Tag: sunrise

Thankful for Remembering to Live, Starting Early, & Sunrise

Day 3,669

Growth:

This quote struck a chord for me, so much so that I had to pause to let it sink in, and then re-read several times. How true this is for so much of life?

I’m forever getting ready for life instead of living it each day. 

Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard

While I’ve written tonight’s blog in reverse I also see how unbridled “planning” can become a hindrance to presence, but it also helps me visualize how to utilize a plan to help guide me and prepare me for whatever changes the universe throws at me. More guardrails and momentum than a plan maybe?

Appreciation:

I’m very thankful for starting to plan my goals for the next year early. Over the past week my mind has been toying with new ideas, twisting, inspecting, and testing to see what may make the biggest difference in my ability to improve in 2026. Some of the concepts that have been resonating include additional metrics like the number of minutes spent outdoors daily, the number of cravings I have each day versus the number of cravings I give in to, and setting a number of total miles to walk/hike in the year. For sure my mindset/theme of “Less, but More” for 2025 will sustain, but I’m not quite sure how… Maybe something as easy as “More of Less” would be fitting. We’ll see where I end up!

The inspiring part is that I’m already starting to sift through the data of my 2025, find patterns of what brought me the most joy, of where I found purpose, and my mind is already starting to process the path. Yes, it is still quite early to lock everything in, but that’s also the point. I have more time to process and choose wisely to create my best possible 2026 plan.

Presence:

The sunrise lighting up the tops of the bluffs was stunning this morning! The shifting colors were greatly enhanced by the dark clouds slowly wandering the sky, I was reminded of watching sunrises on the mountains in Patagonia. Such a wonderful time of the day, catching the first sun beams ripping through the clouds to light up the hillside. Throw in a shard of a rainbow and the glowing pinkish orange skies and it was a spectacular ride up north today!

Thanks!!!

Day 1,856 – Thankful for a Stunning Sunrise and a Serendipitous Shelf Shuffle

Day 1,856 – Thankful for a Stunning Sunrise and a Serendipitous Shelf Shuffle

The drive up the Mississippi River Valley was so stunning I felt compelled to pull over and grab a picture. The steam was again rising from the river into the cool air while the sky was positively pink and purple in one direction and blue and orange in the other.

When a day starts like this there is no doubt it will be a great one should I choose to carry the stillness of that moment into my day.

Later in the afternoon I was looking for a book on my shelf. In the process of looking I moved a couple of books around. For some reason my eyes were drawn to the back of How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins. Most books have a summary on the back, but this one had a quote instead:

Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you.

Jim Collins

Sometimes the world is trying to help us hear the message we really need at a specific time. Other times it goes so far as to tie it to another message – in this case the irony of the title in the context of a recent challenge. Regardless, I am very thankful for the serendipitous shuffling of books on my shelf today!

Thanks!!!