The Eve of Christmas Eve

Last night, Sheryl and I sat outside on the front porch of Vino's on Duval in Key West. We had completed a full day of riding scooters and sightseeing, and had an incredible dinner at Mangoes.

As we sat, drinking our wine of the moment, I realized I was a little chilly. So I took a blanket off the chair next to me, and covered my legs - bare from the knees down.

Watching people walk by, overhearing bits and pieces of conversations - in English and other languages - we gazed at the Christmas lights decorating the businesses across the street.

I had a sudden moment of clarity. I was in the perfect place at the perfect time doing the perfect thing with perfect company.

Another blessing.

Conclusions

There are many reasons to count our blessings. I acknowledge my appreciation for things daily.

Lately, I've been working on an experiment using the concepts discussed in "What the Bleep Do We Know?"

And I've found that these concepts can and do work. I also found that it was very difficult to step away from old habits and develop new ones. Oddly enough, I found that by being cold forced me to whine and bitch about being cold, rather than focus on my blessings and experiment.

I've talked about some parts of my experiment, but there was one I did not want to discuss until a couple of days ago.

They say that it takes three weeks to change habits. So, I decided that I wanted to change my drinking habit.

It wasn't easy to accomplish his. I got some hassle, but I persisted. I didn't know what to expect, but I did know that if I was able to achieve my goal, then my sense of will power was strong enough to accomplish anything in life. Yes, somewhat drama-queenish, but something nonetheless I felt I needed to prove to myself.

And I learned some things, too. I learned that I slept better. I learned that I felt better. I felt that I could focus better.

And people who knew me 10+ years ago won't comprehend this, but I learned that I missed drinking wine, and experimenting with wine more than anything.

Over the last year or so, I haven't really enjoyed what rum and other hard liquors have been doing to my body. Of course, I have had a tendency to drink excessively at each sitting as well, but that don't count, right?

So the experiment is over, and I am eager to take these lessons I've learned and find out how they help me become a better person, and what amazing things I can accomplish.

It's all a process. And if we're lucky, we never stop learning and testing ourselves.

Notes on the Experiment

I've only been working on this experiment for a week or so, and I can already say that I feel confident that it will work. There are too many coincidences to make me think otherwise.

There are four items that are part of the experiment:
1) Identify moments in the day that Sheryl and I are grateful for (thus opening ourselves for positive occurrences);
2) Receive a job offer down South (which nearly happened, but I realized that I wanted to stay at my current position a little longer, so I turned down the opportunity);
3) and 4) They still have not occurred, so I will keep them to myself... until they do occur. I am confident they will.

But the gist of the experiment has been to determine whether I could change things in my life by changing the way I think about them.

I have been really fascinated lately by the Quantum Edition of "What the Bleep Do We Know?" There are hours upon hours of bonus information regarding quantum mechanics and quantum physics, and this is what ignited the concept of my experiment.

Daily, I think it's important for me to remember: "I make myself available to the infinite possibilities." By saying, and believing in this, I recognize that there is no limit to my life. There is nothing I can't do (without the proper work being done).

And now I'm excited to see what I can accomplish with this knowledge.

Let's finish Items 3 and 4 first, eh? :)

Life

On the day that I learned that Elizabeth Edwards died, I went with my amazing wife to see the pulmonologist.

18 months ago, a CT scan showed a spot on my lung. My oncologist - as thorough as he is - put me through three more CT scans to ensure everything was alright. And then sent me to the pulmonologist. As long as the pulmonologist said everything was okay, then I was in the clear.

Well, I am in the clear, although he wants one more CT in the spring.

So, how did I celebrate?

I went to the Y, and rode 16 miles on the trainer.

It's good to be alive. How do you celebrate your life?

"Life has no limitations, except the ones you make." - Les Brown

The Daily Dose

As part of my experiment, I have been trying new things: being more positive, being more aware of my surroundings and opportunities, appreciating what I have, and focusing on my desires.

Part of being more positive has included asking Sheryl what the best part of her day was just before she goes to bed. Doing this helps both of us to focus on something positive before going to bed. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I have been sleeping really well lately...

The other things come and go, but as I work on each aspect of this project, I get a kick out of finding ways to make the best of myself and the opportunities available to me.

This morning, I tried to focus on the experiment while I was working out, but didn't have a lot of time tonight to meditate on it.

Tonight was big, though, met a personal milestone, and helped make someone's day. These are positives that will help along the way.

As I further refine the parameters of the experiment:

Today, I make myself available to all possibilities that will ultimately lead to a positive outcome.

My favorite part of the day was seeing all of the smiles I saw tonight, including hearing my aunt say that she hasn't laughed that hard in a long time. Made me think about all the laughing I did today. Very positive. :)

The experiment...

So I am working towards a moment that will be a great benefit to me. I am trying different things, like eliminating negativity from my life. By doing this, I believe that I can make more positive things more available to me.

There have been some struggles over the last few days, but there has definitely been some positively stranger things happening as well. Today, despite some non-positive occurrences, I found that there were a number of occasions where I was "in the right place at the right time". Or "someone was just looking for me," and there I was. This is an important development towards my goal.

Something else important came to me as well. Three quotes that idealize things I need to keep close during this experiment:

"The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them." - Jim Rohn

"Find peace in your heart. It will spread over the world. The effect of it is strong and immediate." - Yoko Ono

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." - Charles Darwin

These have all come to me since I decided to undergo this experiment. This tells a big tale.

Today, I open myself to all positive opportunities, and recognize the changes within me, and around me, no matter how small or how large, that occur as a result of opening myself up to these positive opportunities.

I'm getting excited to see what happens next!

I'm three days into my experiment, and I'm still in learning mode. Still trying to figure it out. It is good, and it's going to be good... if not GREAT!

Today I open myself to all POSITIVE possibilities.

There's a lot to learn here, and I'm not quite ready to move on yet. Be patient, my pretties...

Today: I open myself up to all possibilities.