My parents are big on taking a daily walk. When I'm home, it's pretty much an unwritten rule that I'll be joining them. Seeing as I've tried to fit in my own daily walks for the past four months, this works out pretty handily. Unlike me, they tend to do the same route every day, cutting through neighborhoods, treelines and a golf course. Today I learned about a new tactic they've employed to keep their walks interesting.
I've taken to calling it "scavenger hunt bocce golf". Once they hit the golf course segment of the walk, they start searching in the trees for misdirected golf balls (scavenger hunt). From that point until they hit the main road again, they alternate turns choosing targets and see who can toss the golf ball closest (bocce golf). They've been doing this long enough that they have personal favorite targets that present challenges: toss the ball over a green space, bounce it in a parking lot, then clear the height of a retaining wall to hit a tree.
They also have a collection of at least 100 golf balls in their garage now. It looks like joy really can be found in the simple things.
smells like suburbia \05.14\
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flowers,
outdoors,
spring
I've taken to calling it "scavenger hunt bocce golf". Once they hit the golf course segment of the walk, they start searching in the trees for misdirected golf balls (scavenger hunt). From that point until they hit the main road again, they alternate turns choosing targets and see who can toss the golf ball closest (bocce golf). They've been doing this long enough that they have personal favorite targets that present challenges: toss the ball over a green space, bounce it in a parking lot, then clear the height of a retaining wall to hit a tree.
They also have a collection of at least 100 golf balls in their garage now. It looks like joy really can be found in the simple things.
This is definitely what I signed up for: a few solid days of sunlight, warmth and Pure Michigan. I'm not ashamed to say that the one ad campaign with an ability to sway me is for my home state. Tim Allen just has me convinced; I can't help it. My only regret is that I was too full to eat a Pronto Pup when we stopped in Grand Haven today. I may find a way back to that little hut of greasy, batter-covered heaven on a stick.
I'm reading another Coelho book, so clearly the quotes are piling up. And of course there's the pondering that goes along with it. "It is we who determine how quickly time passes." The line was so simple that it could've easily slipped by, except that it struck a chord for me. I remember feeling like time was flying by in an infuriating way. Most of my hours passed working or being stressed and angry about work. Days and weeks blurred together, weekends were never long enough to satisfy.
Then I made the decision to slow time down. My mind started feeling sharper, my creativity was piqued again, and time started flowing instead of flying. Yes, I'll have to put work responsibilities back into my life. It's empowering to know firsthand, though, that I make the decisions that control the tempo of time in my life.
pure michigan \05.13\
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lake michigan,
lighthouse
This is definitely what I signed up for: a few solid days of sunlight, warmth and Pure Michigan. I'm not ashamed to say that the one ad campaign with an ability to sway me is for my home state. Tim Allen just has me convinced; I can't help it. My only regret is that I was too full to eat a Pronto Pup when we stopped in Grand Haven today. I may find a way back to that little hut of greasy, batter-covered heaven on a stick.
I'm reading another Coelho book, so clearly the quotes are piling up. And of course there's the pondering that goes along with it. "It is we who determine how quickly time passes." The line was so simple that it could've easily slipped by, except that it struck a chord for me. I remember feeling like time was flying by in an infuriating way. Most of my hours passed working or being stressed and angry about work. Days and weeks blurred together, weekends were never long enough to satisfy.
Then I made the decision to slow time down. My mind started feeling sharper, my creativity was piqued again, and time started flowing instead of flying. Yes, I'll have to put work responsibilities back into my life. It's empowering to know firsthand, though, that I make the decisions that control the tempo of time in my life.
Today's "yes" activity: judging figure skating. Why do I call this a "yes" activity? Because it's something completely unfamiliar to me, something you could feasibly assert that I'm unqualified to do (since I've never been a skater). Instead of using this as rationale to practice avoidance and stay rooted to my comfortable, well-worn path, I said...yes. Instead of stressing over the shift out of equilibrium, I'm figuring a lot of it out as I go.
