Grand Adventure

For the last six months we have been counting down to this week, the fourth grade field trip to the Grand Canyon.  Visiting one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World would be an exciting adventure in and of itself, but add-in waking up at 3am and riding on a charter bus, and you have an event that can only be compared to the anticipation of Christmas Eve.  It was a very BIG deal.

Her excitement was contagious (and mildly annoying at the same time - lol).  Each day would begin with the countdown of 5 more days, 4 more days, etc.  When the night finally came, I was the one waking up multiple times hoping that we didn’t over sleep the alarm.  Of course we did not, we got dressed, packed the bag, ate a little and joined the caravan of cars cruising down the sleepy street at 3:30 a.m.  There was a quiet, subdued buzz as we checked in with the others.  A quick hug and that was it, she was ready for whatever the day would bring.

I thought of her and the other fourth graders frequently throughout the day, following their itinerary and hoping that they were having fun.  I thought about how as a child, my neighborhood friends and I were always trying to create an adventure.  Whether it was riding down a side street we had never been down or finding a new area of the school yard to explore or trying a new “stunt”.  The rush, the thrill of not quite knowing how something was going to turn out, but being naive enough to trust that everything would be ok.  If you’ve never given much thought to the natural chemicals in our bodies, think back to a time when you felt that rush of excitement, adventure and anticipation, and you’ll quickly realize how powerful those chemicals really are.

So what happens to our adventurous spirit?  We get busy.  We like to plan.  We think of the risk.  We get nervous.  We stick to what we know.  It’s more predictable.  It’s safe.  It’s what we have time for.

But at what cost?  What happens when we stop pushing ourselves to have new experiences?  To step outside our comfort zone, to go on a true adventure?  Are we afraid we might be rejuvenated?  We might learn something new about the world, or ourselves?

Sixteen hours later, the charter buses pulled into the parking lot.  It was my turn to be excited (and relieved).  I scanned the crowd and found her on the final bus.  I couldn’t wait to hear the stories of the day and relive her adventure through her stories and photos. 

At the end of the day it’s the experience of the adventure that matters, not the scale.  It’s exploring somewhere you’ve never been or trying something new.  Simply naming it an “adventure” will set the tone, bring a little added anticipation and open you up to learning something new.  What adventure is waiting for you today?

Heart-FULLy yours, 

Kacey

Blind Taste Test

The kids came up with a new game this week.  They wanted to do a taste test while blindfolded.  While they were in another room, I pulled together a variety of items – an apple with cheese on it, a potato chip with ranch and a chocolate chip hidden in a marshmallow just to name a few - and hid them under a towel.  They came in and we put their blindfolds on.  They giggled in anticipation as I placed the first item, a diced grape, on their tongue.  They guessed it easily and moved on to the next. 

By taking away their sense of sight and of touch, they had to rely on their taste buds to figure it out.  Watching them I could see that some were easy and instantly recognizable.  Others required thought and concentration.  They were stumped with the marshmallow and chocolate chip.  If they had been able to see or touch them, they would have instantly guessed it, but relying solely on taste it took them extra time to figure it out.

Of course they had so much fun, they wanted me to do a taste test for me.  They did a great job picking items and stumped me (honey mustard) more than I stumped them.  As I sat there waiting for the next item, I felt a twinge of nervousness.  I couldn’t see.  I couldn’t touch.  I really had no idea what type of food could be coming next.  I couldn’t prepare my brain for what I was about to taste.  I each bite was a clean slate.  I had no expectations.

In reality there are few, if any, times where we have no expectations.  Expectations surround everything we do whether we realize it or not.  As we eat a meal we have an expectation of how it is going to taste and if we will like it or not.  We have expectations on how long it will take us to get somewhere and how our car will run in order to get us there.  We expect our appliances to work – that the refrigerator will keep the food cold, that the coffee maker will make the coffee and that the TV will let us watch a show when we want to watch it.  We expect people to act in a certain way in certain situations.  We expect that if we do “a” we will get “b” as a result.

When an expectation is not met we get disappointed.  The new dish that we tried to cook and doesn’t taste like we thought it would.  Showing up late to an appointment because the traffic slowed you down.  Plans you were looking forward to that were cancelled at the last minute.  Not getting the job you thought you were perfect for.  Almost all disappointing situations can be traced back to an unfulfilled expectation, conscious or unconscious.  Next time you find yourself disappointed, look at it a little deeper and see how your expectations played into the result.  Are your expectations fair/realistic?  If there are others in the situation, is it possible that they did not have the same expectations? 

