Time Out

There's a Edward Abbey quote that is sort of a mantra for us, there's a line in it

that states:

"Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure."

The quote is a reminder for balance in life. Work hard, play hard. As we were driving up to Kings Canyon National park yesterday Marc said, "This week we'll flip it. Play hard, work hard." We were taking a Monday off to get out into nature and recharge. We were stressed and tired and had a to-do list twenty pages long and we ran away from our responsibilities to explore the National Park. We weren't really running away because we knew we'd be right back. We just needed a break, a recharge. A little self-love. (Meditation helps with that too.)

Our Future is Calling

Sometimes my best days are the ones I get up early and hang out at a coffee shop. I remember in college I used to love studying at a coffee shop while Marc wanted to be at the library. I love sitting here watching people starting their days while listening to whatever music is playing intermixed with the grind of the espresso machine and vibrant conversations. When I get up and get out of the house I am so much more productive than when I slump from bed to the office without a good start to the day. Running also works but as it gets hotter here, our motivation to wake up earlier and earlier to beat the heat wanes. We've decided to swim on lunch breaks instead.

At the coffee shop I bring three things:
1. something to work on
2. something to read
3. something to write

In the office I am often only working. The pressure of the white board to-do list and my ever growing inbox leaves little room for reading and writing.

Marc had this little book by Justin Zoradi chilling on his pile yesterday so I stole it for my Monday morning read. I love when I get my hands on inspiring words that encourage living life with purpose. I am so glad this book ended up in my pile this morning.

Last week Marc and I had the opportunity to present/talk about our photography and adventures. Our message was simple. Love. Adventurously. The friends that we have and the things that we have done make it impossible for us to choose anything other than living an adventurous life. Everyone has their "thing" that they love and carve our time for. For us, it's adventure, it's getting outside and exploring. We realized we have to make it a priority. The work hard, play hard recipe only works if you work hard first. Justin talks about this when he says "Don't follow your passion, follow your time." Passion alone is temporary, he compares it to caffeine or a spark. We won't feel passionate, inspired, or motivated every day. Somedays we'll have to push ourselves to live passionatly. Where are we spending those finite hours of our day? What choices are we making with how to spend our day? Do we schedule time for our health, our relationships, our dreams? Where we spend our time tells us what our priorities are. On top of my to-do list I put a quote as a reminder of this, "Dreams don't work if you don't."

I am always trying to follow my passions. That doesn't mean that because I love what i do, it's easy. That's where the main disconnect is for people when they say that they wish they could quit their job and do something they love like I did. They think they can't because they don't have some secret easy trail to follow. There is no trail. You bushwhack the whole way. Climbing dharma peak, following your calling, being inspired everyday... it all takes work and effort. (Tapahs in yoga terms.) It takes all the things that Justin talks about none of which is luck. Yes, we are blessed with an opportunity. But we have to leap. We have to fight. Dreaming is not passive like it was when we were children. Dreaming takes work. The choice can be set in front of us, but we have to climb. I think that's why it's so scary. When did we start getting so scared? Scared of falling? Scared of failure?