I was enjoying a Pumpkin Spice latte this morning. The cafe was crowded and every chair was taken. The table beside me was occupied by a 
portly gentleman and, what seemed to be, his employee. A friend of mine once told me that God wouldn’t let you overhear a conversation unless you were meant to. So I felt I had God’s permission to eavesdrop.
I gathered that the gentleman either owned or managed a fitness store (note my reference to portly). The employee had taken up fitness training which meant that he wasn’t available to work as much as the boss wanted. I guess he was a good salesman too.
The boss said something that almost got me into the conversation. He told the young man that he didn’t want him to make a mistake with his life. Ten years from now where would he be if he chose to pursue fitness training instead of a stable sales/retail career. The boss really felt that the guy had great potential in working at his store.
Now let’s be clear. This young guy was not straying down the dark dirty road that leads to damnation, or welfare, or jail. He was doing something that he liked to do, that he made a living at.
Who was he, the boss, to say, what ten years from now looks like? Maybe, fitness training will be the premier career? I couldn’t believe that this man was prepared to cut his employee’s dreams at the knees.
Studies have shown that we are not good at predicting our future happiness. Deciding something today because it will bring you happiness in the future doesn’t work.
Better decide what will make you happy today, make sure it won’t hurt yourself or anyone else and live your perfect life now.
Tags: coffee talk
In my perfect life, I reflect on country and sea living, my homes warm and clean, and I am reminded by how important our physical 
environment is to our sense of well-being.
The weather in our area has turned from pretty late summer stretch to crisp fall days. The clear blue sky sharply contrasts the gold, read and green of the leaves
And inside my home, the kids complain about being cold.
The thermostat in my dining room reads 19 degrees Celsius. I informed my son that if he was outside, and it was 19 degrees, he would have shorts on. Instead, he is sporting warm pants and a sweatshirt, cuddled in a blanket while he watches television. And he is complaining and stressed.
I could turn on the furnace, warm the room up to 21 degrees and he would be content.
A couple of degrees of change and his attitude would change. A change in locale, inside vs. outside, and his behaviour would change.
Small changes in our physical environment can change a lot.
What in your environment is adding to your stress? What could you change that would bring about a change in your behaviour? Start small. Adding a cozy throw can add to your comfort. Emptying a box of clutter can lighten your attitude.
Start creating an environment that encourages perfect moments and a perfect life. Make your environment perfect and you will adapt to it perfectly.
Tags: changes, environment
I was reading Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and I related to the idea of writing on what is directly in front of you. Then this blog post from Charlie at Productive Flourishing that brought the world into perspective through a one inch frame:
At one point, I happened to look up. Above me were some once familiar friends who were now strangers to me. The city lights and 
busyness of modern living had made the night just another time, but without all of those artifacts, and by complete chance, I looked up. The moon was hiding behind the Earth, so the only light to be seen came from the untold billions of stars shining back down at us.
The band of the Milky Way showed its faint light, and along the band, I saw collections of stars that I knew made the outline of constellations. I used to be able to name them and tell stories about them, but now all I could do was gesture towards them. They were there, waving at me – pulling at my imagination, whispering their tales to me; yet I could not hear their words or see their faces.
We took a while to take in the breathless beauty of the night’s sky and watch shooting stars streak across the blue-black expanse. We imagined living two or three thousand years ago, before science and before you could just run inside and turn a light on.
Every night, those friends would be there, and what many of us don’t often think about is that the landscape of the night changes. Five of the lights walk around fairly obviously; in time, we came to know them as the planets of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The constellations shift through the seasons, so being born “under a sign” quite literally meant that you were born when one of the constellations was overhead. And every night, some of the lights streak across the sky and fade into brilliant nothingness.
In many ways, the night sky is more foreign to us than it was to our ancestors. We know about it – but it’s neither as familiar or as wondrous as it was then. You can’t help but look up at the night sky without being wonderstruck, and, for our ancestors, the lack of explanations birthed tales of gods and spirits. Not having an explanation for what they were seeing was just unacceptable, since they were as familiar with it as we are of gravity. Human curiosity is something that will always remain – I hope – but the questions we ask are different.
What is right in front of you?
To read the whole post that offers additional food for thought and a great reflective tune, go here.
