Tag: simplicity

Thankful for Less, but More

Day 3,355

Going in a slightly different direction today, had a big thing in my head throughout much of day that is calling to be unleashed. The idea of having less, but more.

One of the reasons I love traveling to other countries is to experience the differences in cultures. Almost universally it seems that other countries seem to have less, but more at the same time.

Iceland is possibly the best at showing me a very realistic step or two back from where I currently am. Backpacking does an impeccable job of reminding me how little I actually need, but it is so transcendent from where I currently am that it seems sustainable in only short-ish doses. Iceland splits the distance between where I normally live and where I could be backpacking and inspires a sustainable lifestyle adjustment.

Take the Icelandic grocery stores as an insight. There are only a small handful of cereals to choose from. The soda / soft drink section contains less than a dozen options. The entire store is so much smaller than in the US.

The homes we’ve been renting are rather simple. This last of the four was one of only two with a television. There isn’t much variety of anything, all four have had a mix of the same furniture, silverware, and whatnot. Not just similar, but exactly the same. All the homes have been very small, yet they have everything we need.

For sure, this is definitely a first world realization, there are so many who don’t have what they need. Many would be ecstatic for what I’ve experienced here. What’s interesting is that I feel as if I would be too, but for very different reasons.

How much more simple would life be with less? How much emotional energy and thought is wasted on decisions over which things we need? How much happier would I be with less? How much more grateful would I be for what I have rather than catching myself wanting more and feeling miserable as a result?

We really need very little to live a joyful life. My visit has really helped me see more clearly how easy it would be to have less – less choices, less stuff, less options. For sure, certainly not less freedom, rather the willpower to remind myself much less I need.

As I look ahead to my annual personal planning I am seeing I may have found a very fitting and appropriate theme for myself in 2025, one inspired by my trip to Iceland.

Less, but more.

Less stuff, less unnecessary stress, less running in different directions, less goals, less…. but more. More life, more of what is important, more joy, more gratitude, and more fulfillment.

Less, but more.

Takk!!!

Thankful for Journaling, Unexpected Family Time, & the Storm Front

Day 3,196

Growth:

Today was a wonderful reminder of the power of journaling. My blog post from four years ago popped up and flooded me with so many memories. Had I not taken the time to write my thoughts down I would have likely forgotten a day like this.

“Gratitude leads to abundance. Abundance leads to giving. Giving leads to joy.”

Mike Kreiling, July 4, 2020

What a different world it was only four years ago! This was quite the time capsule to open today: https://thankful4forty.com/2020/07/05/day-1376-thankful-for-seeing-more-correlations-to-gratitude-and-abundance-mindsets-and-returning-to-church/

Appreciation:

Becky and I were expecting to have a quiet house to the two of us after our hike this morning. As luck would have it we had both boys and their girlfriends for the majority of the day and evening! So many games and laughs, dinner as a family – all completely unexpected and greatly appreciated! Times like these are always moments I am grateful for.

Presence:

During our hike we reached a very scenic viewpoint just before the storm and rain rolled in. As I recorded the video below the wind picked up, the temperature dropped, and everything in the air seemed to shift as if there was an immense inhale. What a moment! Nothing quite like the moment the front rolls in.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for a Reminder to Bring Others In, a Belated Father’s Day Gift, & Beyond the Pines

Thankful for a Reminder to Bring Others In, a Belated Father’s Day Gift, & Beyond the Pines

Day 3,183

Growth:

This afternoon I had an awesomely in depth conversation with my friend, Brian, on the topics of leadership and life. Initially he had reached out with a question, but I quickly found he was helping me find answers to questions and feelings I’ve had over the past year. What was especially insightful to me was his willingness to open up and share so much, he just shared where he was at. His openness was truly inspiring. As I reflect on the conversation I can’t help but realize he summed up my awe in a follow up text.

Life feels different when you bring others in!

Brian B

How often do I carry the burden myself rather than sharing it? When am I too nervous about how others may view me to share how I am really doing and thinking? Why do I sometimes struggle to ask for help when I am in need of it? One would think I would know better by age 47, heck, I even wrote about this very topic in my book about losing Dad!

Today I’m very grateful for the reminder to open up, to share my heart openly, and to bring others in. We all have so much in common and we can all help lighten each other’s loads. Thank you for a conversation I needed more than I imagined today Brian!

