Blue Jays

I don't have much to say this week.  I have been focused on other things so I will just say:

Congratulations Blue Jays for driving as deep as you did into the playoffs.  Canada is proud.

Perspective

I have heard from people in I Ho Chuan, and with people I work with, about getting angry with things that happen during their day.  Many times when they are driving.  I have had problems with anger in my past (I still do but I think I am able to see it and understand it for what it is) and have had for lack of a better word: tantrums.

I try as hard as I can to keep anger out of my life as it is a very destructive emotion.  I have seen the emotion affect me and those around my very negatively.  Without anger in my life I can see clear, I can assess a situation based on intellect rather than emotion.  Most outcomes are almost always better.

As I wander through life without anger, or at least managing the emotion, I find that I see and pick up thing around me in a more positive light.  The other day I am driving home on highway 16 and someone cut in fairly close in front of me.  This could be a moment of anger; however I let it go.  A few kilometres down the road I was passing an older car quite rusted.  I noticed the window down and a hand came out of the window with a thumbs up.  As I passed I gave a thumbs up back and a younger guy in his early 20's was in the car. My guess is he liked the jeep I was driving and was  acknowledging it.  Because I didn't feel anger earlier my mind was open to seeing something that was cool.

For myself the more I have been able to recognize and control negative emotions in my life, I have found my life has gotten better.  The world is a much more interesting place when negative emotions are limited.

Autumn

As someone who has had the chance to travel throughout the world one of the things that truly amazes me about Canada is the change of the seasons. This is quite unique for the northern climes. I was able to travel the backroads for most of the weekend.  The pallet of colors was truly amazing: orange, yellow, green, red, brown, grey, whites and small patches of black.

The prairies are beautiful at most times of the year.  This is the time of year I always get homesick. I grew up in the mountains of  Jasper.  The autumn was always special in the mountains the air is crisp, there are no bugs, the weather is usually dry and you can see the colors climbing down the mountains on all sides of the valleys.

It is something that people from the mountains always look forward too.  It is the last of the warmth before winter and the universe gives an incredible light show to end the warm days of summer.

My Constant Struggle

In many of my blogs I have had a common theme of working towards being in the moment.  This is still a daily struggle for me.  I  am continually working on the "Do" and forgetting about the "Be".  These are words a mentor of mine uses.  The do is getting out there and doing the things you need to do to reach your goals.  But when your are in the "Do" you also have to consciously be in the "Be".

The "Be" is the moment, to understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.  It seems like a switch that I have to constantly make sure it is on.  I have began meditating in the mornings and have been able to train my mind to stop thinking and to just have a clear head and concentrate on just truly being in the moment.  It is powerful to be able to be in that state.  But then after writing down my thoughts and goals for the day I start "Doing" and my mind shuts off and I am no longer in the moment.

I understand that being in the moment is a learned behavior, or at least for me it is.  Or maybe it is unlearning other behaviors.  The reward for being in the moment is I have a better day, I am more mindful of others, and I think beyond myself.  I just wish I could figure out how to do it all the time.