Sunrise Moonset

What a treat this morning. As the sun was lighting up the morning sky, the almost-full (slightly waning) moon was setting on the opposite side of the lake. It was so beautiful. I couldn't decide which direction I liked better. I was stuck at how balanced the whole situation was. That's the second time that balance has come up in my life in the last 24 hours.

I was being interviewed last night and one of the questions asked was about balance and specifically, how I maintained it. I realized that my definition of balance might be different than others. For me, balance isn't about stagnation or stand-still. Rather, balance is about harmony and equilibrium. In my life, the best way that I have discovered to find balance is to follow the flow and ease in my life. In other words, I have stopped trying to push water uphill. The result has been a more harmonious existence peppered with unforeseen surprises.

Sunny and Sad

The sun came up today, unobstructed by any clouds. I also found out today that am woman that I knew died last year. I didn't know her well. We only shared a few days each summer at September Camp. Yet, this news of her death saddens me. Perhaps it is because she is only 5 years older than me. Perhaps it is because her children are the same age as mine. Perhaps it is because I didn't get to know her better and now I never can.

What else have I missed the opportunity to do because I always thought that I would do it later? What else have I put off for another day when it can be done today? What a wake-up call to live each day to the fullest and put the little things aside. I think I'll leave it at that today and get on with those things that I can do today.

Wet and Rainy

And grey. The cloud cover is pretty thick and it's challenging to to see the light of the sun behind. It's after 9am and still pretty grey and dark outside. It's not storming, just dark and grey. However if I focus on the breaks in the clouds I can see very bright light. The little breaks are few and far between but they are there. I notice that when I focus on them the whole sky seems brighter.

What you focus on expands. If you look for what's right, you'll get more of what's right. This also works in reverse, when you look for what's wrong then you'll get more of what's wrong. I can also focus on the really dark patches of the sky and whole thing seems to get dimmer. It's like that with everything in my life. When I focus on what I want then I draw more of what I need into my life in order to get what I want. The trick is to maintain positive focus when the circumstances of life are challenging. Think of them as little tests and then just pass each one as it comes along.

Equally Simple

Yesterday I wrote about the sweet textbook sunrise and how simple and easy it was. Today, is the exact same thing in another format. Today, the sky is overcast with the a monotone grey cloud. The sunrise was equally simple today in that there was no sun. It just got brighter.

I seem to be getting signals on the theme of simplicity in my life. Perhaps there is a common thread. Maybe life is really that simple. Let's see what tomorrow brings...

Nice an d Easy

It was cold, crisp and clear this morning. Hence, a textbook sunrise. Sometimes life is just simple. I think we make it complicated. Sometimes I think we make it complicated just because it's simple and that's unnerving. Anyway, today was simple: beautiful, easy sunset.

I'm not going to complicate it with a lengthy blog post :)

Cold and Beautiful

It seems that the coldest days bring the clearest skies which tend to be dramatic sunrises. I suppose it's a trade-off. Colder = Clearer. On one hand the cold day is not a good thing but on the other hand it is great. Hmm. Paradox. I think all of life's challenge can be translated into paradoxes. There is always a flip side to a situation that changes its meaning.

Reframing (as it is called) is really useful with kids. You can always alter the meaning of a situation by reframing it for kids. They really get it when you present an alternative meaning, especially if it really makes sense. This technique also works on its own (i.e. you can reframe something for yourself). This is just a function of finding a new context or a new meaning where the situation makes sense. I have yet to find anything that I can't reframe.

Soft and Stunning

There was purple in the sunrise this morning. I don't mean reddish-blue, I mean full-out purple/lavender. It was breathtaking. There was only a small window in the sky where the sun could actually peek through yet it used all of the space that it had to create the most stunning display. It used what it had. I didn't notice it lamenting what it did not have.

What a great principle to live by in life - use what you have. Imagine if you used all the resources that you had. What could you possible do with what you have? The sun seemed to leverage the small space to create a focal point for colour and light. I think of all the times I worried about what I DIDN'T have instead of focusing on what I did have. If the sun can make that much beauty with about 5% of the sky then perhaps I could work wonders with what I have right in front of me.