Appreciation:

Due to our vacation my sons held back on giving me a Father’s Day gift until this evening. There is no question it was well worth the wait! Not gonna lie, there may have been a little bit of awesome leaking out of my eyes as I took it in and read the quote they added.

It was a map of the world, complete with pins of all the places I’ve been – and color coded based on who was with on the trip. In the bottom left corner was one of my all time favorite quotes by Jim Valvano, one I used in my blog the Father’s Day less than a week after Dad passed away.

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.

Jim Valvano

Throw in some very heartfelt and handcrafted Father’s Day cards from the boys and I was definitely feeling the love. Between the boys and Becky it was quite the way to lead into the weekend!

In addition to the initial fun of the gift we all got an epic bonus present… time to dream as a family as we looked at all the spaces without pins and started dreaming up some additional crazy ideas and plans for the future. Just a hunch, but I’d bet on a trip to a little place called Mount Kilimanjaro at some point in the not too distant future 😉

Thank you Becky and the boys for making me extra loved for a belated Father’s Day, I’m beyond blessed to ahve you each in my life!!!

Presence:

There’s a moment, maybe better put as a series of moments, from our time in Sequoia National Park which has been with me often in the past week. As we walked the trail amongst the massive sequoias I wandered in awe of the enormity of the titans towering over me. My mind and soul struggled to comprehend all they had experienced in the two to three THOUSAND years of life on earth.

While walking among them one of my favorite songs came to mind and played on repeat. Beyond the Pines by Thrice is a song I’ve blogged about a little over a year ago (you can check out the post here or the lyric video of the song here).

The lyrics which have resonated the most are these:

Somewhere down the road is a place that we can go where everyone
And everything is divine
And when we’re all awake, we can finally make and end of these
Divisions in our minds

Far beyond those walls, gleaming black and white
Further than our false schemes of wrong and right
Is a field where we can walk
Leaving all our names behind

I will meet you there, beyond the pines

Thrice, Beyond the Pines

The feeling of hiking in the giant sequoias felt like I was walking in heaven, in paradise. There was zero stress or need or frustration, only awe and peace and gratitude and joy and love. How much more joyful and full of love would our world be if we all took time to go “beyond the pines” once in a while? To pause, breathe in the fresh pine scented air, feel the cool breeze on our face, and look in awe at the wondrous gifts the world has been given?

This is the specific tree I would like to have some of my ashes scattered at when my time is complete, it is marked in my Garmin Earthmate GPS as “Perfect Seq-MK ash” It was the most perfect and beautiful sequoia I saw on our trip to Sequoia National Park, and it was just far enough off the busiest paths to have the eternal quiet I would liek to enjoy.

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 Antifragility, Sitting Quietly in My Room, & Hanging with ELA Family

Day 3,145

Growth:

The concept of Antifragility has really been hitting home for me. Funny how the combination of examples from the actual book didn’t quite sink in fully, but these ongoing nudges have kept coming from so many other sources. I’m pretty sure Taleb’s book , Antifragile, has been referenced in no fewer than four books I’ve read in the past six months!

Here’s the concept in a nutshell. Many things are fragile. If I drop a coffee mug onto stone it breaks. It is fragile.

A stainless steel Yeti might survive the fall as it is durable. That said, it doesn’t get hurt, but it also does not get better due to the fall.

Something which is antifragile gets better specifically because it was hurt or broken. In so many ways humans are antifragile – it is in discomfort and frustration and challenge in which we grow stronger. Consider weightlifting, the lifting of heavy weight cause micro tears in the muscle which then heal stronger than before, thus they get better due to the break.

In so much of our lives we avoid discomfort, but quite often that avoidance stunts our growth. We also actively work to prevent those we love from experiencing discomfort, which often hurts them more in the long run.

A note to Future Mike – lean into the discomfort! Help push others towards discomfort! Remember though that discomfort is good, but don’t let them or yourself complete break being repair

Appreciation:

All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

Blaise Pascal

Many years ago I was introduced to this quote and it has rocked my brain ever since. It is so easy to stay “busy” and not take the quiet time needed to think.

Honestly, I think that is one of the reasons I’ve been blogging like this for the past 3,000+ days… it is a self enforced daily ritual of sitting alone with my thoughts to pause and process the day and all of its experiences.

In preparation for tomorrow’s presentation I’ve had to spend time alone with my thoughts and my old journals as I sift through past experiences which have led you to today. All of that time focused on reflection and introspection are so different from the usual chaos filled days of hard work. I’m taking this time to reflect I’m also seeing so many opportunities to grow into a better version of myself. Had I not put this training together so many of these insights may have been lost to the future.

