A birthday in the mountains

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Lifestyle Design

I turned 27 on Tuesday.

Although I had a work conference to attend that day, it was in Colorado Springs, so decided I’d make the most of it. I got up early and went for a hike.

As I was walking up the trail and taking in the landscape, I sought to reflect on this past year.

I was jet-lagged, and it was early, so there wasn’t too much substance rattling around up there. Since reflection wasn’t cooperating I tried to just be present and enjoy the experience.

I’d been yearning for more nature recently, and there I was.

When I arrived at the summit, there was a bench. I sat for a bit, inhaling the crisp mountain air as if it were a puff from an inhaler.

The sun had painted the tree-covered mountains and an eagle flew through the canyon as I exhaled and thought, “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

It’s a question I’ve made a habit of asking myself in moments of bliss, a practice that has increased my sense of gratitude.

In addition to being rather poor at acknowledging my progress, celebrating myself is another area of opportunity. But on Tuesday, I honored myself by waking up early to do something for myself.

The gratitude I felt for this gift of life in that moment had me misty-eyed.

As I walked down the mountain, the reflection kicked in. The last time I was in Colorado Springs, I was a senior in high school, almost a decade ago.

I’ve come a long way since then. I have a lot to be grateful for.

Weekly Write-up

I’ve been following this fella Jack Moses for a bit. He’s a young guy building in the creator economy and is currently traveling throughout Southeast Asia (essentially eat, pray, love for Twitter bros).

As I was reading his most recent blog post, one concept jumped out at me — this idea of getting out of your head and into your body, specifically as it relates to dancing.

As someone who can be fairly self-conscious, this resonated with me.

I’ve had this thought recently that focusing too much on the self is where things go wrong. In those situations, I give power to my ego — I overthink, I doubt, etc.

To prevent that, I can focus on being present — listening, observing, and just being in the world around me.

Another approach is to do things that move my attention from my head to my body. Jack’s example of dancing is a great one.

It’s not just the act itself, but the approach. Sometimes I’ll be dancing, but thinking about how I’m being perceived.

That’s not nearly as fun. I’m too in my head.

But, when I’m focused on the act of dancing, the movement, it’s much more enjoyable.

Another word for this is “flow,” a phenomenon I aim to learn more about in the coming months.

What I’m Learning

Why People In Sweden Do Nature Right

Nordic culture fascinates me. You’d think the long winters would adversely affect wellbeing, and yet these countries are consistently ranked as the happiest in the world. This explanation of the Swedish relationship with nature is perhaps a piece of that puzzle.

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