I spend the majority of my waking moments filled with fear, frustrations, and dreams, and it’s only in the haze of long hikes that I lose a sense of self. The most cherished gift imparted by long solitary walks is not the healthy exercise, the melodic meditative rhythm, or the time to capture and transcribe thoughts into words, it is the unhindered view of the horizon. I can see beyond my own small role, beyond my limited time here. I can feel the sun and rain and seasons sweep away the precious moments of my existence without a defiant scream to stop. The entirety of my life is not even a dot on the totality of time.
Tag: mind
Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear, well, he eats you
The long swim to the surface
This morning’s riff is a continuation of thoughts on work I began in meaningful work now, the Middle, and the Kensai. Optimal work means different things to different people with one common thread, work and life balance is a moving target.
Crunch Time, Time Management Crash Course
The same situation presents itself to Calculus students before the monster final, data scientists before giving the company saving presentation, and yes even Olympic Curlers1. Crunch time is characterized by high stress, little time, limited opportunity and it demands the highest possible performance. It’s times like these that folks find themselves in situations that sound impossible, yet it’s precisely these moments where we can learn the most effective time and information management skills. (more…)
Re-Theming Self, I remember why people dress up
I dress like a chubby athletic hobo 350+ days out of the year, wearing shorts, a comfortable T-shirt, and seasonal long sleeve shirt layers. There are two goals in my attire, comfort and mobility. There are a handful of days a year where I can’t escape wearing pants and a clean shirt or sweater. Those usual suspects include business travel and holidays.
The Sanctity of Sleep
Cloaked deeply within the time-hallowed vestiges of labor, bathed in the daily rigors of life, there is little preparation which yields greater benefit than adequate rest. As the astute reader may have already guessed, this topic is near and dear to my current state of bleary eyed existence. The culprit that instigated my sad situation was a tasty 24oz J&R steakhouse double cut that I just “had to finish”. If only I was marginally as dedicated towards more noble pursuits, like transitioning a side project into a primary mission, saving rain forests, combating global warming, or feeding the hungry (hmm). With little regret, my role as gluttonous dreamer is self selected as I’m born again* each morning.
What Middlemen Dream Of
Free before 5:15
At a quarter after five each weekday my wife and I get up and go through our daily morning rituals. When my day job gets busy it swallows nearly all curious or creative energy I can cultivate. The industry from which I earn a living, is not one which supports free associative thinking or building.
Embrace what is, mold what will be
This morning while scanning Feedly I came across a post by Brad Feld discussing the importance of deciding not to do something. In it Brad mentions passing up an attractive offer, and it reminded me of an earlier post I’d written on emptiness. (more…)
