Originally posted on Facebook HERE
Up way early today. Can’t even see out the back window, much less get a photo. So, this is the best I can do. That home sauna is where I usually spend a good part of my mornings. Every day. I write three pages a day. “Morning Pages” as described in the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I read at least ten minutes every day as well. I do it from here. I plan my day. I see it before I live it. I expect everything to go well. Before the day ever begins, I view the interactions I know I’m going to have that day with a positive, loving mindset and see it all working out well. It doesn’t always work out that way, but when things go awry, in my mind I think “there’s a silver lining here. There always is. And I’m really good at finding them, too.” So — no matter what happens, I see it as happening for me, not to me. This box was a gift from my wife many years ago. When she gave it to me, I had no idea the impact it was going to have on my life. I use it every day now, and I have for years. It’s an integral part of my daily routine. But, when she gave it to me — well… it wasn’t met with a lot of fanfare at first, and it was pretty expensive, too. And that’s life, isn’t it? Sometimes the greatest gifts you’ll ever receive are hidden to you when you receive them. Sometimes there are people who will be lifelong friends or partners that you won’t like at all when you first meet them. Sometimes you’ll be forced to look for a new job when you really don’t want to, but what life has planned will blow you away. We, as humans, tend to limit ourselves to what we think we’re capable of in the moment, when life — when given a chance — will often blow us away by seeing way more for us than we ever would or could on our own, if we’d just surrender to the opportunities we are given and open up to the idea that what we think about is minuscule compared to what is possible. Every second we have is a gift. Everything that happens is a gift if we learn to see it that way. Our time is limited. Everyone dies. Everything dies. We can look for what is great, or we can wallow in the quagmire of mediocrity. Don’t let life beat you down. We all have ups and downs. Learn to see the times nothing seems to being going right as your greatest periods for growth. They are your biggest opportunities. Sometimes the best gifts we get are things we don’t think we want or need at the time we receive them.
