Ahhh-some Moments

Reigniting the habit of writing has changed me. I'm seeing the world again. I live the day like I'm going to write a blog post about it. I'm spinning the tales I tell myself within my thoughts and it has changed my perspective in a positive way.

Living intentionally. Propelling myself into my days with a lightly formed agenda of that-which-I-want-to-do has put a new spin on an old life.

My days aren't long enough. Especially since I gave up mindless eating. The eating I did while staring at the TV, computer screen, my phone and most especially the eating I did simply to stay awake.

Mornings are precious to me so what I lose at night, I gain in the morning. Getting out of bed is so much easier than it had been. "How much can I squeeze into my pre-work hours?" has become my daily challenge.

When I work, I work better. More focus. More push. More drive. Then again, that could be because June brings a new set of deadlines to beat and I'm pretty good with deadlines.

The "woe is me" attitude is waning. It is becoming more of a "wow is me" mindset. Wow! I feel better when I do some morning stretches. Wow! It feels good to get out and walk. Wow! I have written a daily blog post ten days in a row. Wow! I am enjoying food so much more when I eat without distractions. Wow! Eating food without distractions is time consuming.

In the depth of winter and the despair I felt waking up to life as I know it, I woke up wishing the day away. I made my bed, longing for the moment I got to collapse back into it after a long, hard day. Work was hard. House and yard work were hard. Cooking was hard. Answering the phone was hard. Going through the paces of living my life felt so hard. My reprieve from the hard life was my escape to my little oasis on the prairie on weekends where life felt so much easier.

What I have discovered in my two week venture into leading an intentional life, is that I really don't have time to work. I'm ready for retirement now that I know how to spend my days intentionally.

Two weeks does not a habit make. But I have a very good feeling about this shift in perspective. It has added a sense of awe into the mundaneness of my Monday to Friday life. The "ahhhh" I write at the top of so many of my morning pages in my little oasis on the prairie is being supplemented by a little awe during the week. 

What are your "ahhh" moments? The moments when you sit still and simply feel awesome in the moment you are in? Revel in the "ahhh". Breathe it in. Hold it gently. See what you can do to add just a few more of those ahhh-some moments into your world. Small steps. Be quiet in those moments. Be still. Let your answers find you.

Oprah set the phrase "ah-ha moments" into action. I'm a little bit lazier than Oprah. I'll settle for the "ahhh-some moments". One moment at a time.

A few of my ahhh-some moments from my walk: