My post will be a little short today because we had plenty of snow at my house this morning. This guy got to shovel a lot of the white stuff for my morning workout.
“Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
May the advice you receive be soft and help you make the changes you desire. I will strive to do that tomorrow when there is hopefully a little less snow to shovel.
Happy Christmas Eve! The light is coming tonight!
“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.”
Francis Bacon Quotes.” BrainyQuote.com. BrainyMedia Inc, 2021. 24 December 2021. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/francis_bacon_119506
Francis Bacon
I took this photo several Christmas Eves ago. It was a snowy night and I noticed how our lamp shone in the darkness so brightly. It was a beacon to all who were coming to our house that evening. Without the lamp, it would have been easy to slip and trip.
In the background, a neighbor has his Christmas lights going. Many of us love to put up Christmas lights. Of course, that can get some of us in trouble! But we are willing to take the risk in order to bring a little brilliance to the darkness.
Last night, I was wrapping things up at work and left around 6:00 PM. I was surprised when I left because it was so dark outside. It felt like it was the middle of the night. I was thankful for the parking lot lights. I rarely think about them any other time. Most times, I am gone before they light up. But I was thankful for them that evening.
Unfortunately, we don’t think much about illumination until we need it. Then we can be caught off guard. We grab our flashlight only to discover the batteries are dead. We can’t find the candles we stashed away, nor a lighter. Then we think of our cell phone light only to remember you needed to charge it. Light is something we take for granted until we are stumbling around in the dark, seeking it.
So this Christmas Eve, let’s remember that the light is coming. May it light our ways and remember there is hope, joy, and peace for those who seek it.
This weekend, I made my way out into the snow. The roads were slick. So I wore ice cleats. The wind was stiff, so I wore a jacket. Cars and SUV’s were out, so I had a bright orange cap. The winter weather didn’t bother me. In fact, I enjoyed the change of pace.
It would have been easy to chuck it all. It looked frigid outside. The coffee was already brewing and I smelled breakfast. But I knew I would enjoy it more after I went out for a run. The scenery was beautiful, after all. It reminded me of a quote from a book I am reading.
Above all, effective executives treat change as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive, Page xviii
I could have decided what was outside was a threat or an opportunity. I am glad I took the opportunity and I got some great views out of the venture. the trees and bushes were covered in snow. By the afternoon, it was all off the branches.
Circumstances are changing all the time, like wet snow on a January morning. Do you see it as an opportunity or a threat? In order to be effective, choose to see the changing environment as an opportunity.
After a couple of very cold days, this morning was a perfect time for a winter morning run. The temperature was hovering around the freezing mark. Most of the snow had melted on the asphalt trail, though there were some snowy and icy spots where trees have kept the sun at bay.
I noticed a few things on my morning run:
Winter officially arrives tonight. Seasons come and go. Each has their good times and challenges. May you have a great Christmas and new year. Let’s welcome the new decade, be positive and do the things that lead to success.
This morning, I grabbed my ice cleats and went for my run. The scenery was quite different than the same route on Saturday. There were a few tracks on the sidewalk. Some human, some four-legged. Otherwise, there wasn’t much activity on a Monday morning.
There were a few things I observed as I jogged down the trail.
May you have a great day. And whatever your journey this morning, embrace it and look for beauty in unexpected places.