Lifestyle

Happiness Is Not A Place

11/17/2017 by John 2 Comments

Signpost at the northern tip of New Zealand

We recently received the news that Mary is eligible to practice nursing in New Zealand. Currently, she has a recruiter in Auckland chasing down job leads for her. Though the possibility of living in New Zealand for an extended period of time is exciting, I have to remember that happiness will not come from the place where I live. Happiness is something I must cultivate with every action I take in each and every moment.

I often harbor the hope that a change in geography will create a change in me, that it will scratch the itch of restlessness that I often feel. Sometimes this pans out, such as when I left Alabama to work in North Carolina. Sometimes, it doesn’t work so well. Visiting the Bahamas is nice, but living there is not something I wish to do again. A change can bring a fresh start, a chance to be someone new. But the unsettled and mildly unsatisfied aspects of my psyche inevitably follow me wherever I go. No amount of distance can allow me to escape from myself. When I do not tend to the cause of my dissatisfaction, no stunning beach or breathtaking mountain vista satisfies me for very long.

I’ll have to remember this while I’m in that far away land, with a new panoply of stars spinning over my head, homesick for friends and family 10,000 miles away. Like my restlessness, a deep contentment also lies within me and it is up to me to encourage it to rise to the surface of consciousness. Wherever I am, there is a quiet, still place inside me that assures me that all I have is all I will ever need and that I am never truly alone.

Carpe Diem

11/10/2017 by John 2 Comments

We did not see the sun much the first two weeks of October. Every day looked much like the day before, with a layer of gray cloud covering Portland and varying levels of moisture falling from the sky. We were all too happy to escape the gloom and fly back east to be a part of the North Carolina Outward Bound School’s 50th Anniversary celebration. We awoke from our red-eye flight to a fall day in the Southern Appalachians, one of the best places to be in the world. The sun was bright, the days warm, and the evenings comfortably cool. It was what I expect October weather to be, and it is the kind of weather that has too often lulled me into not taking full advantage of all it has to offer.

We boarded our flight back to the Northwest dreading the cloudy skies and chilly winds we feared were awaiting us there. When we arrived, what we found instead were clear views of Mount Hood and Mount Saint Helens and pleasant temperatures. It was a mid-fall gift, and we decided we must take full advantage of it.

Wednesday: Go for a hike at Mount Hood
Thursday: bike around the riverfront downtown and take the aerial tram for great views of the city and surrounding mountains
Friday: Drive to the coast to walk and talk on the beach all day
Saturday: Go for a nice long run around town
Sunday-Tuesday: head up to Mount Rainer to hike in the woods, sit by a campfire, and enjoy stunning views of the Northwest from the flanks of the mountain

It was one of the best weeks we’ve had in a long time. Every morning, we would wake up, see that the weather was still going to be good, and we would pick an adventure and get out of the house as soon as possible. It was obvious during the week that many other people were doing the same as we were: taking advantage of the weather window and seizing the day.

The week made me think about all the good weather days I’ve had in my lifetime back in the Southeast, of how many adventures I could have had, but didn’t because in my mind there was always tomorrow, when the weather was still probably going to be good. Experiencing fall in the Northwest has taught me to take advantage of those bits of time when the sun breaks through the clouds, or at least when the rain stops falling, to get out there and do something.

I hope I remember this the next time I live in a place where the sun shines more days than not. But more importantly, I hope I can remember that it’s not about the weather anyway. Come rain or shine, it’s up to me to seize the day.

Three Things to Start Each Day

10/28/2017 by John Leave a Comment

A breath. Not just any breath, the kind we take a thousand times each day, without noticing we are even doing it, without experiencing it. Take a breath and feel each part, the beginning identified, its middle passed through, and conclusion noted. To experience a breath like this is to know that you are alive.
Gratitude. Think about one thing you are grateful for: the soft bed you are resting in, the food on your table, the love you feel from friends and family, the ability to notice that one breath you just took. Gratitude leads to giving, and giving leads to happiness.
Intention. Ask yourself, how do you want to live today? What light will guide you through this journey? What do you hope to accomplish with the time you are allotted? Intention leads to purpose. Intention sets the course.

Adopted from the ideas of sports psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais, first heard on The Rich Roll Podcast and a journal entry from 1.3.15