Jakki here, your loyal canine co-coach. This past weekend, I noticed my mom faced an unexpected change in her vacation plans.
Given the sub-zero temperatures in Minnesota, she happily took a dear friend up on her offer to hike the red rocks of sunny Arizona. Like a good program manager, she made lots of plans, envisioning all the trails they would hike and basking in the warm sunshine.
Day 1 was perfect: morning coffee in the sunroom, watching the sunrise over Cathedral Rock, beautiful warm sun, a challenging hike with awe-inspiring views, and perfect friend time.
Then came the SNOW overnight…
Initially, my mom was incredibly disappointed. This was not the vision she had for her weekend—there was plenty of snow back in Minnesota, why did it need to follow her here?
As the morning went on and they waited for the snow to melt, she realized this was exactly the gift she didn’t know she needed. Time moved slowly that morning… And it was AWEsome. (Pun very much intended)
They lingered with coffee in the sunroom, watching the fog clear until the rocks came into view.
Then she spent an hour watching the hundreds of birds in her friend’s backyard, first with their feathers fluffed up in the snow and then in joyful activity as the air warmed and the snow melted.
In her normal state of busyness and drive to complete the next task, she would have missed all this.
Re-grounding and filling her energy cup with awe and beauty is one of the best gifts she can give herself, throughout her life journey and especially in times of change and waiting.
So here is my question for my friends and colleagues: Where did you find awe & beauty this week? I’d love to hear your stories.