You are a good influence, Brad Montague! I just posted about Summer Solstice (June 20), sharing that it's the longest day of the year and encouraging friends to take a vacation day to slow down, unplug, breathe, and look around. This year will be my 3rd annual "Kayak Day." I blow it up, put it in the backyard, and fill it with hose water. Then, I grab a book, beverage, bubble machine, and a playlist (plus floppy hat, shades, and sunscreen), and sit outside and relax. Then, I blink, and it's Labor Day Weekend. Happens every year! Feels like a minute, I swear!
kayak day!!! I am so here for this kind of annual backyard brilliance. You're living the dream with a book and bubbles. I hope this solstice minute stretches out *just long enough* to feel infinite. Thanks so much for sharing this and for these kind words. Also, now I want a kayak I my yard.
"Here's a minute. It’s all we ever really have. And it might just be the whole world tucked inside a tiny pocket of time." Sealed with a hug! TY for this. And your ongoing work!
This might be one of few times when I would say i'm glad you didn't make coffee yet. Grateful for any minute spent with you, Ryan. Thankful for your creative spirit and generous compassion. Cheering for you and hoping brighter days are ahead for you and your family AND YOUR BASEMENT AND LIFE AND THINGS!! AAAAAAA
I used to be a nurse, and when resuscitating a patient you have about a 3-minute window. I learnt that you can do a lot in 3 minutes. Your essay is an excellent reminder of the importance of being mindful of each minute.
My mom was an RN and wow... i'd not considered this perspective. whew. reallly puts so much into focus. Three minutes can carry so much life. Grateful for you, your skill, your heart, and the way you reminded me of the expansive possibilities in a minute beyond what I even offered in the essay. Super honored this resonated with you and that you'd share. THank you!
THANK YOU! Also, thank you for not reporting me to store management. Sometimes the macarena just ... happens. ALWAYS grateful for any shared minute with you. Thanks for being here, Emily!
I totally get that feeling. Have caught myself squeezing time like it owes me something and forgetting how much is already here. THANK YOU FOR READING!!!
Each moment is unique, potent with possibilities. But the general tendency is to shrug an apathetic meh and let them slip by like gold falling between our fingers.
Beautifully said, Thomas. Your note reminds me of words John O'Donohue wrote years ago 'May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder'. A lofty goal ... but one I think is worth pursuing and possible. Thank YOU for helping me remember.
Breathtaking. Thank you, friend. Even without a name attached, the poem found its way into you and now into me. Grateful. Has a gentle depth to it and it means so much that you'd share. I hope it keeps swimming. A similar-ish thought that sort of swims in that same current from Thomas Kelly: "Now is the dwelling place of God himself." Whew. To the NOW! Maybe it really is more than enough after all. Cheers!
I started following you after you came to Somers Elementary. I love reading your posts and your words of wisdom. I recently shared your post with my dad who wrote the following piece a few years ago (your post reminded me of what my dad wrote). Please take a minute to read it:
The following is intended for individuals (male and female) that are addicted
to their cell phones and other devices. In my opinion they need to turn off
their devices and go outside to observe and enjoy nature and especially
LIFE.
Look-Up
and go out and see the sunrise and thank our Lord for another day. At the same time listen to the birds singing. It is their way of welcoming in another day.
Look-Up
and go out and see the plane flying at 30,000 feet and wonder where the plane is going. Why are the passengers on that plane? Are they going to visit family or to attend a wedding or maybe to visit Disneyland for a few days?
Look-Up
and watch a butterfly fly. Admire the speed and change in directions and never hitting a fence or other objects and always landing on the center of the flower.
Look-Up
and go outside on a clear dark night and observe the stars shining in the sky. It is a beautiful sight. Can you find the Big Dipper?
Look-Up
and go outside and play basketball with your friends. I bet they haven’t seen you for a long time.
Look-Up
and check your calendar for the date of the next full moon. Go outside and look at the moon and marvel at the fact that humans have been on the surface of that moon. More humans will be going there in the very near future.
Look-Up
and enjoy dinner with your family and listen to the day's events. Most will be very interesting.
Look-Up
and go outside on a hot sunny afternoon, 95 degrees, and look and listen to birds singing. Chances are that you will not hear or see birds because of the temperature outside. Mother nature protects.