What if we approached more situations like our blind taste test?  What if you could blindfold yourself of your expectations and enter the moment with a clean slate?

Heart-FULLy yours, 

Kacey

The Riddle

What can you catch, but never throw?

What can someone can take it away from you, but never give it back?
If you are out of it, you can’t buy more at the store.
Right now, you may be holding it.

Ok, so I won’t quit my day job to write riddles but were you able to figure it out?  It’s your breath. 

According to a quick search, the average person takes about 16 breaths per minute, 960 breaths per hour, just over 23,000 breaths per day and more than 672 million breaths in their lifetime (if they live to 80).  My guess is 95-99% of these breaths go by unnoticed.  We take them for granted and they occur without us paying attention. 

In our house we don’t always have that luxury.  It starts with a little cough or a squeak escaping during an exhale.  It progresses to faster, more shallow, intervals.  The coughing continues.  You can almost see the chest physically tightening.  It’s an asthma attack and watching someone go through one is one of the most helpless feelings in the world.  Thankfully with modern medicine the discomfort doesn’t have to last long.  However even after their breath has been restored, they need to stay aware, making sure it’s not aggravated again.

You don’t need to have asthma, or any medical condition for that matter, to realize how important your breath is to your everyday well-being.  Has anyone ever said to you “take a deep breath” when you were upset?  Did you do it? 

Taking a deep breath, no matter what emotion you are facing (stress, anger, frustration, anxiety, overwhelmed, happiness) can be so….. cleansing, calming, relaxing, fulfilling, powerful.  Taking a deep breath can be a complete game changer and bring you back to center when you need it most.  Unfortunately it’s easy to get wrapped up in the moment and forget that relief is just a deep breath (or 2, or 3) away.

Heart-FULLy yours, 

Kacey

Lessons from Flying

Lift us up and keep us safe.  Lift us up and keep us safe.  Lift us up and keep us safe.  I repeat these words over in my head.  There is that time right before takeoff when I say a little prayer.  I doubt I’m the only one.  That’s a powerful thought – you have a group of a hundred or so strangers all sending up a similar positive thought (prayer) at the same time.  Of course when you’re scared or faced with uncertainty, it’s easy to turn to prayer.  Why do we wait for the extreme moments to ask for help and support?

Lesson 1: Support is available to you every minute of every day, whether you need it or not.  Don’t wait.  And don’t be so arrogant in the good times to think that you don’t need support.  Check in with yourself multiple times every day.  It can be as simple as a deep breath or a quick prayer.

Back in the plane, we lift up high above the ground.  We left a city that was overcast and dreary.  The clouds had come in and rain was threatening.  Though the rain is welcome, the gray clouds change the overall mood of the day.  As we pass through and emerge from the clouds, we are greeted by the bright blue sky and radiant sun.  It is still there; ready to light the way even if we can’t see it. 

Lesson #2: Just because you can’t see something anymore doesn’t mean it no longer exists.  Clouds may have rolled in and your path may be a little darker than it was, but the sun is there.  You can wait for it to come back or you can lift your head above the clouds and get clarity once again. 

As we start to descend we pass through the clouds again.  There’s turbulence and the plane is tossing about.  As we slowly descend, we bump around, nothing terrible, but you can’t see it coming so every jolt catches you off guard.  We are in the clouds for what seems like a very long time.  Surrounded by grey, I’ve lost all perspective.  Are we close to the ground?  We keep descending, but still can’t see anything.  Are all the pilot’s electronics working?  At this point I have to trust that though he can’t see the ground, he knows where he’s at, checks his gauges and keeps going.  After what seems like a long time, we emerge from the clouds.  In an instant, I am relieved and comforted to see we are high above the houses below.   

Lesson #3: When your perspective is fogged/clouded over, don’t panic and trust in the path you’ve set out on.  It’s easy to let doubt become your clouds.  You start to worry that you’re not headed in the right direction.  Before you start to course correct, be sure that you make decisions with a clear perspective.  If you begin changing course while you are surrounded by clouds, you might make a turn that you don’t need to make.  Wait for the clouds to clear.  Then, once you can clearly see the whole picture, you may realize you’re not as close to the ground as you thought you were.

 

Heart-FULLy yours, 

Kacey