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CURATED CURIOSITIES
“NEXT has been our word for the tournament. We just kept saying: next play, next play.”
That’s what Nate Oats (no, not Quaker lol), said about his Alabama team advancing to the top bracket of March Madness for the first time ever. And maybe a Crimson Tide elephant never forgets, but “next” demands present attention and focus. There’s a power to keeping things rolling and following through with an arc, beyond the arc. It worked for Bama with a coveted birth to the Final Four!
Next’n the Net!
One of the most present times I’ve had lately is on a walk. I was doing a TV feature last week on this nature preserve that houses a Native American mound built in 100-300 B.C. The issue my photographer had was that it was located a mile into the woods with a very muddy path. So I ditched the heels and shot it with my iPhone. The clear, blue skies opened up my mind as I traipsed barefoot through black, gunky mud. It didn’t bother me at all. I was just grateful for the freedom of the path! Gratitude shifts focus.
“Grateful Nature”
GRATITUDE LAUNCHES THE MIND INTO A POSITIVE ORBIT.”
Gratitude sees the entirety of the forest and all of its uniquity! Check this out!
A group of singing nuns embraces the connection of environment with peace. The Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel are aged 50-96. They reign as the UK’s best-selling debuting classical artists! Their latest album “My Peace I Give You” just dropped. The core of the new album is a piece written by St. Francis of Assisi. The patron saint of Italy was said to be a great lover of God’s Creation, animals, and the environment.
“Transcendent Vocals”
One of the things I’ve learned in life is that highs are lows are both temporary. The next play is what counts. Forward focus channels energy toward the fresh. Yet I’m convinced GRATITUDE is the conduit between the past and the future that keeps you most alive in the present! It carries the best stuff with it into the new. Author Jon Gordon often talks about how gratitude walks changed his outlook.
I’m convinced the “next” is stronger with gratitude. If you’re grateful to be on the court, you’re gonna keep driving for another basket. A thank you expands your connection with those around you and your environment as a whole. It’s one of the reasons Matthew McConaughey started the “Just Keep Livin’” Foundation.
The after school program is known for its gratitude circles. McConaughey says, “The more we give thanks, the more we receive to be thankful for. Gratitude is the gift that always gives back.” Gratitude in that sense is much like nature itself. It’s a fractal pattern. It keeps repeating, and expands the good from the micro to the macro. And, as the nuns might tell you, it’s even Biblical.
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Psalm 150 (NIV)
Thank you for reading these words. Carry them into your next! 💖
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