Here’s to taking the time to pause, reflect, and sit quietly in my room (which I’m literally doing right now).

Presence:

This evening I was blessed to have dinner with some of my favorite people, some of our Express Leadership Academy (ELA) family. So many insightful conversations, sharing of stories, and so many laughs! While I don’t have many opportunities to hang out with them IRL like this I’m amazed at how quickly it feels like I’m hanging out with old friends who get me and accept me as I am. For reals, it feels like I’ve known them all for many years. What an awesome start to my quick trip to OKC!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Planning and Luck, National Park #32, & a Stream Crossing

Day 3,114

Growth:

Nothing like early starts and some good old fashioned luck! Between getting up and moving early and pure luck our timing today was impeccable. We were able to easily find a parking spot at the trailhead. We lucked into a parking spot at the next trailhead. When we went out to eat there just happened to be one table open.

Sometimes it is s about planning ahead and being early. Other times luck just seems to make things work out. Here’s to both!

Appreciation:

National Park #32 for Becky and I is in the books! Cuyahoga Valley National Park was much cooler than expected! Between the hills, the streams, and the rock formations there was a lot to see in our day of hiking. It was definitely very busy due to the upcoming eclipse, but very much worth the trip.

Exploring the rock formations at The Ledges

We’re now just over halfway to our goal of visiting them all 😄

Presence:

I think my favorite part of our hike today was a small creek crossing. The stream bed was a slate like rock and it was carved into the bottom of a small valley. A large rock outcropping stood sentinel over it, and there were trees all around. So peaceful and serene.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Investing in Memory Dividends, Iceland, & a Spectacular Moonset

Day 3,096

Growth:

Continue to invest in experiences to create “memory dividends” over buying “stuff!” My buddy, Mike, turned me on to Bill Perkins and his concept of investing in experiences which create meaningful memories which pay dividends many times over throughout our lives. So many additional smiles and so much bonus joy came from savoring memories today! Experiences like travel are truly the gifts that keep on giving!

Appreciation:

In going along with the above, I’m beyond appreciative of the trips we’ve made to Iceland. The topic of Iceland came up on a few separate occasions today and the last inspired a trip down memory lane through photos from our times there. I can’t begin to put into words what a beautiful country it is, and I’ve only seen less than a third of it!

Iceland appears in my dreams so frequently – both while I’m asleep and awake. So grateful for the experiences I have shared there and looking forward to going back in the not too distant future.

Presence:

This morning’s run had a special guest star, a gigantic and spectacularly dark orange moon slowly sinking into the bluffs. On our way out we got to watch it slowly drift down to the horizon as it continued to grow in size. Almost every breath taken on the first half of our run was pointed towards the majestic sight on my left. As we neared our turn around point it slipped behind a group of trees and looked like a supernatural fire glowing in the distance. Such wondrous beauty to start the day!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Goals, an Awesome Bad Movie, & Cards with Gavin

Day 2,991

Growth:

Goals are wildly helpful tools to help us grown and improve – most of the time. I sometimes struggle with balancing a goal for the sake of being a goal with the essence of what the goal was intended to create. For instance, one of my goals in 2022 was to read over 100 books. I crushed it, that’s a success, right? This year that wasn’t a goal and I have had more days like today in which I have a balance of reading, some quiet time to process, some focused thinking time, conversations, and some musical relaxation. Having the mix today seemed more rewarding than the hard core focus on reading last year, but without the extreme focus on the goal of reading 100 books in 2022 would I have had built the habit of reading so much that in an “off” year I would read well over 50 books?

Maybe it is something to consider on a moment by moment basis. Which is more important in this moment – achieving the goal for the sake of achieving the goal or missing the goal but living into the intention of the goal?

Appreciation:

Guilty pleasure time! One of my favorite movies is totally a bad movie in so many ways, but the redeeming factors of it make it one of my most frequently watched movies. Yes, like books, when I find one I like I go back to that well over and over and over again. This morning I fired up the TV while getting my bike ride in on my trainer in the living room.

The movie? Point Break. Nope, not the original 1991 version starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze (although I really enjoy watching that one too). I am talking about the Point Break of 2015 with an IMDB rating of 5.3 on a 10 point scale (btw – Ernest Goes to Camp earned a 5.5 rating). So I am for sure not talking about one of the greatest cinema masterpieces of all time here.