Business as Usual

Here's what I want to know: where do ALL of those grey clouds go and why do they always seem to disappear at night? Seriously, it is the sunniest day ever here in NYC and there isn't a cloud for miles. Yesterday was abysmal. How does it do that. The sun is in full strength today and it seemed to happen in an instant.

Last night at dinner we were talking about changing beliefs. Specifically, we were talking about changing them in an instant. It was decided that changing beliefs in an instant, especially ones that have been around since childhood, was quite difficult. However, the only way to change your experience is to change your beliefs. So, it seems, we would be wise to mimic the sun in this situation and just wake up with a completely different attitude and therefore a completely different reality regardless of what happened the night before.

The Big Apple

I am in NYC today and the sunrise was nonexistent this morning. It was complete cloud cover. I don't think it really matters in NY because it would be virtually impossible to see the sun rise amongst these crazy tall buildings anyway. In a way, the sun's energy is better used elsewhere because this city is alive with energy despite the lack of sunrise today.

I love New York. How cliche is that? Seriously, I love it. I have never seen it rain so hard as it did last night and yet even the torrential downpour didn't slow the pace of this city one little bit. In fact, at one point, the corner was so busy that I had to use some umbrella maneuvering tricks to get through a crowd to cross the street. People here have focus; intense focus. And it seems that nothing throws them off their target. Not a downpour and certainly not a cloudy sunrise.

Beautiful Disharmony

The sky looks confused this morning. There are dark clouds mixed in with the blue sky. It makes for a very dramatic sunrise. The contrast between the lightness and the darkness is quite stark. In fact, parts of the dark sky look almost purplish. And yet there is great beauty in this scene. The difference between the darkness and the light is what heightens the drama. A dark sky is beautiful and a light sky is beautiful but when you put them together there is an alchemy that emphasizes the beauty. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Being able to see the big picture is a good skill to have. In NLP, we call it "chunking up". All problems eventually disappear if you just get up high enough. This is the basis for any conflict resolution. You have to find the common ground and you usually have to get into the big picture to find it. Once common ground is established then you can move back into the details, all the while maintaining your big picture thinking. The next time you have a problem, try chunking up until it doesn't seem to be a problem anymore.

Settling

There was absolutely no sunrise this morning. It was complete cloud cover. Not even an inch of sunlight streaming through. In fact, the whole day has been like this: grey. We have to settle for grey today. It's not our first choice but it's the hand we're dealt so we deal with it.

Perhaps the instances in our lives where we have to settle for what we don't want help to define what we really want. Perhaps in having to handle circumstances that are less than what we desire, we learn to get clear on what we really want. In a sense, settling isn't such a bad thing unless it becomes chronic. If you constantly cut yourself short of what you actually deserve then you will ultimately block the reception of what you really want. You have to admit when you have what you really want and when you don't and then act accordingly.

Day Off

The sun is taking a day off today. I'm kind of relieved to tell you the truth. I always feel a little pressure to get outside and seize the day when the sun is in full shine. Perhaps the clouds are a sign that I should also take a day off. Or at least focus on doing some of the "administrative" work that isn't glamorous but is totally necessary. Today is that kind of day.

I remember hearing the saying about enlightenment. A young monk asked an old monk what happens before enlightenment. The old monk replies "chop wood, carry water". Then the young monk inquires as to what happens after enlightenment. To which the old monk replies "chop wood, carry water". This indicates that the tasks that we perform are a necessity to our physical lives and must be performed regardless. I take comfort in knowing this when I am doing my chores. Perhaps the task is the key to the freedom?

More Beauty

Wow, when I focus on how beautiful the sunrise is and how gorgeous the days have been then I notice that I have been blessed with a large number of blue-bird days in the last month. First, there was Whistler and the picture-perfect days and now there is Collingwood with another string of gorgeousness. I am a very lucky woman. If I continue down this road of focusing on what is right I come across a whole list of things to notice.

Focusing on all of this goodness makes me feel good. When I am feeling good it is easier for me to notice more to be grateful for. This makes me feel even better which makes is easier to keep doing it. I think you get the picture. The test is when something throws me off that cycle as to whether or not I can maintain my focus on what is right. That is the test every day!

