I just got in from enjoying a lovely day. A busy day at work preceded a time of fun. I rushed through the morning and afternoon, meeting with someone I mentor at 5:30 p.m. Did we have a good time. We rode bikes through the tree-lined, tree-canopied streets of Alameda and along the South Shore.
I haven't ridden my bike lately. Tending to my business has consumed my time and mental and spiritual energy. It felt good---the breeze caressed me as I rode into the westerly winds blowing in from the Pacific. At, an easy clip, 10 mph, my friend and I chatted while we casually threaded our way through the many who strolled, ran, or sat along the shore.
Our conversation, my friend's smile, the pungent smell of kelp, cycling, and viewing the waves crashing against the beach, released
tension that was tightly coiled within me. When do the rest of you want to join me? If you are ever in the area, you're invited. I'll treat you to dinner or lunch.
My Gratitudes for Wednesday:
1. I feel relaxed. Exercise is fantastic, I'm investing in my own welfare and mental health. It gets me out of my head, which is a good thing. Our mind is a dangerous place to travel alone.
2. I'm extremely glad that I used priorities to motivate me today.
It always works for me. Not only do I use priorities, but I set time limits for each task and keep track of my progress, recording the actual time it took me to do each item. For me, this system works. I got much done today.
3. My mentee and I had a leisurely dinner, spending two hours in an exquisitely intense conversation.
We discussed the unmanageability of life. How our past has had its impact on us, even if the circumstances have changed, was our topic. We covered how specific principles, and living them out, can change the DNA of our character, all for the better.
4. I'm thankful for being gentle towards myself. As a child growing up with a strict, harsh parent, it would be so easy for me to continue this pattern by being harsh towards myself. This is self-abuse. I have no use for it. I'm glad I have taken back my self-esteem.
I prefer saying to myself, "that's okay, sweetie, you are doing fine," as I move forward, one tiny step at a time. These incremental improvements add up to major changes in my character, over time.
So, I guess it's that time. Time for me to share a quote I've used here many times. It's still a good one to be mindful of, when we find ourselves upset with who we are, our lack of progress or those areas where we feel we have failed. Here it is:
What are at least three gratitudes you have for today?
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| Gibbons Street in Alameda |
Our conversation, my friend's smile, the pungent smell of kelp, cycling, and viewing the waves crashing against the beach, released
tension that was tightly coiled within me. When do the rest of you want to join me? If you are ever in the area, you're invited. I'll treat you to dinner or lunch.
My Gratitudes for Wednesday:
1. I feel relaxed. Exercise is fantastic, I'm investing in my own welfare and mental health. It gets me out of my head, which is a good thing. Our mind is a dangerous place to travel alone.
2. I'm extremely glad that I used priorities to motivate me today.
It always works for me. Not only do I use priorities, but I set time limits for each task and keep track of my progress, recording the actual time it took me to do each item. For me, this system works. I got much done today.
3. My mentee and I had a leisurely dinner, spending two hours in an exquisitely intense conversation.
We discussed the unmanageability of life. How our past has had its impact on us, even if the circumstances have changed, was our topic. We covered how specific principles, and living them out, can change the DNA of our character, all for the better.
4. I'm thankful for being gentle towards myself. As a child growing up with a strict, harsh parent, it would be so easy for me to continue this pattern by being harsh towards myself. This is self-abuse. I have no use for it. I'm glad I have taken back my self-esteem.
I prefer saying to myself, "that's okay, sweetie, you are doing fine," as I move forward, one tiny step at a time. These incremental improvements add up to major changes in my character, over time.
So, I guess it's that time. Time for me to share a quote I've used here many times. It's still a good one to be mindful of, when we find ourselves upset with who we are, our lack of progress or those areas where we feel we have failed. Here it is:
Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward into the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Orin Crane.How About You?
What are at least three gratitudes you have for today?
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4 comments:
This makes me want to get a bike (I was so frustrated when my last and only one in years was stolen three weeks after I'd bought it, I never got a new one) - I have the crashing waves, though. That's one thing I am grateful for today, living by the sea. Also: 2. Reading your last few posts and feeling hopeful. 3. I am so grateful for my wonderful friends and family, who have listened and supported me so much in the last few weeks.
Marina,
How delightful to see you in the inn!
I'm sorry your bike was stolen. :( How frustrating that experience must have been. Please, do get a bicycle. You'll never regret it. Just be sure to get a "U" lock, and lock it to the frame when parking.
Last month, I rode more than 600 miles, or 966 km, it was better than any therapy, really. I have more vigor, afterwards, and sleep better. I don't need sleeping pills when I tax myself this way.
This month has been a time of cycling, too. I love feeling the seasons. I'm being green, meeting many people while riding and it's easy to park. Usually right in front of whatever destination.
You don't know how happy you've made the innkeeper, with your gratitudes. It makes my heart do a happy dance. :)
I'm glad you are encouraged by what I write. You inspire people with your work, too. I know I am, and my most artistic son, who marveled at the colors you choose. He went "wow!" :>
You continue to have my support. I wish continued good times with your friends!
Hello Pablo,
What a busy, intense 12 hour driving day of business travel with colleague through the gorgeous Sonoma and Napa wine country, a delicious lunch in a clients sushi restaurant, coffee-fueled long, Northern California traffic-laden, drive home, then, an indirect encounter with a rightfully angry neighbor, and a "mad at my lazy kids" triggered laundry detergent spill (I have to own).
1. I am grateful I could exercise yesterday, be in superb company, share rich fellowship and simplify a too packed evening schedule.
2. (OK, guys, are you ready...you can't make this stuff up!) I am grateful I did not, by some miracle of God, step in our own dogs strategically placed pile of poop that our neighbor had collected from his front lawn these last three days and positioned exactly where I step out of my van each evening! Because of program tools I'm learning to use, I actually found this tactic brilliant and amusing - so creative! You've gotta respect clever...certainly got my attention!
3. I am grateful that when I dropped the laundry detergent bottle down the partially carpeted stairs, and the top shattered off, spewing the gooey liquid all over, I did not go crazy, at least externally. Even inside I was somewhat serene, once I embraced the mess I'd created.
4. I'm grateful that now, even when I do react, and even if I do cause some chaos, I can catch myself, see whee I'm off, and set a new course.
5. I'm grateful for the perspective to see from another's point of view, so I can empathize with them and understand why they fell wronged.
6. I am grateful this long, intense, yet rich in life lessons day is done, that I could catch some of it on (virtual) paper, and can now sleep deeply.
7. I am grateful for this Inn, where we can all stop in from time to time, at all hours, hear about each others day; our challenges, hopes and gratitudes.
Dear Carl,
Your description of your day sounds intense. I agree with you, at times, it's important to simplify our schedules.
I love your sense of humor. I linked your comments here, in a subsequent post. I needed to laugh and your description of your neighbor's antics were a riot.
I'm impressed with your reaction to the accident you had with the laundry soap. That's self-love, which is much better than the self-abuse of condemning ourselves.
I'm very thankful for your share. Your anecdote lightened my day. I needed mirth.
I'm also glad for the community we share. Our comments are wonderful encapsulations of life, forever recorded in the journal of this inn.
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