Garden Project II

Here's number three! (Why not?) So my wife and I got the raised bed lined and filled in with soil, and I just put all our little tomato and broccoli seedlings in, gently nestling them in their new home. Hopefully they root deep and grow strong. I am grateful to participate in this journey and try to raise my own food, to reconnect with the earth and something fundamental to our existence. I am grateful for the experience I have already had and those yet to come.

Garden Project

Since I missed the last few days, I'm going to write a second one today (though I admit, for the sake of this project it's really better to do one every single day for consistency and building this habit of gratitude). Yesterday, I finally put together a raised bed for my wife and I so we can start a garden. I've had the pieces for a while and had them marked off to saw, but yesterday I got it all cut, dug in, and hammered together. It feels good to complete a project (or a crucial step in a project) and to build something with my bare hands. Plus, I got to work outside, which was nice. The next step is filling in the soil and transplanting our seedlings and then, the feast.

Thank you, garden project, for giving me something interesting to do that's outside of work and that encourages a healthy lifestyle. Thank you for putting my practical problem-solving skills to the test, as well as my hand-eye coordination.

(photo as it appears on: http://knolllandscapedesign.com/raised-bed-garden-design-miami/)

Sunny Day

Today, I am grateful for this sunny day. It's been a little overcast, gloomy, and rainy these past couple days, so this morning sunshine is quite nice. Thank you, sunshine, for lifting my mood and making it a beautiful day out. It really is the simple things.

Activity

I am grateful for this new activity that has arrived into my life. This not only includes an early bike ride where I get to see the morning mist and sun filtering through the trees, but an overall more active job. I get to move around and use my hands on top of biking to and fro. I get to enjoy the physical capabilities of my body and keep my energy up. Sure, it's been a little tough in the beginning, but that's only because my body has fallen out of active habits. It's time to reshape them (and me) and start using my arms, legs, and everything else while I still have them.

Passion

I am grateful for my wife's passion. She has a fire in her and it carries into every aspect of her life. Apathy is one of our greatest enemies, making one numb to the world around us and refuse to participate in one's very own existence. It takes courage to be passionate, to choose a side and stand up for it, to go after something with everything you have, to make yourself vulnerable in the name of something greater. My wife does all of this and more. I am forever grateful for the passion she has for her life and the passion she shares in mine. It is inspirational.

Early Wakeup

Today, I'm grateful for waking up earlier than I have been lately. There's nothing quite like the morning sun. As an added bonus, I get to take a bike ride. If this morning is a forecast, today is going to be a good day.

(photo as it appears on http://pksbikeshop.com)

Mind Palaces

Ironically, I don't remember if I've made a post about these, yet. But that's OK. I don't see anything wrong with extending my gratitude multiple times to the same subject. In fact, I would say that's a sign that my perspective is beginning to incorporate mindful gratitude more readily. Just because I've expressed being thankful for chairs once doesn't mean I should never be thankful for them again. 

Anyways, mind palaces. I believe I first came across this concept in the recent popular (and awesome) rendition of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock). When confronted with a puzzling clue, our detective simply retreats into his mind palace where he has stored (seemingly) every fact and bit of information he has ever come across. Essentially, it's a library or filing system for the brain and, ideally, a means to a perfect memory. 

(photo as it appears on http://sherlockianlandscapes.tumblr.com)

Later, I got to explore the concept further and read a first-hand account of developing and training one's mind palace in Joshua Foer's "Moonwalking with Einstein." Over the course of the book, Joshua invites the reader to actively participate and try making his or her own mind palace to memorize a shopping list of about seventeen random items. Wouldn't you know it? It totally works. I read that book three or four months ago and I still remember that list. That's totally insane! My brain was able to absorb and retain a group of random words that I have zero connection with and do so long-term. That is absolutely incredible. I recommend that everyone try it, if only to feel the true power of our minds for a moment. 

It does take some effort and I've only used it a few times (once for a shopping list, and another time to memorize the top ten exports of Russia and the top ten countries to which they export—I decided I should use it for something more relevant to my interests for once). It really works and it's really amazing. I am grateful for these little mental explorations and discoveries of our own abilities. Thank you, mind palaces, for not only making memorizing fun and interesting, but for giving me practical power that I can readily apply to both my personal and professional life (should I choose to harness that power). Here's to a lifetime of expanding our architecture.