Clouds on the Horizon

There are clouds on the horizon today. This will obviously interfere with the string of blue-bird days that we have been having in Collingwood. Yet, the presence of the clouds made for a very breathtaking sunrise. The clouds, at first, seem disappointing because they threaten to cover up the beloved sun. Yet, when they work together with the sun, they allow for reflection and deflection of light which yields to a more stunning sunrise. That's called "flow".

The sun doesn't strain against the clouds. The sun just keeps doing its thing. The clouds don't strain against the sun. The clouds just do their thing. The combination and interaction is what brings about the beauty. Any yet, no one is in control of the beauty. The beauty is a result of the flow between the two entities. This is a key concept, I am sure. You can't control "flow". It happens as a result of doing what you do without concern for what others are doing. The point here is to be sure that you are being true to yourself and focusing on only you instead of directing (and therefore weakening) your focus elsewhere. The key to flow is truth.

Calm

Today was a peaceful clear and sunny morning. It's amazing how easy it seems.The sun doesn't strain. It just uses what it has. I've often observed that I am not as good as taking it as it comes. I can't figure why that is. I wonder if that is something that I have conditioned myself to do or if it an innate human characteristic.

It seems that I often strain even when there is nothing to strain against. I wonder if I would be lost without the strain? Perhaps at some level, I expect life to be hard and so it is. Are there people who just expect life to be easy or effortless? How did they get that way? The most important question - can you undo the conditioning?

Picture Perfect

The sunrise was textbook today: not a cloud in the sky, perfect colour gradation and right on time (as always). It's beautiful in an ordinary kind of way. There was a time where I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. And yet now that I am programmed to look at it every day, I get to enjoy more of the ordinary beauty that surrounds me everywhere.

It is a function of the reticular activating system to seek out and find what you are looking for. This physiological function is the mechanism behind your focus. I notice that when I look for beauty in the morning, I often find in more than one place. Today, I happened to notice the sweet sound of birds chirping at dawn. I didn't realize how much I had missed that sound all winter until I heard it today. Furthermore, the air seems crisper and the trees seem greener when I am focused on the beauty. The RAS also works against our happiness when we direct it to look for what's wrong. Looking for what's wrong initiates a downward spiral that constantly draws to our attention what else is wrong. This ultimately leads to feeling worse. So, now you know. It's up to you to choose your focus and therefore the ultimate quality of your experience. How are you going to spend it?

Beautiful Day

It is a beautiful morning and the sun is back but not at full strength. I think it will only work a half day today. I would like it to appear because I am going to be spending the day outside taking a full day off work myself. Perhaps the sun and I could get into a little routine. The sun can work at full strength when I am taking the day off and then it can take days off when I have to work at full strength :)

It seems at though I am stuck in a holding pattern where I feel enormous pressure to burst through a creativity barrier and yet on the other hand I feel held back by energetic forces that I do not understand. Internally, I know that I must wait a little longer but I feel frustrated because I am so accustomed to "doing".

Spring Forward

It wasn't just overcast this morning at sunrise, it was raining. Much of the snow melted this morning. I am a little worried about the condition of the ski hill. Despite the overcast sky it is still quite light out. It must be a thin layer of cloud. I think the sun is gearing up for spring and summer.

I think that sometimes it make sense to put things off and take adequate time to assess the whole situation and allow the answers to come to you. This requires a parasympathetic functioning in the body which means a more relaxed state. In this state, you will be able to see opportunities that you otherwise would have missed in your business. You also have time for creative inspiration as well. All in well, time spent in this state is time well spent even though it initially feels as though you are wasting time.

Special Overcast

Well it finally happened. The sky is completely overcast. And yet it doesn't matter at all. My son was born seven years ago today so today is a fabulous day. The sun is just taking a break today from all of the shining that it did for well over a week. We have really enjoyed it and now are equally enjoying taking a break to relax and be lazy.

In fact, I often feel pressure to get outside and take advantage of the nice weather so I didn't really notice that an overcast day delivers inherently less pressure to get going quickly. Our whole family needs a break because we have been going at full speed for quite some time. Simon's birthday plus an overcast sky is giving us chance to do nothing. What a gift.

