GET UP AND LIVE

            I was racing against time and I knew it. On a last minute trip to Southern Utah I found myself on the road from the small town of Kanab to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I had never been there before and I didn’t know when I would have the time to make the trip again.

            It was late October. I got on the road at about 4:30 that morning to make the 140 mile trip to get to the North Rim in time to experience the sunrise. Little did know that this was going to be a pivotal experience in my life helping me to recognize the importance of choosing to live in the present moment.

            As I headed South on the winding dark road, a storm was slowly brewing. I never realized the elevation of this formidable country. Snow slowly started to fall and the wind picked up. As some point in my journey I passed an electric road sign with flashing letter’s indicating that this was the last day the North Rim would be open until the following spring.

            I didn’t see another person, not even a park ranger the whole way, and with the snow slowly falling, I thought about turning around more than once. With trepidation I decided to push on knowing that I would not have this chance again for quite a while.

            I pulled into the parking lot just as the sun was cresting from the East. It was truly a dreary late fall morning that would have been uneventful anywhere else. Most people would only look up long enough to realize that the sun was not going to show its self today.

            The parking lot was empty and I was all alone. The cabins were all locked up and the place was in its final stages of preparation for the long winter months.

            I followed the path and walked to the observation point overlooking what has been described as one of the “seven wonders of the world,” astonished by its amazing beauty and sheer depth. The wind was blowing so hard I had to hold my tripod steady to stop it from blowing over. And then it happened, just for a moment the sun came out and added a little bit of color to this amazing scene. I stood in absolute awe of this magical and spiritual place, feeling a peace and sense of purpose that I have become akin to only when experiencing the great vastness of the outdoors and the natural beauty that we are blessed to have around us.

            Then, it dawned on me, out of 7 billion people on the face of the planet I was the only one seeing the sunrise from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. At first it was hard for me to really comprehend that fact. I was the only one on the face of the planet that was seeing this sunrise from this spot. I was overwhelmed by a sense gratitude and appreciation. That experience has affected me every day since that morning. It also taught me one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned. LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT!

            You see, what I’ve realized is just how numb we as a society have become to live life in the moment and to its fullest. The truth is as we get older, we become more set in our ways. We get up at the same time every morning and follow the same routine. We go to the same job every day and complain about the same people and the same mundane tasks. We go home at the same time every night and watch the same sitcoms every week instead of living life in the moment and then we wonder why things aren’t different. The old adage of “crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting results,” is absolutely true.

            My question to you is this; if you had a chance to do something different in your life that you believe would make you happy, would you take the risk and do it? Are you willing to change something for something better? What are you willing to give to feel alive?

            Now that I’ve laid that question out there, let me preface it by stating that you have a chance everyday to do something different and live in the moment. The only thing that is stopping you is you. I’m not talking about packing a bag and disappearing in the middle of the night, but I am talking about doing something every day that makes you feel alive.

            Too many of us are either trapped in the past or worried about the future and because of that we choose to not live in the present. The fact of the matter is simple; we are either busy living or busy dying. There is no alternative so which is it going to be?

            The reason I bring this up is because I have been there. I have squandered opportunities of happiness because I was consumed with the past. I have neglected chances for present day fulfillment and meaning by excessively worrying about the future. It is easy to become consumed by all of the things that we can’t control. In so doing, we essentially limit our ability to find peace and happiness in the present. Take a moment today to look around you and see all of the magnificent blessings that are in front of you right now. Seize the moment…….seize the day.

STUBBORN TO THE POINT OF BEING STUPID

STUBBORN TO THE POINT OF BEING STUPID

The sun rose slowly through Mesa Arch in Canyon Lands National Park. I’d never been there before but I heard that it was magnificent. The low light reflected off of the canyon walls and turned the mesa a golden hue. I felt alive; I felt a spiritual connection……..one that I experience often when I’m outdoors. I felt that I was on the right path. I do some of my best thinking out wondering around in the vast openness all by myself. It gives me an opportunity to escape from all of the distractions, all of the meaningless noise. It gives me an opportunity to connect with something larger than myself, remembering who I am. Remembering that I have a higher purpose.

