Dying one day at a time
Although I really try to ascribe to this NQD theory, the reason I latched onto it is that I’m often immersed in quiet desperation. I currently am in a professional position with great responsibility and currently going through a lot of change and challenges. I wake up every morning with a positive mental attitude, meditate to help balance my emotions, and run if I can. I wake up my kids and make the breakfast before school and chat with my wife. In general I almost always have a few hours in the morning that are centered around myself and my family. Then I get in my car to head into the office and truly feel like I’m heading into battle. Are we going to have a cash challenge today? What new reporting requirement will pop up? Will I have to deal with an employee problem? It seems these days I find my days filled with issues that challenge that cloak of 3 hours I arm myself every morning. I can often find myself in the desperation moment that really rocks my world.
Amazingly, when my day is done, I’ve learned to hit home with a good attitude and demeanor again. That’s not to say there aren’t days I do a half hour whine session with my wife but those times are fewer and farther between. I think it’s important to find those moments on the front end and/or backend of the day to center ourselves and highlight what’s truly important. I get paid to fight fires at the office all day and paid pretty well. I take solice in the fact that the hard work is affording me to create a better world for my wife and children. On top of that my children indirectly get a better head start in life because their father is more centered. Although they aren’t with me when I’m meditating or running, they know I do. I’m hoping through this process they will adopt a more centered life much earlier than I did and have a really fulfilling life from an early start.