We’ve had so much cool and wet weather this past July that I’m inclined to call it the month of rain! And instead of the usual monthly update, I thought I’d take this opportunity to explore some themes running through my life right now (i.e. potentially boring reading ahead, read at your own risk).
Planning, Preparation, and Waiting
It’s almost like that song by Jack Johnson – Sitting, Waiting, Wishing. Both professionally and personally, July has felt like a month of planning and preparation. And while there was still plenty of doing and action, the planning and preparation components took up and will continue to take up a good majority of my time.
Business wise, it means focusing on business development, planning ahead for the fall recruiting season (if you’re interested in learning about some potential sales and marketing opportunities, let me know), and also preparing for next year’s growing season (yes, we do plan that far in advance!).
Personally – and it sounds strange saying this – but it feels as if I’m on a giant hamster wheel – running really hard to try to get somewhere, but winding up in the same spot at the end of the day. I’ve got the sense that I need to be patient, wait, and continue to work on improving myself (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually), but only time will tell what the future will hold. And to continue the hamster wheel analogy, if I keep at what I’m doing long enough, eventually the wheel will break free and I’ll be propelled along faster than I could ever imagine.
It’s a hard feeling to describe, but whatever is to come, this feeling of waiting, being patient, and preparing will undoubtedly bring something exciting and promising. I just want it (whatever “it” is) to come now, or else sooner rather than later.
Living in the Moment
Another theme that I’ve noticed in my life for July has been “living in the moment”. I wrote in a previous post about “The Simple Pleasures in Life” and following up on that idea, have really tried to live in the moment and enjoy and savor life for all it can offer. And while it may seem like I’m able to do that quite often (like in writing this post), it really takes a concerted effort on my part as I tend to be quite restless – constantly doing something, thinking and planning for the future, or trying to maximize my time and effort to get as much done in the day as possible. Even sitting for extended periods of time like watching a movie, I can get restless and tend to stop halfway to start something new.
And so with that in mind, this past month was especially insightful as I was able to slow down and relax on a number of different occasions. By living in the moment, I mean blocking out any external distractions, shutting off any potential worry about things in the future (which you have almost no control of right now anyways), and just feeling alive – enjoying the moment for what it is and not trying for it to be anything else.
The time that I’d like to share with you happened hanging out at a friend’s hot tub and pool one Friday night. We had the pool to ourselves at the time and I took a couple of noodles, propped myself ontop of them, and just let myself float around, feeling totally relaxed and suspended by the water. It was a magnificent experience feeling the water supporting and surrounding you, hearing the sound of the ripples in the pool as they wash up against the sides of the pool, smelling the crisp outdoor air, and gazing up at the clouds and feeling small and insignificant in this interconnected world that we all live in.
There were other moments too, like cooking brunch with some friends on my ultimate team, or enjoying the warm summer air while driving and listening to the tunes on the radio, and hopefully there will be more like this to come in the future.
Other News
In other news, congratulations to my sister for getting married to the man of her dreams. I know that she’ll have a happy, fruitful, and fulfilling life ahead of her as she embarks on a new stage of life. I had the honor of MC’ing her wedding and sharing in the lovely celebrations of the day.
Finally, as a shameless ego-boosting personal plug, my business got featured on the Toronto Life website! While the writer got a bit overzealous in exaggerating some (most) of the details, it was nice to be recognized and featured by a prominent local news source. You can check out the article here: http://tinyurl.com/m4g7fp.