We are in the season. What season is that? I’m not talking about fall or winter, even though we are transitioning from one to the other. I’m talking about the season of gratitude that we as humans experience. You might say that every day and season should be filled with gratitude. It's hard to disagree with that. However, there is something about this time of year. It is a holiday, friends, and family-filled period, and it makes me feel that deep sense of gratitude even more. Is it just me or do you experience something similar? 

Where is your gratitude opportunity?

We have an opportunity each day to notice, thank, and appreciate those around us. We can be thankful for the challenges that make us grow and the successes that allow us to feel that growth. We have an opportunity each moment to be grateful for the ability to make the changes we seek like organizing our lives to support us, or altering the inner script to be positive rather than negative, or to finding quiet amidst our busy and noise-filled lives. We have the chance each day to acknowledge the cheerleaders in our lives, the cherished friends and loved ones, and the strangers that extend a kind smile or graciously hold open a door for us.  We have the ability each day to be grateful for the senses that let us feel, smell, see, hear, touch, and taste the beautiful world we live in.

What are you noticing?

I know there are so many things that aren’t right in the world. We see and hear about them from the news and casual conversations. We can quickly go down the rabbit hole of doom. There are so many more things, however, that are beautiful, right, and quietly positive in the world. They are there for the noticing. When we focus on the affirmative, gratitude follows. There are some are simple things that I notice like that cozy feeling of getting into bed at the end of a long day, or the flood of happy emotions I feel when I hug my loved ones after being apart, or the satisfaction of folding the laundry into neat little stacks. There are nature’s wonders to enjoy like the crunchy, morning frost on the leaves or the unexpected snowstorm that covers the ground with a blanket of white, or the sun-filled days that intensify the beautiful colors and shadows of the landscape. 

Is gratitude timeless?

Gratitude is for the past, present, and future. We can be grateful for the people that have touched our lives but are no longer with us. We can be thankful for the mindful presence of being in the moment with the people we care about. We can be grateful for the friends, family, and loved ones that we will share time and experiences with in the coming months. Gratitude is timeless.

What happens with gratitude during the holidays?

Holidays can be a stressful time. When our stress levels rise, our gratitude levels tend to decrease. This week, like me, many of you are preparing for Thanksgiving. We’ll be hosting. Some of you might be traveling to see family or friends. Some of you might be hosting your own celebrations. Perhaps others will be flying solo this year. Whatever you’re doing, wherever you’ll be, remember that there is always something, someone, and someplace to be grateful for. Allow yourself to notice the brightness. It’s waiting for you to see and feel it. I wish you and your family a happy, joyous, and gratitude-filled holiday season.

What are you feeling grateful for right now? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to come and join the conversation.

Is getting your home, finances, digital files, papers, or calendar an organizing priority for you this season? Are you procrastinating or struggling with starting the process? There are many reasons why this happens. Life is busy and getting organized can feel like more work. Sometimes we become overwhelmed by the magnitude of what we’d like to accomplish. Other times we don’t know where to begin. All of those are normal, human reactions. When we aren’t ready to start, an inspiration-dose can get us going.

Inspiration can found through people, conversations, nature, events, music, literature, self-reflection, and more. There is no shortage of inspirational sources. If you are open and aware of your experiences, inspiration will follow. Recently, I noticed some specific inspiration-boosting moments. Maybe some of these will resonate with you, or remind you of experiences you’ve had, or could tap into.

People

I’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating. I love helping my clients to get organized. I admire their dedication and resourcefulness with working on their organizing challenges. Recently, we’ve organized spaces back to square one, re-organized areas for more efficient uses, and organized brand new living and working spaces for the next phase of life. Being part of the organizing process, watching as my clients reduce their stress and joyfully embrace the changes, inspires me to make changes in my own life. For you, maybe it’s not a client, but a friend, co-worker, or family member that is your source of inspiration. That human-to-human connection is a powerful motivator.

Nature

What a magnificent time of year! The fall colors change daily. This week all of the red leaves appeared next to the orange and yellow ones. Bursts of intense color dotted the landscape. I couldn’t get enough of the visual feast and spent a lot of time outside looking, walking, and being in nature. I know that all too soon, the leaves will be down and the color will be gone. I breathed in as much as possible. My mindfulness meditations were graced with the backdrop of the colorful woods. My car drives were enhanced by the spectacular bursts of color around each bend. Walks along the river and in the woods were accompanied by the rustle and crunch of falling leaves. Spending that time outdoors, seeing the beauty around me, lifted my spirits. Also, the energy I felt from enjoying nature provided me with inspiration and increased focus to work on my projects.

Events

Last weekend I attended the Mindfulness in America conference. This weekend I went to the incredible Northeast Regional Conference for Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NERCPO) sponsored by the NAPO-CT chapter. About 100 colleagues gathered from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and New England to network and learned about Feng Shui, digital productivity, and mental health perspectives of organizing. There was also a vendor expo with excellent resources, and a goody bag filled with great organizing products. I loved learning, talking with colleagues, meeting people, and discovering new products and services. Sandra Wheeler, the Feng Shui presenter, and practitioner said that one way to create more flow and energy in your life is to eliminate the things that represent the “shoulds.” For example, remove the pile of books on your nightstand that you intend to read, but don't. Or let go of the unfinished craft projects from years past that you’ve lost interest in. I admit to having a big pile of “to read” books next to my bed. Sandra inspired me to reconsider this and place only the book I’m currently reading there. 

One of the beautiful aspects of being human is our ability to be inspired. The sources abound. If you’ve ever felt challenged to get more organized, what has encouraged you to move forward? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come and join the conversation!

Having just returned from Wisdom 2.0’s fantastic one and a half day Mindfulness in America summit in New York City, my head is swimming with the depth of conversations, ideas, and emotions that were heard and felt. About 600 people attended from all over the United States and other countries including China, Canada, and Ukraine. The speaker line-up was incredible and included dynamic leaders in the mindfulness movement such as Jon Kabat-Zinn, Tara Brach, and Soren Gordhamer. A wide range of perspectives on mindfulness was discussed including relevance for the military, healthcare, prison, politics, sports, social justice, communication, and personal growth.

The possibilities and ways that mindfulness is percolating in our society are exciting. The sessions were mostly interview-style with some group mindfulness meditations showered throughout. When Karen May, Vice President of People Development at Google, interviewed Chip Conley, hotelier and author, about cultivating and harnessing wisdom, she used the phrase, “pulling back the curtain on what’s possible.” Her idea encapsulated my overarching takeaway. Practicing and integrating mindfulness in our lives, helps us remove personal barriers so that we can be more open, present, and engaged for each moment. We pull back the curtain on our true selves. We become more available and clear for the possibilities that arise.

Here are some of my conference highlights.

Jon Kabat-Zinn

About two years ago, I took an 8-week MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) course created by Jon Kabat-Zinn and led by Laurence Magro through the Eileen Fisher Learning Lab. It was life changing. Since then, I’ve integrated into my life a daily mindfulness meditation practice along with living more mindfully. In this time, I’ve read many of Jon’s books and practiced with his meditations. Jon was the opening presenter at the Mindfulness summit and led us in a beautiful group mindfulness meditation. One of my favorite conference experiences was meeting him in person and having a brief conversation. He was gracious, encouraging, and present. 

Soren Gordhamer

Wisdom 2.0 founder and creator of the Mindfulness in America summit, Soren Gordhamer, offered the idea that engaging in mindfulness creates a “field of presence.” This is a gift that we can give to others in all situations as we listen and interact. Soren encouraged us to share our attention with the speakers instead of being distracted by our digital devices. The presenters would sense our focus, which would create a more welcoming environment for them to share their personal stories and ideas.

Chip Conley and Karen May

I loved Karen May’s interview with Chip Conley and their conversation about cultivating and harnessing wisdom. One of Chip’s tools for growing wisdom is to write down weekly what he’s learned. His positive ideas about aging included being able to recognize patterns and listen to your intuition more easily. Chip described that as someone who mentors and consults he often listens with closed eyes to enhance his “full body listening.” He also talked about being a “modern elder,” and is about to launch the Modern Elder Academy, which is devoted to helping people navigate midlife transitions.

Mark Bertolini and Dan Harris

Dan Harris, ABC anchor and 10% Happierauthor, interviewed Aetna CEO, Mark Bertolini. Mark’s severe skiing accident led him to explore alternate methods of recovery when regular medicine didn't work. He used cranial sacral therapy, yoga, and tantric and loving-kindness meditations to heal. After experiencing positive life-altering results, he introduced yoga and mindfulness practices into Aetna’s culture. As a result of the new programs, Aetna’s culture changed. Employees reduced stress 33%, were more productive, decreased health care expenses by $3,000 per year per person, made better decisions, and increased engagement by 1,200%. All of this came about because of Mark’s terrible accident. Dan Harris commented, 

“Horrible moments can create great change.”

Gisele Bündchen and Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper, CNN journalist and author, interviewed the effervescent model and author, Gisele Bündchen, about lessons from creating a meaningful life. One of the things she believes is that everyone has a unique gift. She said, “Use your gift in service of others.”

Michael Gervais and Soren Gordhamer

Soren Gordhamer interviewed Michael Gervais, sports psychologist for the Seattle Seahawks. One of the things Michael spoke about was the need for elite athletes to have “mastery of craft” and “mastery of self.”  He integrates mindfulness into the mastery-of-self-plan to help athletes develop awareness, insight, and wisdom.

Tara Brach

Tara Brach, psychologist, author, and meditation teacher, was one of the few presenters that spoke to us directly without being interviewed. She talked about developing compassion for our selves and others. Tara emphasized that self-compassion needs to come first. Without that, we can't fully offer compassion towards others. She shared poignant stories and led us in a profound loving-kindness meditation that had me in tears. A beautiful question she offered to extend to those in pain was,

“Where does it hurt?”

Arianna Huffington and Soren Gordhamer

For the final session, Soren interviewed author and businesswoman, Arianna Huffington. She talked about her company Thrive Global and their mission “to end the stress and burnout epidemic” by prioritizing our well-being. One of the products they’ve developed is the Thrive app (for Androids only), which helps establish personal technology boundaries by disconnecting with our phones so that we can reconnect with our selves.  Arianna mentioned a phrase that was new to me. I’m familiar with FOMO, fear of missing out, but JOMO, the joy of missing out, was new to me. JOMO encourages us to guiltlessly not engage in everything. Mindfully choose what’s meaningful. Embrace less.

As part of the conference wrap-up, Soren impressed upon us the uncertainty of life. He encouraged us to be purposeful with the time we have remaining. He said you don’t know if you have ten or 10,000 heartbeats left. Make your beats count. He asked,

“How do we want to spend those heartbeats?”

There were many other deep conversations and speakers. I’ve only shared some with you. Each one opened the door for possibilities and change. I left the conference with a sense of hope. Incredible people are working in small and large ways to infuse positive change for individuals, families, teams, groups, corporations, and the world through the path of mindfulness. Have any curtains of possibilities come forward for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come and join the conversation!

It’s one of life’s facts that our view gets obstructed from time to time. What’s funny about that is we don’t always realize when it has happened. Maybe we don’t notice because it happened slowly. Other times we are consumed by the cloudiness and find it challenging to see solutions or possibilities. Our thinking enters the black and white or extreme zone where we feel as though things will always remain fuzzy. One thing I know is that life isn’t black and white, but a lovely mix of extremes with grays stretching towards both ends of the spectrum. With autumn in full swing, this season perhaps more than any other emphasizes this idea. Days go from bright, sunny, colorful and crisp to gray, rainy, foggy, and damp. When it’s foggy, how can we break through to see more clearly or just appreciate the mist? How do we make room for possibilities?

The first step is awareness. I’ve identified seven ordinary opportunities for identifying cloudy situations. It is from this awareness that you can forge a path for different possibilities.

