How is it that we lose sight of the awesomeness of our lives?

November 24, 2018 Will Simpson

Some of the time we are able to connect with the beauty around us, the celebration of friendship, the mystery of existence.

We are uplifted by these moments.

But, sadly most of the time we are asleep to the beauty, friendship, and mystery in our lives. I know I am.

We are too busy with the mundane to notice the miraculous. Email, shopping, bills, distractions of all types grow like compounding interest not by simple addition.

We become acclimatized to our world, the beauty, friendship, and mystery around us becomes taken for granted. The mundane can grow in overpowering proportions.

This is normal and part of being human. But it is a part we can change, maybe in only a small way but even that is worth the effort.

What can we do to combat this sleepwalking through life.

Develop a practice of looking around with a childlike or puppy like eyes. What would our day look like from a child’s or puppy’s perspective.
Look and identify, a few times a day, specific things to be thankful for. The rain sounds, this cup of coffee, puppy yelping as he chases rabbits in his sleep, warmth of this mornings fire.
Face others with an open heart. Be tender, everyone is struggling on their “Personal Legend”, their journey is as complicated, stressful, and filled with questions as yours.

Credits — Leo Babauta

I hope you’ve had a awesome, fulfilling day.

This is a journal entry meant as a reminder to me. It is a reminder to me how I want to operate and some tips put together in moments of clarity to help when I am less clear and caught up in stuff the I can’t control. Continue the conversation anytime: will@kestrelcreek.com.

There is no shorthand for caring.

November 23, 2018 Will Simpson

Caring is the work of being human.

Caring is a habit.

The habit of caring can be developed.

Opportunities to care have to be sought.

Caring is remembering to acknowledge.

Sharing actualizes caring.

There are no shortcuts.

If we want friends and companions, care.

Caring is not the usual. Unfortunately.

There are no substitutes for deep connection.

Credits — The Shorthand Trap

This is a journal entry meant as a reminder to me. It is a reminder to me how I want to operate and some tips put together in a moment of clarity to help when I am less clear and caught up in stuff the I can’t control. Continue the conversation anytime: will@kestrelcreek.com.

Stoic Work

November 22, 2018 Will Simpson

… Do the work of a human. What do humans do? They eat, defecate, journal, mediate, go to town, have a job, have a family, interact with each other. Which of these things are outside our control and which are within our control? All are outside our control except how we interact with others. This is where we can improve a lot. So much of our lives are centered around externalities. So little is about virtue. Virtue as I understand it is the goodness in you that can’t be disturbed by outside events. That is the steady state of eudaemonia. This is our usefulness.

Credits — Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations

The quality of what enters my head matters

November 21, 2018 Will Simpson

Who hears? We are but just soaked in a bath of quanta. Bits of pulsating energy all around. Visual, auditory, sensory, tactually, even our mind noise is but quanta. Is consciousness part of this stew of quanta? Or is it or can it be something else? Is it just me that makes it special. If this "me" is mixed thoroughly with this stew of quanta then how can it just "think" something separate into existence?

See the world dreamlike

November 20, 2018 Will Simpson

We take everything so seriously. We forget just how amazing life is. That there is something rather than nothing. That this particular star gives this particular planet the correct conditions for life to have developed. And that development happened over millions of years thanks to many, many happy accidents.

Seeing the dreamlike quality of experience is not sloppy or vague, and it is not just spacing out. It is just the opposite. In fact, it is our habit of imagining ourselves and the world around us not to be dreamlike that is the delusion.
Judy Lief

Specific Gratitude …

November 19, 2018 Will Simpson

We need to keep reminding ourselves of the opportunities for gratitude, both in the mundane and the special—and not just gratitude in the abstract, but our own personal gratitude specifically.

Hat tip to — Judy Lief

This is a journal entry meant as a reminder to me. It is a reminder to me how I want to operate and some tips put together in a moment of clarity to help when I am less clear and caught up in stuff the I can’t control. Continue the conversation anytime: will@kestrelcreek.com.

Judgement is just a thought.

November 18, 2018 Will Simpson

We have lots of thoughts in a day. Most are thoughts we’ve have yesterday and the day before. Some are helpful like the combination to our locker at the gym. Most are not, like the thought of how embarrassed we are because of the slow driver of the car we are riding in. Who notices, who cares, does this really matter in life? Over and over we have these same unhelpful thoughts.

One of the reasons these are not so helpful is that they come between us and those around us, usually the ones we most care about. They take is out of the moment to moment experience we have in relationship. They work to separate us for the experience available to us in the moment.

When we look closely, we see the torrent of thought just welling up in us like a oil gusher. One after the other with no or little rhythm nor reason. We don't control this torrent and when we look close enough we see we can see just how at its mercy we are of the storm. It is like there are multiple people in here. Most tossing random thoughts at us haphazardly and one having to react, the self that interacts with the world. The self responsible for interacting with the world, the intermediary between thought and actions, often goes to sleep, letting the random thoughts have their way influencing our behavior. This all wouldn't be so bad if the ones doing the random thoughts generating had our best interest in heart. But they don't. Many, and in so cases most, random thoughts generated are negative, hurtful, cause fear, separation, depression, just plain false. If we are asleep to this, these thoughts gain power and repeat.

Break this cycle. This is what waking up is about.

Credits — Rich and our Saturday morning coffee therapy sessions. Sam Harris and his “Waking Up” app, guided meditation, and podcast.