So, my wife and I are dogsitting for our “grand dog,” while my daughter and son-in-law are on a vacation in New York City. We see the dog (Heidi, a miniature black schnauzer) regularly, since we drop by their house every evening and take Heidi with us on our daily walk. She’s a sweet, well-behaved, … Read more
So, the buckle on my good leather briefcase broke, and while it’s getting fixed I’ve been using another smaller case I purchased from a Life Is Good store in the Chicago Midway airport. It’s actually an over-the-shoulder messenger bag, so when I’m walking around with it the bag hangs behind me. I’ve been having lots … Read more
I heard the other day about Bhutan’s new (young) king being crowned, and how his 52-year old father (my age, how funny!) had abdicated the throne and put his son on it in order to aid the country’s transition to a new age. The king emeritus (or whatever they call him, now) created the concept … Read more
I’m on a road trip, and have a schedule that initially caused me some concern — where will I have time to take care of myself? Tight flight schedules, early morning conference starts, group meals, and the extra time required to navigate an unfamiliar city often conspire to reduce or eliminate self-care time. Still, I … Read more
It’s the end of a coaching conversation, and my client confesses, “I notice this whole conversation has been about me. Usually I’m working on everybody else and what they need. I like it… but I’m really uncomfortable.” She’s in her mid-40’s and in all that time it’s never been about her. What she hears in … Read more
I found this story on the web, and just had to share! “There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. ”Well,” she said, ” I think I’ll braid my hair today.” So she did, and she had a wonderful … Read more
It was exactly four years ago — 10:10 AM on a Monday morning — that my world got knocked off its axis. That was the moment a police officer came knocking on my door to tell me that my daughter had been in an accident. Later that morning we learned she had died of a … Read more
This is about a little miracle — in the midst of a bad economy. My wife and I bought another house (a foreclosure) in our neightborhood a few years ago. After rehabbing it we rented it out. The tenants — who were decent sorts — recently moved, but after fixing all the problems they left … Read more
The Akron Marathon is this weekend, and I have two clients and several friends who are running. Should be a gorgeous weekend! Thinking about marathons reminded me of a recent discussion I was part of. I was a guest on a local public radio station show two months ago. The Sound of Ideas topic was … Read more
I got up this morning feeling very unsettled. My week has been busy. I was a bit short on sleep and when my alarm went off all I could feel was bone-tiredness. So I turned off my alarm and skipped my workout (this is a big deal for me — I live in the assessment that I MUST exercise six days a week…).
Even with the catchup sleep, however, I still felt ‘on edge’ once I got up and functioning. I went in to my office to start work, and could not focus or sit still. I kept wandering around inside and outside the house, and eventually found myself out on my deck.
It took a while for me to realize that I’d been standing there — just standing in place — for a couple of minutes, just listening to the wind chimes.
That’s when I noticed that, for the first time in several hours, I felt calm. So, I sat down in a spot of sun on my deck and let go of needing to do anything else.
I sat there for… Oh, I don’t know; maybe ten minutes?
For ten minutes I sat in just that moment. I savored the symphony of wind chimes. I felt the cool breeze on my body. I drifted with the songs of chirping crickets as they waxed and waned. I reveled in the brilliant blue sky, cloudless and crystal clear. I watched two squirrels chasing each other up and down a fence and across the neighbor’s yard. I wondered at the beauty of the shasta daisies, crisply white and yellow against a sea of green, as they bobbed and swayed in the breeze (I even took this picture!)
And I breathed. Just breathed it all in. I sat in the middle of an absolutely spectacular moment on a perfect late summer day and… and nothing. I just sat and enjoyed being fully present.
My tank felt fully recharged after that.
Confession: I experienced a moment of guilt as I gathered my thoughts and came inside to my office. I’ve got so much to do, so many things on my desk. What was I doing?
I wasn’t Doing. I was Being. We gotta make our own happiness. This was one of my moments.