twice.” Though the topic may have similarities to what I’ve written in the past I am seeing it through a slightly different lens, changed by the perspective of time and experience.

In the past I’ve written about the beauty of having a journal of sorts to go back and rekindle old memories. I’ve also blogged about the peace of having time alone to wrap up the day. This is slightly different, tonight I’m thankful for the ability of writing a daily blog to allow me to sort out my thoughts, emotions, and experiences from throughout the day.

By pausing and reflecting on the day I create an opportunity to let the solids slowly precipitate out of suspension. This is my time to allow my brain to put together the 5,000 piece puzzle of experiences from the day. By writing I’m forced to process the day, think on it, and then translate it into written word. Writing in of itself is difficult, putting words to so many thoughts and ideas can be exhausting. Similar to distance running or weight lifting the exercise strengthens me though it may be uncomfortable at times.

This evening my brain was going to go down so many different paths, but after taking time to pause and reflect there are really only a couple of themes… rekindling and strengthening relationships, creating, moving in the direction of dreams, and pausing to appreciate all the gifts surrounding me – especially life itself. In taking time to process it all today I will be going to bed with a smile and a full heart. My gratitude becomes the lullaby which carries me off to peaceful rest. I sleep with the joy which can only come from thankfulness and stillness.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,964 – Thankful for Finding Ways to Enjoy the Edges

Our run this morning was warm but one of the most brutal in quite some time. It’s been quite a while since I’d last run on very icy roads. My feet would find solid purchase for a dozen steps or so only to then almost shoot right out from under me on the next steps. I’d move a little ways to the left and then a little to the right with no luck, everywhere I put my feet there seemed to be ice.

There wasn’t anything I could do to change the ice so I chose to roll with it. I shifted my posture to keep my center of gravity perfectly over my feet. My strides where greatly condensed as I went with shorter steps in order to keep myself from getting to out of balance. Due to the combination of clean blacktop, packed snow, ice, and potholes each step was an adventure and very rarely did more than three straight steps feel the same.

This was an opportunity for me to push the edge. I would rather not run on conditions like this, but what an opportunity to push my boundaries a bit. By running on this edge I was able to work on my balance, my focus, adjusting my steps, my breathing, and strengthening the little stabilizing muscles in my legs and feet. Before I knew it I was actually enjoying this run on the edge. For sure, it still hurt, but there was something fun in pushing the boundaries of what I feel comfortable doing.

When considering the past few weeks, possibly months, in much of life I’m seeing where I’ve pushed the edges. I’ve moved right to the boundary of comfort and ridden the line between there and discomfort. On that edge I’ve found growth. There’s more room to push that edge further and further out. The stretching doesn’t always feel good, it often starts off as the opposite, but the end result is positive. Not only that, but I’m finding that if I keep asking myself the right questions and choosing the right mindset I actually enjoy pushing the edge. Despite the discomfort I know I’m moving forward. Kind of like increasing the weights while lifting, it’s a good discomfort. If I do it right I have the opportunity to enjoy both the destination (joy) and the journey (suffering).

This might be one of those nights when I start to explore and idea to come back to a little later. I feel like there’s a lot more to pull apart and extract to this concept, but I want to let this ferment further. May this blog be a future thought seed.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,883 – Thankful for Remembering to Listen

Two wonderful reasons to remember to listen today, both for very different reasons.

The first was remembering to listen rather than react. My mind quickly races to an answer, long before a question is asked. If I react too quickly I miss hearing the correct question and answer incorrectly. Pause, listen, think, and then respond if necessary. Too often I’ve responded when response was needed. Today reminded me of the power of listening completely and then responding in due time. Remember to listen rather than react.

The second was remembering to listen closely and attentively in the stillness. The voice can be heard anytime, but I must find stillness to hear it. Create space, eliminate noise, and listen with more than my ears. In that space if I listen closely with my soul I will hear the call. Remember to listen closely in the stillness.

Two simple lessons, both profound. Remember to listen, the reward is so much greater than talking and responding.

Thanks!!!

Day 1,883 – Thankful for Remembering to Listen

Two wonderful reasons to remember to listen today, both for very different reasons.

The first was remembering to listen rather than react. My mind quickly races to an answer, long before a question is asked. If I react too quickly I miss hearing the correct question and answer incorrectly. Pause, listen, think, and then respond if necessary. Too often I’ve responded when response was needed. Today reminded me of the power of listening completely and then responding in due time. Remember to listen rather than react.

The second was remembering to listen closely and attentively in the stillness. The voice can be heard anytime, but I must find stillness to hear it. Create space, eliminate noise, and listen with more than my ears. In that space if I listen closely with my soul I will hear the call. Remember to listen closely in the stillness.

Two simple lessons, both profound. Remember to listen, the reward is so much greater than talking and responding.

Thanks!!!