One Final Push

The weather forecast keeps saying that it's going to rain but the sun pulled off another great sunrise this morning. It keeps giving 100% effort despite the forecast or the circumstances. I think of how many times I have quit when it was "obvious" that it was not going to happen. Then I think "how did I know it was obvious". In fact, sometimes if we just hang on for one extra day, everything changes.

I watched The Matrix last night again. It is one of my favourite movies. There is so much to contemplate. I love the scene about the spoon bending. "There is no spoon. Don't try to bend the spoon because that is impossible. Instead, it is you who must bend". I love this quote. I often forget that it is I who must bend and not the other way around. The circumstances are what they are but I always have control over who I am being. Always.

Hanging In There

The forecast for this week was supposed to change from clear, blue skies to rain. Each day the forecast keeps getting moved out by a day thus delaying the inevitable rain. The sun managed to through a streak of colour this morning in between the layers of clouds that are building in the sky. It was pretty. The sun eeked out another beautiful sunrise even after the forecasters said it would be overcast. That's perseverance.

Sometimes, we just need to hang on for one more day too. It's often not as bad as we think but it depends where we put our focus. Of course, I could have focused on the grey skies or I could have focused on the streak of colour between the clouds. Both options were available and yet I chose to see the colour. This principle applies in almost any situation. You can focus on what's wrong or what's right. Either way you will find what you are looking for.

New Day

Today is another new day as evidenced by the unique sunrise that I experienced this morning. The sky was slightly hazy which allowed for a paintbrush effect across the sky. The colours were red, pink, peach and they were all blended together. No matter what happened yesterday, today is a new day. This means a fresh start; a complete new beginning. It's profound that we can make a choice today to move in a new direction regardless of what has happened in the past up until this moment.

Most people don't do this. Most people live from their past. Or worst, most people live IN their past, recreating the same events and circumstances over and over again. It reminds me of a saying that I heard once: yesterday is over, tomorrow is on the way but today is a gift and that's why they call it "the present". Just live each day as a new entity and you will be well on your way to an awesome life.

Hazy

The sunrise today came in two phases. First the sun passed through a foggy haze. It was beautiful. The sun was red and you could look directly at it because of the filtering effect of the haze. Then it broke above the haze and burst forward in full blast. The most interesting time was when the sun was between the two phases - half the sun was filtered and half was at 100% strength. It was such an interesting observation.

There was great beauty in the filtered sun. It was quieter and less bold. It was much easier to look at. Perhaps there is some benefit to operating at 1/2 strength. Perhaps we are easier to work with and people can get closer to us if only for a brief moment. On the other hand, the sun was most powerful at full strength when it emerged from the haze. There is truth to that as well. We need to shine our full strength so that we can operate at maximum power. But, maybe there is a place for both.

Intuition

Intuition is that little part inside of us that knows what we should or shouldn't do. I often doubt my own as do most people. Yet, the sun never seems to show any doubt. The sunrise is one of the most predictable and certain events in my day. In fact, I know ahead of time that the sun will rise tomorrow at approximately 6:42am. That is 100% certainty. But in trusting myself, I wouldn't say I had 100% certainty. There are times where I am not sure that what I am doing is right at all but I keep doing it.

There are times when I know that I am going against my intuition because I am doing something logical. These often end up in the worst kind of results. Yet, intuition is not based on nothing. In fact there is a professor at Leeds University in the UK who makes it his life's work to study intuition and its application in business. He found that intuition is actually based on experience. More importantly, intuition is based on all the little things in your experiences that were not conscious to you. In this way, intuition takes into account EVERYTHING that has happened to you whereas logic takes into account that those experiences that you were conscious of. Knowing that intuition is actually based on experience gives me a little more certainty in trusting that little voice when it pops us.

Still Going

The sunrises are still awesome. The sun has been going strong for almost a week now. It is so nice to get some Vitamin D. The sunrise this morning was little muted, there was a slight high cloud. I guess the sun was taking a mini-break.

I think that means that I need a mini-break because I have been going full steam ahead for a few weeks. When we get back to Collingwood on Wednesday then I will take a few days off to recoup my energy and my enthusiasm. I wonder if Mars is still in some kind of retrograde because everything feels a little stuck??