During the course of my day, I had an interesting conversation with an older woman also taking part in the judging festivities. She asked me about my job, so I unraveled the abridged version of my recent life story. She brought it up again during our next break. First, she said, "You're going to go back to Costa Rica; I know it. And you'll go for at least six months. I think you'll end up in a beach town and the opportunity you're looking for will be there waiting for you." For good measure, she then informed me that she has some psychic abilities. Odds are that I just have way more light in my eyes when I say "Costa Rica" than when I mention "cubicles". But, hey, who am I to say that she didn't catch a glimpse of my future? :)
Also, I may have eaten about two tons of food, graciously provided by the lovely skater parents. Unfortunately, that makes me ready to crawl into a food coma for the next three days. Thus, I bid you adieu.
being official \05.12\
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miscellany,
sports
During the course of my day, I had an interesting conversation with an older woman also taking part in the judging festivities. She asked me about my job, so I unraveled the abridged version of my recent life story. She brought it up again during our next break. First, she said, "You're going to go back to Costa Rica; I know it. And you'll go for at least six months. I think you'll end up in a beach town and the opportunity you're looking for will be there waiting for you." For good measure, she then informed me that she has some psychic abilities. Odds are that I just have way more light in my eyes when I say "Costa Rica" than when I mention "cubicles". But, hey, who am I to say that she didn't catch a glimpse of my future? :)
Also, I may have eaten about two tons of food, graciously provided by the lovely skater parents. Unfortunately, that makes me ready to crawl into a food coma for the next three days. Thus, I bid you adieu.
This morning I received one of the many types of weekly emails sent out by LinkedIn. It was pointing me toward top news articles, one of which was titled "The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)". I decided to bite and clicked my way over to Forbes.com to read it. The article was short, sweet and to the point. At the end, they proposed that you participate in their survey: Which do you think is the biggest obstacle of the six?
From my own battles to uncover happiness (and maybe some greatness, too), I could've named the culprit without the list. Comfort...a.k.a. the rut. Apparently the general survey-taking public was in agreement with me.
Clearly I took a big step out of my comfort zone when I left the conventional cubicle world for international traipsing. I was proud of myself, because even though it was the best decision for me, it wasn't easy at any point in time. Yet, I may be even more proud of myself now. It would've been so easy to come back from that and give in to the allure of traditional comfort. Instead, I'm keeping my focus on the reasons I left it in the first place and trying to find the right direction.
Being uncomfortable is not always easy, but it also isn't half bad.
animal kingdom \05.11\
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animals
From my own battles to uncover happiness (and maybe some greatness, too), I could've named the culprit without the list. Comfort...a.k.a. the rut. Apparently the general survey-taking public was in agreement with me. Clearly I took a big step out of my comfort zone when I left the conventional cubicle world for international traipsing. I was proud of myself, because even though it was the best decision for me, it wasn't easy at any point in time. Yet, I may be even more proud of myself now. It would've been so easy to come back from that and give in to the allure of traditional comfort. Instead, I'm keeping my focus on the reasons I left it in the first place and trying to find the right direction.
Being uncomfortable is not always easy, but it also isn't half bad.
This may not get your heart pumping or be the slightest bit exciting, but I spent all day in anticipation of this delivery. The book fairy (a.k.a. USPS via Amazon.com) left me three indulgent treats. Perhaps I mentioned this little online shopping trip at the end of last week? Followed by an anecdote about my family trips to Borders? Ok, well I have one more book-related tidbit. Then I'm done...maybe.
There's a good chance that it was just me, and maybe a few classmates, but I considered elementary school book orders to be an occasion. You better believe that my eyes scanned every single one of those little blurbs and my writing utensil was immediately making circles. I could barely walk in the door after school before I was bargaining with my Mom, trying to convince her that I actually NEEDED all of those books. I don't recall ever getting away with more than two at a time. Apparently libraries were supposed to fill the void.
Earlier this week, I saw an article about Justin Bieber graduating high school. (Stay with me, this is actually related.) It included a comment about how he's done things in his life like travel the world, but school makes you do things like reading and writing...and he's not really into that. At that moment in time, it pained me that he could be considered a role model. I have also traveled to many places in the world, but I still place extremely high value on reading and writing in my life. Then again, maybe this is another one of those occasions where it's just me.
Final thoughts on reading for today. I really wish that I knew how many books I had read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, that seems fairly impossible. It's plausible that I could manage to track back most of the books I've read thus far in 2012. So, I'm adding that to my 2012 agenda: book timeline.
bookworm \05.10\
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books
There's a good chance that it was just me, and maybe a few classmates, but I considered elementary school book orders to be an occasion. You better believe that my eyes scanned every single one of those little blurbs and my writing utensil was immediately making circles. I could barely walk in the door after school before I was bargaining with my Mom, trying to convince her that I actually NEEDED all of those books. I don't recall ever getting away with more than two at a time. Apparently libraries were supposed to fill the void.
Earlier this week, I saw an article about Justin Bieber graduating high school. (Stay with me, this is actually related.) It included a comment about how he's done things in his life like travel the world, but school makes you do things like reading and writing...and he's not really into that. At that moment in time, it pained me that he could be considered a role model. I have also traveled to many places in the world, but I still place extremely high value on reading and writing in my life. Then again, maybe this is another one of those occasions where it's just me.
Final thoughts on reading for today. I really wish that I knew how many books I had read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, that seems fairly impossible. It's plausible that I could manage to track back most of the books I've read thus far in 2012. So, I'm adding that to my 2012 agenda: book timeline.
It's like Christmas morning every time I open the Travelzoo Weekly Top 20 email. But then someone tells me that I can't play with any of the toys. My travel dreams are kind of the large and constant type. And I don't really make an effort to deter that.
Over the past couple of days, I've spent more than an ample amount of time digging into a blog/website called The Art of Non-Conformity. The writer, Chris Guillebeau, is a world traveler. Seriously, by this summer he will have visited every country in the world. Beyond that, though, he's the type of guy that just embodies pretty much everything I've been feeling but hadn't yet connected. I get him. He has helped set my mind back in motion. He's the first to say that his message and methods aren't for everyone, but the people that get it...GET IT! It didn't hurt that I ran across Ayn Rand and Paulo Coelho quotes on his site.
Perhaps what I find most interesting is that I've actually read a post on Chris's site before, about two years ago. It was passed to me by a friend who apparently knew me better than I knew myself. The post was titled, "Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World". I didn't quite make it around the world, but I did quit my job and move to Costa Rica for a month. I don't recall revisiting that post after the initial reading, but I've had it bookmarked in a folder called "Happiness" since that day. As fate (and a pretty specifically worded Google search) would have it, I was reunited with The Art of Non-Conformity this week. We're getting along famously, thus far.
peeling back the layers \05.09\
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color,
flowers,
spring
Over the past couple of days, I've spent more than an ample amount of time digging into a blog/website called The Art of Non-Conformity. The writer, Chris Guillebeau, is a world traveler. Seriously, by this summer he will have visited every country in the world. Beyond that, though, he's the type of guy that just embodies pretty much everything I've been feeling but hadn't yet connected. I get him. He has helped set my mind back in motion. He's the first to say that his message and methods aren't for everyone, but the people that get it...GET IT! It didn't hurt that I ran across Ayn Rand and Paulo Coelho quotes on his site.
Perhaps what I find most interesting is that I've actually read a post on Chris's site before, about two years ago. It was passed to me by a friend who apparently knew me better than I knew myself. The post was titled, "Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World". I didn't quite make it around the world, but I did quit my job and move to Costa Rica for a month. I don't recall revisiting that post after the initial reading, but I've had it bookmarked in a folder called "Happiness" since that day. As fate (and a pretty specifically worded Google search) would have it, I was reunited with The Art of Non-Conformity this week. We're getting along famously, thus far.
Clearly I have some supernatural connection to Mother Nature. After voicing my displeasure yesterday regarding recent weather conditions, I woke up to a blue sky this morning. I didn't even hit snooze, just popped out of bed and made my way out into the sunshine for some exercise. Can I get another one of those tomorrow?
Switching gears. I think it would be interesting for someone to do a study on my non-verbal cues and determine which ones compel strangers to approach me. Whether it's a populated coffee shop, a busy intersection, or a crowded store (sometimes even in foreign countries), people will approach me to ask for directions, assistance, or a watchful eye on their belongings while they use the restroom. Perhaps I look innocent? Trustworthy? Approachable? But is it something about my facial expressions? The way I dress? An air of possessing knowledge? See, I have so many questions! That's why I need a study. At the end of the day, it could just be that I have an coincidental ability to be in close proximity to people who need assistance. Today someone also came up to me and asked if I was Karen. Close. He had the last three letters right.
natural touch \05.08\
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everyday,
flowers,
neighborhood
Switching gears. I think it would be interesting for someone to do a study on my non-verbal cues and determine which ones compel strangers to approach me. Whether it's a populated coffee shop, a busy intersection, or a crowded store (sometimes even in foreign countries), people will approach me to ask for directions, assistance, or a watchful eye on their belongings while they use the restroom. Perhaps I look innocent? Trustworthy? Approachable? But is it something about my facial expressions? The way I dress? An air of possessing knowledge? See, I have so many questions! That's why I need a study. At the end of the day, it could just be that I have an coincidental ability to be in close proximity to people who need assistance. Today someone also came up to me and asked if I was Karen. Close. He had the last three letters right.