Learning is my thing…my default.
Motivations are as diverse as the leaves of autumn and as free-ranging as a hipster’s next coq au vin. Good News? Let’s uncover the details of who, what, why, and how. Disappointment? I am going to find a way to stand beneath it though it may take a while and lots of love (thanks folks) to rise to my feet.
Enter This American Life and Ted.com and specifically, Neil Pasricha’s curiously titled, “The Three A’s of Awesome.” I’ve listened to this conversation of hope and chutzpah several times in the past weeks. Pasricha created an online list of “1000 Awesome Things” following his own storm-tossed season. Though I’ve done the same at other times, it seems like a grand time to revisit what offers joy. I haven’t seen his list, but I will once this posts.
What makes you happy? What inspires you to put one foot down and then the other? To pay the bills, put something away for the rains that will come, and dream a little bit? Think about it and if this list can help, feel free to take what you need and add some in the comments.
We’re all in this together.
- Kids coming home
- kindness
- colors (in nature and crafted by the ingenuity of people)
- early morning runs completed with Katie
- sweet dreams
- cooler nights after summer and warmer days as spring approaches
- the first, second, and third big snows of the season
- 10 minutes of quiet
- a full house (see above)
- kayaking
- do-overs
- learning something new
- crossing the finish line
- surprise ice cream breaks
- snow leopards
- sledding down tiger hill
- happy babies kicking
- StoryCorps
- fresh tomatoes
- Harvest end-of-season farmers market stew
- LIBRARIES
- Voting
- little free libraries
- exploring in good company
- exploring in the quiet alone
- the Konza Prairie
- art and artists
- photographs and photographers
- historical photographs
- climbing in Berchesgarten
- Skiiing
- Hiking
- Art museums
- holding hands
- smooches
- learning from folks
- Civil discourse/civil society
- sitting about the fire
- wide open skies
- sunset over the TapHouse after yoga
- improving in my yoga practice
- recess!
- when the movie finally begins
- old classic movies
- movies under the stars
- inspiration towards action
- innovation and resourcefulness
- eclectic music and art
- laughter and joy
- learning to knit mittens for the mitten tree
- mobility
- best people around the table & making room for more
- good news from the media, doctor, late night call (those places you don’t expect it)
- Hard jobs done well
- Time with my dad and sisters-family
- Swimming: whittling away at a timed mile
- Belonging
- compassion
- communities that care and heal and laugh and pull together
- Strategy
- sweetness remembered
- hot chocolate to warm us up
- Healthy body of work
- sassy squirrels targeting pedestrians with acorns (even when it happens to me)
- reading a book with a kid
- persistence
- fingerpainting
- gooey chocolate chip cookies
- Adventure
- pups and cats (and allergy meds)
- homemade soup and bread
- kaiserschmarren after a grueling hike or run
- joy observed
- Saturday morning snugglebunnies
- good memories
- independent booksellers (and indie stores of most kinds)
- the unexpected sweetness of life
- good hard truth from a friend who cares
- turning a corner…finally
- salty breezes
- MOUNTAINS
- crunchy leaves
- singing
- dancing and not caring (especially with kids and at street dances)
- warm clothes
- cool sheets
- reading in bed on a weekend morning
- taking a Friday off and going to Orange Sky Yoga to get bendy
- stars
- Honesty & Integrity
- Love
- accountability
- neighbors helping neighbors
- Adventures.org
- book clubs
- skiing off of tall things
- strangers who become friends
- sweet surprises
- hot showers
- morning walks
- gardens…anything outside except snakes and biting things
- mud pies
- silliness
- Madeleine Albright
- Jimmy & Rosalyn Carter
- follow-through
- bubbles
- glow-in-the-dark and magenta toe nail polish
- Front Porches (well-used)
- humility and action
- Writing
- water colors
- marching bands (make me cry)
- extreme moosetracks ice cream
- fractals made on the windowsill in very cold dry weather
- fossils
- working together
- mobile libraries
- Forgiveness
- A bigger table filled with kids, friends old, and new
- fairy lights/party lights
- people doing their best
- train trips
- new cities
- Pho
- love in action
- intelligent conversations under a canopy of stars or in a shared hammock
- social bravery
- hard work paying off
- family walks and family traditions
- summer rains
- finally finding the answer
- Coffee (and peppermint chocolate creamer)
- puffy clouds
- Justice
- trying new things
- transparency
- diving into ocean waves
- sound of lapping water and wind in trees
- sweet tea
- Tony’s artistry in glass (Kicking Glass, LLC)
- Kansas and the Flint Hills
- a pedicure
- small town innovations
- conservation & environmental stewardship
- autonomy AND community
- listening to my friend, Steve, explain truth with humility and hope
- Ulm am der Donau
- Shambhala Mountain Center
- friends in far-flung places and nearby
- Englisch Gartens, Munich
- Madi in her fiat
- walkable neighborhoods
- Arts & Humanities coalitions
- smiling at strangers
- finally feeling better
- home-made forts
- Pico Iyer
- friendship
- Breakfast at the Chef
- my vintage ’86 magenta wrist cuff
- excitement of my kids & framily
- walking (or biking) to work
- not worrying about anything
- peace inward and corporately
- today-imperfectly and unfinished
Feel free to add your own in the comments or just make your own list. It will help lift and is good ground on which to dream a bit.
Adventure and Wonder 
Love your list! I would add the wind in my hair, long hugs, and sunshine.
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Salty wind in the hair even better!
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