Look-Up
and go outside to observe an approaching thunderstorm and watch angry clouds move closer and closer. At the first sound of thunder you must take shelter.
Look-Up
and go outside and watch the sunset at the same time thanking our Lord for another day. Some of these sun sets will have a lasting memory.
Look-Up
and go outside and look up and observe the various cloud formations. Use your imagination on what you see.
Look-Up
and go outside and listen. What do you hear? Maybe your neighbor cutting grass or a car driving by with the windows down and the radio blasting or maybe the young boy playing with his friends and having fun. These are the sounds of LIFE in your neighbor.
Look-Up
and go outside and see if you can spot a hawk flying high in the sky. The hawk will be circling looking for his next meal.
Look-Up
and go outside when it first starts snowing and listen to the snowflakes falling. You can actually hear them fall. No two snowflakes are alike.
Look-Up
and go outside in the late evening and enjoy the sounds of nature. You may hear crickets singing or peep frogs or maybe bull frogs doing their songs or hearing an owl off in the distance. These are the sounds of nature.
Look Down
and turn OFF that addictive device and go out and enjoy the beauty and sounds of nature. Most importantly, live and enjoy LIFE. It may be shorter than you think.
You are a good influence, Brad Montague! I just posted about Summer Solstice (June 20), sharing that it's the longest day of the year and encouraging friends to take a vacation day to slow down, unplug, breathe, and look around. This year will be my 3rd annual "Kayak Day." I blow it up, put it in the backyard, and fill it with hose water. Then, I grab a book, beverage, bubble machine, and a playlist (plus floppy hat, shades, and sunscreen), and sit outside and relax. Then, I blink, and it's Labor Day Weekend. Happens every year! Feels like a minute, I swear!
kayak day!!! I am so here for this kind of annual backyard brilliance. You're living the dream with a book and bubbles. I hope this solstice minute stretches out *just long enough* to feel infinite. Thanks so much for sharing this and for these kind words. Also, now I want a kayak I my yard.
A great reminder that a lot can be packed into a minute.
Means a lot coming from you, Matt. Thank you.
Brad, thanks for all you do.
Yes.
THIS!
Re-stacked with gratitude.
I'm so so so happy this found you. Grateful for the kind words and for sharing!
A really long hug
That’s a great use of any minute. Agreed.
A thousand blessings on your beautiful being! (May take more than a minute :)
Aw! Thank you!!!! RIGHT BACK AT YOU!
"Here's a minute. It’s all we ever really have. And it might just be the whole world tucked inside a tiny pocket of time." Sealed with a hug! TY for this. And your ongoing work!
a hug right back at you, friend. Thank you for reading and holding this little pocket of time with me. GRATEFUL!!!
You can daydream to a lot of places in one minute. 💭
glad we could daydream I the same direction for a moment, Deb!!! Sending you lots of love!
This was a good minute. It would have otherwise been groggily spent wondering why I haven't made coffee yet. Thank you.
This might be one of few times when I would say i'm glad you didn't make coffee yet. Grateful for any minute spent with you, Ryan. Thankful for your creative spirit and generous compassion. Cheering for you and hoping brighter days are ahead for you and your family AND YOUR BASEMENT AND LIFE AND THINGS!! AAAAAAA
I used to be a nurse, and when resuscitating a patient you have about a 3-minute window. I learnt that you can do a lot in 3 minutes. Your essay is an excellent reminder of the importance of being mindful of each minute.
My mom was an RN and wow... i'd not considered this perspective. whew. reallly puts so much into focus. Three minutes can carry so much life. Grateful for you, your skill, your heart, and the way you reminded me of the expansive possibilities in a minute beyond what I even offered in the essay. Super honored this resonated with you and that you'd share. THank you!
It is kind of amazing. Thank you. Also, thank you for the picture of you dancing the Macarena in the grocery store 💛
THANK YOU! Also, thank you for not reporting me to store management. Sometimes the macarena just ... happens. ALWAYS grateful for any shared minute with you. Thanks for being here, Emily!
Dancing the Macarena in the grocery store is by far the wisest advice I’ve heard today. 🤗
MAKE IT HAPPEN, TEYANI! Haha. Let us know how it goes.
