Quote of the day: “Wholeheartedness is a precious gift, but no one can actually give it to you. You have to find the path that has heart and then walk it impeccably….It’s like someone laughing in your ear, challenging you to figure out what to do when you don’t know what to do. It humbles you. It opens your heart.” — Pema Chödrön
Wholehearted Week!
What an amazing, brilliant, beautiful week I’ve had! I celebrated my birthday this week. I had not planned to do anything to celebrate but friends and family alike made my day a super special day.
So here’s my list for this week, with a heart full to over-flowing with gratitude.
Morning Walks Every Day This Week!
I challenged myself to increase my exercise by committing to myself that I would walk at least 10 minutes every day, first thing after I meditate in the morning.
Did you see how sneaky my goal was? Without committing to meditation every single day, I built it into my goal. Also, 10 minutes of walking sounds insanely easy, doesn’t it? Well, I walked an average of 25 minutes each morning and then felt so virtuous because I had exceeded my goal so much each day. Plus, it was a great way to start my day.
It goes without saying that I had a camera with me for every walk, which was another motivator for me.
I’ve committed to this goal for 30 days and then I hope to increase the minutes in my goal for the next 30 days (but not too much – I want it to continue to feel insanely easy to accomplish).
I was inspired to try this by Leo Babauta’s blog (ZenHabits) post, How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit.
Gratitude for ZenHabits blog and for morning walks every day this week!
Photo taken on my morning walk
Did you ever have a longing for something, but you couldn’t say why in any kind of rational terms? That’s the way I’ve felt about an idea I’ve had for quite a while now. I want to go to Hawaii this winter on walk-about. I want to live there for 2-4 months and experience the rhythm of life on the islands. I want to make photos of ordinary life and ordinary people. I want to soak in the ocean breezes and tropical fragrances.
I was having a really hard time letting myself want this and committing to doing it, because it seemed so overwhelming to plan. On my birthday, I asked my best friend to go out to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum with me to talk about where to start in putting together my walk-about dream.
She helped me understand that I can do this and not spend a fortune. It won’t be easy. It may be uncomfortable not knowing how things will go, but I CAN do this. She also helped me realize that I need to do this and that I’m worth it. It humbles me to see how scary it is to claim this for myself. And it also fills my heart with joy.
Gratitude for friends who challenge me to live out loud and be fully alive!
Prairie Grass at MN Landscape Arboretum
At the Arboretum I made photos of the dahlias in bloom just like I did last year in early September. I was so thrilled to see how much I’ve learned in the past year, as evidenced by studying my photos from this year and last year. My hard work is paying off.
I am so grateful for photography!
Bloom
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