It doesn't have to be big

I often think about my efforts to get away from the madness and create goals. I’ve done an Ironman and a 50 mile trail ultra run. But many of the best moments that recharged my batteries and made the moments of hard work at the things I’d rather not be doing worth it were simple. A recent one was on Thanksgiving morning. I enjoy photography and most of my best pictures are high school football related but on this past Thanksgiving morning, when I really didn’t have any pulls from work, I woke up before sunrise and went to a sandbar on a local river. I set up my camera and stood there for 3 hours as the sun rose and changed the scenery. It was quiet and cold and very pretty. When I was done with that I really didn’t have any great pictures but I did feel like I accomplished something special. I recharged my batteries and felt like all of the hard work and stress was somehow worth it as I could enjoy something special like that moment. I went on to have a great Thanksgiving in a good mood.

Maybe it’s taking 5-10 minutes to stop at a park on the way to work and just breath and have a moment. Just taking a moment to do something for you and with you is often very special and not something our current society encourages. It’s OK to be selfish at times. Then maybe the next step is working toward that large goal that gets us out of our desperation moments.