Made me realize how tightly I'm holding time today. The bubble popping was the best thing.
I totally get that feeling. Have caught myself squeezing time like it owes me something and forgetting how much is already here. THANK YOU FOR READING!!!
Each moment is unique, potent with possibilities. But the general tendency is to shrug an apathetic meh and let them slip by like gold falling between our fingers.
Beautifully said, Thomas. Your note reminds me of words John O'Donohue wrote years ago 'May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder'. A lofty goal ... but one I think is worth pursuing and possible. Thank YOU for helping me remember.
What a lovely minute that was. Thank you!
Kelly! Ah! Thank you. To the many minutes ahead and this minute now. Grateful you're here.
A poem I memorized once goes like this:
"God, what is the meaning of this minute? Tell me, I beg you."
"I have already been here forever, and I think I've decided to stay."
I wish I knew the author or could locate it again, but it has always stuck with me. There is so much room to swim around in, inside those two lines.
Breathtaking. Thank you, friend. Even without a name attached, the poem found its way into you and now into me. Grateful. Has a gentle depth to it and it means so much that you'd share. I hope it keeps swimming. A similar-ish thought that sort of swims in that same current from Thomas Kelly: "Now is the dwelling place of God himself." Whew. To the NOW! Maybe it really is more than enough after all. Cheers!
Oh wow, I love that! Thank you so much for sharing.
As always, thank you for this! Love you guys and the way you share your work!
Thank you, Marc. Grateful for how you use your minutes.
Hi Brad,
I started following you after you came to Somers Elementary. I love reading your posts and your words of wisdom. I recently shared your post with my dad who wrote the following piece a few years ago (your post reminded me of what my dad wrote). Please take a minute to read it:
The following is intended for individuals (male and female) that are addicted
to their cell phones and other devices. In my opinion they need to turn off
their devices and go outside to observe and enjoy nature and especially
LIFE.
Look-Up
and go out and see the sunrise and thank our Lord for another day. At the same time listen to the birds singing. It is their way of welcoming in another day.
Look-Up
and go out and see the plane flying at 30,000 feet and wonder where the plane is going. Why are the passengers on that plane? Are they going to visit family or to attend a wedding or maybe to visit Disneyland for a few days?
Look-Up
and watch a butterfly fly. Admire the speed and change in directions and never hitting a fence or other objects and always landing on the center of the flower.
Look-Up
and go outside on a clear dark night and observe the stars shining in the sky. It is a beautiful sight. Can you find the Big Dipper?
Look-Up
and go outside and play basketball with your friends. I bet they haven’t seen you for a long time.
Look-Up
and check your calendar for the date of the next full moon. Go outside and look at the moon and marvel at the fact that humans have been on the surface of that moon. More humans will be going there in the very near future.
Look-Up
and enjoy dinner with your family and listen to the day's events. Most will be very interesting.
Look-Up
and go outside on a hot sunny afternoon, 95 degrees, and look and listen to birds singing. Chances are that you will not hear or see birds because of the temperature outside. Mother nature protects.
Look-Up
and go outside to observe an approaching thunderstorm and watch angry clouds move closer and closer. At the first sound of thunder you must take shelter.
Look-Up
and go outside and watch the sunset at the same time thanking our Lord for another day. Some of these sun sets will have a lasting memory.
Look-Up
and go outside and look up and observe the various cloud formations. Use your imagination on what you see.
Look-Up
and go outside and listen. What do you hear? Maybe your neighbor cutting grass or a car driving by with the windows down and the radio blasting or maybe the young boy playing with his friends and having fun. These are the sounds of LIFE in your neighbor.
Look-Up
and go outside and see if you can spot a hawk flying high in the sky. The hawk will be circling looking for his next meal.
Look-Up
and go outside when it first starts snowing and listen to the snowflakes falling. You can actually hear them fall. No two snowflakes are alike.
Look-Up
and go outside in the late evening and enjoy the sounds of nature. You may hear crickets singing or peep frogs or maybe bull frogs doing their songs or hearing an owl off in the distance. These are the sounds of nature.
Look Down
and turn OFF that addictive device and go out and enjoy the beauty and sounds of nature. Most importantly, live and enjoy LIFE. It may be shorter than you think.
Best,
Lynn