On that day I learned something valuable. Still struggling with my personal challenges, I felt calm and at peace. I felt a gentle hand leading the way. The question popped into my head in a light-hearted, slightly sarcastic tone, “Are you stubborn to the point of being stupid?”  Taking in a deep breath of the sweet mountain air in that beautiful place, I was being nudged to be objectively introspective. The answer was resoundingly, yes. I was holding on to the past; How things were, how it was my fault, how I was a failure………BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, the list goes on and on. What I wasn’t doing was making the choice to focus on the future an all of the possibilities it holds. Self-pity does that to a person. It saps the ability to look forward with hope and joy and forces us to wallow in the misery of the moment. Don’t get me wrong; I love to feel bad for myself just as much as the next guy. I play a great victim, but there comes a time when we all have to put our big boy pants on and start living the life we are meant to live. One without regret, one with purpose and joy, filled with the determination to live life to its fullest, cherishing the wonders of life’s beauty and learning valuable lessons from past challenges. It all comes down to choice, as it should. All things are determined by the choices we make. We are awash on the sea of life and our ability to navigate amid life’s numerous complexities is determined by what we choose to do at this very moment and all of the moments that are ahead. I was choosing to hold on to the past so stubbornly that I wasn’t willing to see the path of my potential future. I was stubborn to the point of being stupid.

Life is the culmination of the choices we make. Every choice has a ripple affect; some large and some small but they’re there none the less. One key to a happy, fulfilling life is to let go of what we can’t control and choose to enjoy the ride. Robert Brault said, “The definition of an optimist is someone who isn’t sure whether life is a tragedy or a comedy but is tickled silly just to be in the play.” To go one step further, whether life is a tragedy or a comedy is determined by what we choose it to be. It’s determined by perspective.

Its spring now and life is doing what it was pre-determined to do. The snow has melted and the world is awakening from a long winter’s slumber. Spring flowers are in bloom, birds can be heard whistling their soft melodies and the fields and corrals of farms are filled with newborn calves and colts as they learn to stand on their own. Life for them is as it should be, its simple. Why do the flowers bloom? Because the must. Why do the birds sing? Because they can. However, for many of us, we choose to focus on the bad and not recognize the many wonderful blessings and gifts that we have been given. Why? Because we choose to! Let it go, life is filled with unlimited joy and opportunity we just have to reach out and pluck it……..the tree is in bloom.

It's Your Life, Take Control of It.

Everyone of us faces adversity. The purpose behind this blog is to chronicle my own challenges, and at the sametime share the insights that I've gained through this process.

I believe that it's through our most difficult challenges that our character is is honed. (The hottest fires make the strongest steel.) Whatever the challenge is, it is unquestionably going to have an impact on us. It's up to us to determine whether that challenge becomes a stepping stone to greater things, or a step back to further despair. Its entirely in our control.

I certainly don't have all of the answers, but I know that there are certain truths that apply to us all. These truths can help us not only overcome adversity, but create the lives that we want for ourselves and our families.

A few weeks ago I read an article about how frequently our brain transmits new thoughts. The human brain transmits approximately 6,500 new thoughts a day. That is a new thought almost every 4.5 seconds. I started to wonder, how many negative thoughts do I have on a given day. I decided to be my own guinea pig and do a little experiment. I went and bought a clicker. For those of you who don't know what a clicker is, its the little thing the counters hold as you walk into a Costco. Their job is to physically count how many people come into a store. My objective was to count how many negative thoughts I have on a given day. I stopped counting at 500 and I hit that number before noon. I realized I was consumed by negative thoughts. Those negative thoughts were a manifestion of how I felt about myself and were reflected in how I carried myself.Needless to say, I realized that if I didn't change my thought patterns I was going to continue struggle with my circumstances. I may not have control of my circumstances, but I do have control of my thoughts and how I deal with my circumstances.

The next day I decided to flip it around. How many positive thoughts do I have in a given day? Maybe they balance each other out.

That first day I counted only 42 positive thoughts. Take into consideration that I had to consciously be aware of my thoughts, so I'm sure that I had more positive thoughts then that throughout the day. None the less, it's easy to see that my dominate thoughts patterns were negative. How could I possibly began to rebuild my life when all I could see was the negative.What the mind focuses on is exemplified in how we live.

Do you know someone that is so insufferable that everytime you're around them you are emotionally drained? Their demeanor exudes a sense of dread and unhappiness. The sky is always falling. It's my contention that they act that way by choice. Subconsciously they have decided that it's easier to be miserble than to be happy. Let's be honest, human nature is to focus on the negative and not the positive. It's easier to ridicule and criticise than to help and build up. It's easier to focus on all that is bad rather than everything that is good. It truly takes effort to be happy and positive.

Life is filled with challenges for us all. Success and happiness depends on the person that is willing to accept the bitter with the sweet. How can one possibly recognize the light if they haven't experienced the dark? All  things, good and bad, begin with a thought. The thought precedes the action. The action precedes the outcome. The outcome in all of our lives will be determined first by our thoughts.

My assignment for you this week, go and buy a clicker. It may be the best investment you ever make. As I said in an earlier blog post. It is our individual responsibility to "know thyself." At the end of the day, we have true control over only one thing, that is ourselves and how we respond to any given situation. That response begins with a thought.

As always please feel free to share this with anyone you may think this might help. Also please contact me with your own thoughts and feelings.

Warmest Regards,
Scot Boley