What matters today (to me)

Recently I read Make Time and Getting Things done. I wondered how my future work-life would look like.
I took an inventory of my life - what is already there - what do I want to be there. The things that matters to me:

reading, hearing, seeing interesting thoughts

 I love the internet, I love watching youtube, listening to podcast and reading newsletters and blog posts. I love to know what others think.
This is time consuming and sometimes it is a distraction from what I should do. But at the moment I need this like looking in the mirror. I ask myself, can I see myself there. Sometimes this is empowering and sometimes it discouraging.
I also love to attend festivals, conferences, meetups and read books. The offline world matters as much to me. Because in the end we live in the offline world - that's what I believe

having interesting thoughts on my own

this happens naturally when I spend some quality time with myself. When I meditate, sit in silence, write my morning pages. It is a reaction to the thoughts that I read hear and see. Questions pop up.

Is this relay so? What if....? But how..? 

It happens when I disagree with something and I want to give my first reaction a solid foundation.

Introspection and listening to my intuition is the key.

articulate and publish my ideas

This is what I struggle the most with. I am at the beginning. Don't let myself hide. Please bare with me. I take baby steps forward. This is one of them.

spend quality time with the ones I love

As I am writing this I am sitting in my living room listening to music with my wife. We met 10 years ago and it is the greatest gift in my life.

I was kind of a loner and I still am somehow. I feel comfortable being on my own. But a lot of things are more valuable when I can share them with somebody. It is like in the movie Into The Wild. True happiness needs to be shares. I love to travel. On one trip through the south of Italy I realised that I don't want to travel alone. Going to a restaurant alone is much less fun.

In good times and in bad times. My wife and I lost our mothers, a father and a close friend during these years. I cannot imagine to go to the grief and pain without her support.

spend quality time with myself

As I mentioned before meditation, being alone matters to me. But also go to the gym go swimming, riding my bicycle, exercising is quality time. writing, taking pictures, listening to music are activities that nurtures my soul.

growing

I am hungry to learn and experience new things. Visit places I have never been before, explore new paths, expand my horizon, do things I have never done before.

To step out of the comfort zone takes practice. To challenge myself is liberating. To allow myself to make mistakes and face my fears let my confidence grow. It doesn't matter how often I fall down. What matters is how often I stand up again.

How does that fit into my actual work-life?

Part of it is already there. I managed to take a day of in the week to focus on my self. My finical resources are limited and I am looking for ways to improve that. It is not that I care about money or that I want to get rich. But money is a accelerator, a tool that helps me to achieve more and reach my goals faster. I am great full for the love and support of my wife and friends. I exercise two times a week. The morning pages a part of my morning routine. If I didn't make I know that I always come back to it easily.

What I want to do more: Writing my business journal, record my ideas and share it with my audience. Get a coaching certification and start my own business. Do the work in alignment with my natural rhythm.

How to grow?

Daxsha is planing to move to L.A.

Shine where you're planted - they post in their memes. Yet they haven't developed any roots.

Independent and free they can move on to the anywhere anytime.

There is always this longing for something bigger, something brighter

To transcend every moment into something larger than life.

A palce called Home

How to Grow

I love to expand in different directions at the same time. I don't see any reason not to do so. If I look at nature there are plants that grow in only one direction like asparagus but there are also this beautiful trees that spread all over

being challenged

I value my work and this may challenges other people opinions and what they used to do. This time I was challenged. It made me think and question what I was used to do. It was a challenge but it also led me to value my work more.

During my lunch break I watched how this gull. How she managed to stay in one place in the middle of the canal with almost no effort was really meditative.

Tenji is with us for about 10 years. She is a lady in her best age. And she got fomo (the fear of missing out).
Where ever we sit she wants to sit. She got plenty of places, where she likes to rest but her favourite place is always where we are.
When ever I dictate something on my tablet or record a podcast she comes and joins the discussion. She is a talking cat. But this goes beyond her miau when she gets food.
Don't mistake it with her natural behaviour - the curiosity every cat has and the need to belong to someone.
And that is funny. Because what is on the agenda of a cat?

1. eating
2. sleeping
3. being petted
4. playing (less and less over the years I am so happy because I like the cute expression on her face when she does that
5. watch the world outside the window (or watch television with us)

She doesn't know social media - she has not the whole world on her mobile device to compare with - she only got us to compare.

What strange kind of cats are we.