Everyday Brilliance

The only way to describe today's sunrise is brilliant. The sun has been shining for many days now and the sunrises are a brilliant blast of light after a long dark night. We are in Collingwood again and the scenery is stunning because this brilliant sun is beating off the snow so everything is white and light and bright.

It's amazing how many people are in a good mood. I have to observe that it might be related to the sunshine. There are more people holding doors. A car even let me in without having to in the parking lot today. It seems that the brilliant sun brings out the best in people. Or maybe the best in people brings out the brilliant sun???

Busy Days

It seems that each day gets better and more busy. The sun has been shining for a few days in a row and is forecast to continue doing so for many days to come. As one of the many Vitamin D deprived Canadians this time of year, I am so happy to hear this. The sunshine elevates my mood. It must be an actual chemical reaction. I just love being kissed by the sun.

That could be the reason that I love the sunrise so much. I love being one of the first people to get a a glimpse and kiss from the sun. It's also probably why I feel bummed when there is an overcast day. But I wonder if the sun makes me feel good or I just associated feeling good to the sun. It's a question worth asking. What if I could generate feeling happy on an overcast day? What might be possible?

Increasing Beauty

The sunrise got more beautiful as it progressed today. By the time the sun actually broke the horizon it was a fiery ball in the sky. It seemed a little sluggish at first but then, little by little, it began to increase in intensity. It was very similar to how I do a project.

It starts out slowly and seemingly without direction. But then, as things start to come together, the intensity starts to build. This building of intensity further reinforces my focus, drive and determination to complete the project. It becomes a very beneficial cycle. The focus and determination increased the intensity and success of the project which serves to keep increasing the focus and intensity. This cycle also works in reverse. If you get down on a subject and lose intensity and focus then you will find yourself spiraling downwards with the situation getting worse and worse. You can halt this cycle by changing your focus, your emotional state or your physiology but it is a very conscious choice. Sometimes, just becoming responsible for the choice is enough to halt the cycle. I know that this is something that I need to practice on an ongoing basis so that I always remain on the cause side of the cause-and-effect equation.

Slowly

It seems that each day brings the promise of spring but it is as though the sun is holding back for a really good day. The sunrises are functional but they are not spectacular. I wonder if the sun is taking one final reprieve before it bursts forth in spring and summer to give us incredible sunrises that last for hours.

It makes me wonder what I am holding back and if holding back is really a necessary part of creation. We can't always be on the go, go, go. There must be time to imagine, create and restore our energy. I'm not sure that I have been very good at this. It usually takes some form of a crisis to get my attention to slow down and start over. Perhaps the sun is trying to teach me something?

Slow Start

It was another slow starter today. The sky was overcast at sunrise and yet by 10am, it was a brilliant blue clear sky. What does that reflect to me today. Well, I certainly am feeling the same way. It usually takes me a while to get going in the morning. Today is a perfect example of that. I have some tasks to do today that are my favourite part of this business. Yet, they must get done today. In a few minutes, I will actually go over to the filing cabinet and get them finished.

How often do I resist doing the things that have to get done but aren't as fun as the things that I love to do. I know there is a learning in this experience. I think it has to do with approaching EVERYTHING as if it were the best task ever. During the Olympics, one of the broadcasters said this of the figure skaters "most athletes try to skate the Olympics as if they were just another practice however the real champions are the ones who skate every practice as if it were the Olympics". What a great distinction! With that viewpoint I am off to do my tasks as if they were the only thing that mattered!

Hang On

That's what the sunrise said to me today: "hang on, the good ones are coming". It was still grey this morning at sunrise so there was no actual sun sighting however by mid-morning the skies had cleared to a beautiful blue so there's hope for tomorrow. I think the weather is reflecting my internal state. I'm a bit cloudy inside and needed some "spring cleaning". I wonder where the urge to do spring cleaning comes from? Perhaps we are so cooped up for so long that we become aware of all of the useless stuff accumulating in our surroundings.

I think that same thing applies to useless thought forms that accumulate in our consciousness. Spring is a great time to rid ourselves of old patterns, old thoughts and destructive habits and replace them with what we want. Focusing on what we want will bring about the resources necessary to get it. We would do well to do a spring cleaning of our thoughts and make room for the shiny new ones trying to poke through the clutter.