Tags: Books, perfect in nature
There are no ancients before me,
No followers behind:
Only the vastness of heaven and earth
On this mountain terrace.
Though heaven may know the ultimate,
Joy or sorrow is our will.
Sitting in solitude this morning, reading 365 Tao Daily Meditations, I was struck by the honesty and simplicity of this wisdom. The passage went on
to say:
We stand alone in this life. No one lives our life for us. Neither drug nor sorcery can remove us, even for a moment, from our own life. We can deny it, but it is useless: We are hear alone, to engage every precious moment according to our wills
The precedents of the ancients may be helpful, but in the end they are only references. The thought of those who will follow after us is likewise merely a consideration. What matters is being, pure being. Accept who you are. Be who you are.
If there are gods in the heavens, maybe they know the future. As a human being, I can only say that the future is yet to be made. Let us go forth and make it, but let us make it as beautifully as we can. The degree of elegance is determined by our will and the perfection of our own personalities. Therefore, do not sigh over misfortune or adversity. Whether you are happy or sad is entirely up to you.
Today is your time to live. Live it beautifully.
Tags: Books, perfect life
Sydney’s sky yesterday was divine.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chanc/3949007198/
Paul Woodruff in Reverence suggests that:
“Reverence begins in deep understanding of human limitations; from this grows the capacity to be in awe of whatever we believe lie outside our control–God, truth, justice, nature, even death.”
This is a time for reverence.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33868550@N07/3946404532/
I think God creates such amazing people because it brings tears to his eyes too:
A perfect life is a bunch of perfect moments strung together:
- San Augustin coffee from Second Cup with cream, not milk, and a hint of cinammon, on the patio, with a light breeze.
- Watching Kailey sprint off the bench with her eye on the puck, reaching out with one hand on her stick, and curving around the defense to slide one passed the goalie’s pads.
- Listening to Jeremy play a Buckethead riff on his guitar, until he gets it right.
- Helping Grace build her summer memory box out of paper mache and photos of friends.
- In bed with my husband, sleeping. His leg draped over mine, my neck resting on his arm with his breath gently blowing at a wisp of hair.
- Listening to Joshua Bell’s Waves at Play (Wellenspiel) with a cup of San Augustin coffee.
- Watching Jeremy take the inside line around corner four and, with the pedal to the floor, accelerate his go-kart passed the other racer to take the lead.
- Watching Grace proudly perform her double back handspring after training for four hours in the gym.
- Listening to Kailey play YMCA on her piano because her hands are finally big enough.
- Relaxing on my lounge chair in the sun on my deck, with my cup of San Augustin coffee, listening to Joshua Bell.
Pick yours.
Tags: Moments
Julia Cameron believes that an artist date should have a permanent spotin your weekly calendar. I found myself succumbing to a Starbucks-and-Chapters ritual artist date. I don’t think that was the general idea.
Then, I stumbled on Keri Smith’s How to be an explorer of the world, on one of those dates.
Keri has encouraged me to explore and brought life back to my dates.
Can poetry inspire you to a new perspective?
This city:
the
always
noise
grinding
up from the
subways
under
ground
slamming from bus tires
and taxi horns and engines
of cars and trucks in all
vocabularies
of
clash
flash
screeching
hot metal language
combinations
as planes
overhead
roar
an
orchestra
of rolling drums
and battle blasts
assaulting
my ears
with
the
always
noise of
this city:
street music.
In my work as a coach, my clients are often stopped from achieving their perfect life because of fear.
I love this quote from Osho, in Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously:
Why are you afraid? What can the world do to you? People can laugh at you, it will do them good–laughter is always a medicine, healthful.
What a fun perspective!
Besides, if we are not afraid, what would we need courage for?
Courage is not the absence of fear. It is feeling the fear and stepping beyond it (have you heard that before?–no news).
My stepson, Patrick, is a paratrooper and I asked him if he is still afraid after his 1000th jump. He replied,” Of course, otherwise I would be complacent about my preparation. I need to be diligent in preparing for each jump. Fear help me do that. Once I prepare, I am ready and I jump. That is where the thrill is.”
Where is your throat-limping wall of fear? What do you need to do to prepare (pack your chute, check your gear)?
Then JUMP.
That is where the thrill is.