Here’s the deal and why I am such a huge fan. There is a strong focus on the importance of being outdoors. There are so many beautiful locations used in filming and each viewing reminds me of why I have a passion for travel, especially outdoor vacations. One of the themes is very stoic in nature – we control our choices and how we respond to life. The action sequences involve actual stunts like the squirrel suit scene which had never been done prior to this movie. Throw in a struggle between who is actually the protagonist and antagonist and it has a bit of everything.

Sometimes we can pause to appreciate something that is less than perfect. For me each watching of Point Break leaves me smiling, thinking, and dreaming of future outdoor escapes. Honestly, it motivates me to get off my ass and do something. Whether the move is rated 5.3 stars or 9.3 stars (The Shawshank Redemption – THE BEST of all time) it can be enjoyed.

Presence:

I’m now typing this section almost an hour after the rest. Just as I wrapped up the previous section Gavin asked if I wanted to play some cards. Yessir, you bet I would! We then spent almost an hour talking, playing, joking, & listening to music. Pretty epic end to the day!

Thanks!!!

Thankful for Breakthrough, Awareness & Flexibility, and Balance Boards

Day 2,270

Growth:

So often it is difficult to see the growth from each rep that gets put in. There are seemingly no gains for quite a while when putting in work towards a long term goal. At some point enough momentum is created and the entire wheel seems to turn almost effortlessly. So easy to see the final pushes and credit them for the success, but more accurate to look at each rep that came before it as equals to the last.

This afternoon I was able to see the breakthrough. Honestly, I was quite surprised! Once I realized what had happened I looked back and saw I had taken so many more reps than I thought, they’d all blended together in my memory until I paused to focus on them.

When working towards a long term goal stay on target with the minor details and menial tasks. Stay focused, stay consistent, and trust the process. The breakthrough will come as a result of all the repetitions.

Appreciation:

My task list for the week is extensive but all with end of the week deadlines. I started on one of the larger projects today and cruised right past the finish line I’d set for myself for the day on it. My thought was to hit a certain point and then move on to the next project. Instead I went with the flow I was in and just kept rolling. Rather than switching gears I was able to keep the momentum going and accelerate through the end of the work day. Tomorrow I’ll head back to the other stuff on my list.

What I’m really thankful for is the awareness to know when I’m in the flow and able to keep rolling AND for working ahead on almost all of the other projects so I have the flexibility to stay on one task longer.

Presence:

I got myself a new office “toy” for my standing desk. My balance board arrived today and I’m already in love! Standing on it and attempting to balance brought me 100% into the present moment as I felt all of my foot, leg, and core muscles working and twitching to keep myself upright. Talk about a great sensation! My right achilles has been bothering my a little lately and the time on the board helped loosen it right up.

Thanks!!!

Thankful for It’s a Wonderful Life

Thankful for It’s a Wonderful Life

Day 2,267

I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve watched the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Sometime around the holidays it ends up getting played in our house, just like clockwork. Each time I start to watch I kind of groan a bit and halfheartedly look for a distraction. Tonight Becky fired it up and I found myself gravitationally pulled towards the living room to watch it with her. Even though we didn’t finish the movie tonight due to a band concert it seemed worthy to write my blog tonight around the theme of It’s a Wonderful Life.

Growth:

No one steps in the same river twice. Today I was reminded of how the same concepts land differently with the changes lived through life. There were different spots resonating more deeply than ever before, just as other things had done in each of the past viewings. What I’m impressed by most is the ability of the movie to capture so many common emotions at so many different levels. Each time watching it is like a whole new experience

Appreciation:

As mentioned above there’s always something a little different that hits home each time I watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Based on a handful of reasons I’ll keep to myself on this one I was almost sobbing she I caught this short scene…

What incredibly powerful words those are below the picture of Pa Bailey. The words are never spoken, just shown in the bottom corner of the screen for only a few seconds, and can be so easily missed. Blended with emotions building over the past couple of weeks and my mind and heart have been stuck on this concept all night. What a gift this movie still gives after more than 75 years. A dozen words, a lifetime of wisdom.

All you can take with you is that which you give away.

Presence:

There’s something special about sharing emotions and tears with a spouse / significant other / loved one. More than once we both sniffled together and caught each other looking to the other for emotional support and validation of our shared feelings. Knowing that we are in tune with each other at such a deep emotional level is a profoundly powerful sensation.

Thanks!!!