Monday morning rain is falling~

Alright so that sounded a bit more sing song in my head. I digress. Good morning though, start of a new week with tons of possibilities. So even if the week starts out a little bit on the wet side, due to some rolling storms, do not let that dampen the mood.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.” -Maya Angelo

I am currently still working on the style part, but I feel like this quote does a fairly good job of summing up one of my core beliefs. We as people go day to day, mostly going through the motions just to get by. A person wakes up, stumbles around, eats, heads to work and deals with traffic, works, comes home and eats, finally coming to a rest and repeating the process the next day. Alright well I generalized that…a lot. But the point I am aiming for is that most people go about the day to day life just to survive. They work in a job that they do not particularly enjoy so that they can pay bills, put food on the table, and other responsibilities that come with being an adult today.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing at all wrong with having a position at a company that allows you to fulfill those responsibilities to family as well as society. However, I believe that is pure survival. Going back to the quote above, specifically the thriving portion. Do not feel unenthusiastic about working in a position that is not particularly interesting. Being able to thrive is something more, taking what you have and making the most of not only the life that you have control of, but the others that are around you. Taking up hobbies and going at them with renewed vigor, helping others through tough times, just being a pillar that one can use to lean on for a time. All of these instances that encompass passion and compassion will not only bring a new out look to ones life, but also bring a shift in perspectives.

I feel that there is a certain amount of the population that does and follows these principles. At least to some extent the intentions are pure and not driven by some form of self purpose.

One of the best instances that I can give an example of is when I meet someone new and they share with me some of their life story. When someone speaks to you passionately abut a subject, you feel it, it gets you so inspired and curious that next you know, Google is open and you are searching about exactly what they had been talking about. Conversations like that always stick out to me, especially when I talk with strangers. Just the other day, I had a conversation with a young girl named Courtney who described to me in amazing and passionate detail her favorite flower and why. I went back to the office and was searching up and reading about a lot of the information that she had already told me, learning and being amazed at what the world of flowers has to offer me.

Reaching out and being compassionate to others opens a door to not only enhance ones own knowledge of the world around themselves, but to also allow them to look at it in a new light. Even if it is a little rainy outside.

See you guys tomorrow.

Morning.

I don’t have much that I really want to write about today. However, I would enjoy making note of how nice the wind is today. Not at all meaning in a philosophical way. The wind really is wonderful today. A nice subtle breeze, blue skies, sun is a shining.

What more could you ask for really, on a day like today. If any of you find yourself with some free time today, take a nice walk around the neighborhood or even sit out on the porch and just watch the world spin by for a few moments.

Some of you may not have the weather currently to go out and enjoy, but when you get the chance, go out and feel that breeze.

Today was a short blog post, have a wonderful day.

Happy Friday!

Let’s jump right into the idea that was bouncing around my head this morning.

Change.

Change is a constant and a part of everyone’s lives both professionally and personally. When you sit back and look at the uncertainty of change, the result shows that many people in all walks of life have different reactions and responses to the change taking place. One of the major keys to a positive change is to provide healthy, balanced and constructive feedback to these people so that they are given the opportunity to see what’s possible in transforming their actions into something healthier/better.

I bring the topic of change up because I feel that, everyday I am pushing myself to create situations that enable positive change to happen. Not only for myself, but also for those that are around me, my team here at work, family, and close friends. Extending all the way to the random strangers that I meet each day by just reaching out and extending a hand of friendship and curiosity.

That leads me to speak about an individual that I had the pleasure of speaking with.

As I was dining on some of the delicious eateries in the area of where I work, I happened across a man named Ramesh. Our interaction was not as long winded as my previous write up for a one a day. We shared all but 45 seconds as we waited for the cross walk to flip. In those 45 seconds, I had asked what he thought about change, so we spoke about change on a professional level, driving the point home that leaders and managers have the potential to cultivate the positive change to improve the work place in almost all aspects. Great guy, and has some solid idea when it comes to change. I hope he enjoyed his chipotle, because it did smell pretty good.

There is much we can say about both sides of change.

Truth is, at the end of the day, you can’t change someone who doesn’t see an issue within their actions.

Thursday morning, the sun is shining.

I know that yesterday I talked a bit about morning rituals and how everyone has a process that they themselves go through. Well I had an interesting thought, while I was eating an apple this morning. One, eating an apple after brushing ones teeth is not a great idea. The apple has a rather funky taste to it. Then again most of what a person tastes after brushing has a weird taste. Anyways, that was one of the thoughts. The second, was that a realized that a lot of people don’t really sit back and enjoy the small moments in life.

I used to be the same way, always pushing forward, taking chances with out ever stopping to think the decision through all the way not even caring about the consequences. This was my thought process about most situations in my life, all the way up until about a year ago.

Many events have come to past in my short life so far. A lot of the memories have come to my attention this past year as I have been self-reflecting back on a lot of my decisions. One glaring issue that stands out to me. The best moments I once lived are the ones I absolutely forgot to take pictures of. I am going to start working on capturing those moments.

All of this started with an apple. From that first juicy crunch, a few of my more memorable moments came back and I had wished I had pictures to look back upon.

Most may not have a moment of self reflection while eating an apple early in the morning. However, just sitting back and taking everything in may lead down that road of self reflection to those small moments that have occurred in life.

What am I going to do with my reflections? I am going to take my apple and make sure to take more pictures of life as I travel around and experience what it offers me.

See you tomorrow.

Smell that? Most likely not, but if you could it would be the roasted smell of fresh coffee as the sun comes up. An absolute pleasure to wake up in the morning to. Maybe you are not much of a coffee person, and that is fine! You can get the same sensation with tea or even hot chocolate, the latter being a wonderful choice for the winter months. So what makes coffee such an amazing morning ritual. Other than it being to some a necessity before even getting the day started, every morning, it can also be used as a great meeting place for friends and family. It works particularly well for me when I am looking to meet someone new. What better place to introduce yourself than in line at Starbucks. Try to reach out next time you are in line getting that mocha frappacino and learn about someone else story.

I am not going to talk all about coffee though. We all have our own little morning rituals that we go through when we finally roll out of bed for the day. I listen to soft music, or even something a bit on the stronger side of blues and jazz. Really helps wake me up in the morning, of course not everyone does something like music. Others I have talked with like to start the day reading the newspaper, illustrating letters, and even working out. A mixture of a few activates or just one, these little rituals that we do every morning are something I think help define us and who we are. Studies have shown that those that are active in the morning and get an early start do get a lot more down and feel over all more productive. I have been waking up early for awhile now and I can say that, the claim that the study makes, is pretty spot on.

So no matter what the morning ritual is for you, keep it up. Watch that sunrise over a steaming cup of coffee or tea. Read a few chapters in that book that has your mind so captivated. Go for a run with the dog and get a nice cardio work out in while the brisk morning air is still hanging around.

So I would like to end the post this morning with a question.

How do you take your coffee?