7 Ordinary Awareness Opportunities . . .

Waking from Sleep

There is that beautiful moment in the morning when you first awaken. You’re still sleepy and snuggled in your cozy bed. Your alarm just rang or maybe you’ve woken naturally. You lie there and then slowly open your eyes. Things are blurry at first as your eyes adjust to the morning light. Instead of jumping out of bed immediately, allow a few moments so that you can transition to wakefulness. Let your eyes acclimate to the sun. Take a few, deep breaths. Slowly elongate your body by stretching your arms and legs. Set a positive intention for the day. Notice the sounds, smells, and sensations around you. In this gentle way, you are preparing yourself for the possibilities of the day.

Cleansing the Face

In the morning and again at night I have my face washing routine. I’ve come to realize that this pattern is not just about having a clean face. It’s a self-care ritual that brings me calm and clarity. In the morning when I’m still sleepy, there’s something about scrubbing, toning, and moisturizing that helps me slowly wake up. It’s my cue that the day has begun and that opportunities are before me. At night, the same routine helps me wipe off the day’s make-up and grime. Cleaning my face in the evening promotes a calm, gentle end to the day. The dirt gets cleansed along with any challenges or stresses from the day. The ritual creates an opening for a restful night. 

Wiping Your Lenses

Do you wear eyeglasses? I do. I need glasses for reading and computer work. While I try to be careful about only touching the frames and not the lenses, inevitably, I forget. I’ll pick up the glasses by the lenses, which makes them dirty. What’s funny about this is that I don’t realize when I’ve done it. I don’t notice that I’ve touched the lenses or that they’re smudged. I could use more mindfulness practice on this one, right? Instead, what will happen is that after some time, I’ll realize that I can’t see so well. My first thought is, “Oh, no! My eyes are getting worse.” Then I realize that the lenses are dirty, so I clean them. When I put my glasses back on, it’s astonishing how well I can see. How often is our judgment clouded by a belief or assumption? By cleaning our lenses, we can see other possibilities.

Cleaning the Windows

Two of my favorite times of year are when our windows get cleaned. This fall, in particular, the windows had gotten especially dirty. We had the house power washed, and the residue dripped onto the windows. Since our house has a lot of windows, the darkened glass was noticeable. The obstructed view agitated me and negatively colored my day. Similar to my eyeglasses, I just couldn’t see out as well. Then like magic, the window-cleaning day arrived. One by one, each window was restored to a bright, clear view. As the layer of dust lifted, my attitude became more open and positive.

Returning Home After Being Away

I like traveling, but what I really enjoy is returning home after being away. There are things we stop noticing when we’re around them all of the time. We take them for granted. Leaving and returning allows us to see again what has been hidden from our view. They include things like the comfort of sleeping in your own bed, enjoying your favorite foods, having your supplies at the ready, or being able to navigate in the dark. When we travel, new environments open us to possibilities. When we return home, we can bring some of those discoveries with us. We can also return a renewed appreciation of home.

Opening Eyes After Mindfulness Meditation

It’s not a requirement to close your eyes when meditating. I prefer to because it helps me be more fully present with my experience. I meditate in the morning. Some mornings the sun shines brightly and other times the day is gray with diffuse shadows. The natural light varies depending upon the weather and time of year. The experience, however, of having my eyes closed while awake for 10-30 minutes and opening them at the end of the meditation, remains the same. There is that first-moment post-meditation when I open my eyes. Calm floods my being. My physical sight is sharp. Internally I feel more open and accepting of what is before me. I am content in just being, and also ready for what the day will bring.

Appreciating Cloudy Skies

You might have figured this out by now, but I prefer sunny to cloudy days. I like bright colors over dull ones. I love sparkly instead of plain things. I know that all days can’t be glittery, sunny and pleasant. If they were, we wouldn’t fully appreciate them. Recently I was sitting by the river on an overcast morning. I saw a couple taking a walk when they bumped into their friends. They asked them, “Will the sun ever come out?” Without hesitation, their friends said in a sing-song-from-the-musical-Annie-way,“Tomorrow.” And then they all laughed. It made me smile too. I thought about a few things. Life isn’t always cloudy. There’s always hope. There are still possibilities. The sun will come out eventually. When the clouds are here, they provide an opportunity for contrast, for gratitude, and for finding your way to clearer days.

I’m curious about your cloudy experiences. What resonates with you? What helps you to see more clearly and prepare for possibilities? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come and join the conversation!