Life, Work & Wonder

Tag: mindfulness

  • A Magical 4th Of July On The Greenwater Lakes Trail

    Yesterday we went hiking on the Greenwater Lake Trail. It was, in a word, magical. It was, as Larissa described it, “Liked attending a forest cathedral.”

    Yesterday was, of course, July 4th. An exciting day for a lot of people, a big day for America, a day off for Larissa and I. Three years ago we’d gone on a day hike in Alaska for July 4th, two years we’d gone on a day hike in Washington for July 4th, and both days were fun, so when we woke up in the morning and were discussing what to do for the day we decided it would be fun to go on a hike.

    So over coffee we searched for best hikes near Seattle and within a couple of hours drive, not too crowded, not too long and not too strenuous. After passing on several options we discovered The Greenwater Lake trail not too far away from Crystal Mountain (skiing) outside of Enumclaw so close to the foot of Mt. Rainier, a 100-minute drive from our home. We left at noon.

    And oh my goodness.

    A three hour not too strenuous hike, a few people but not too many at all, and just one beautiful scene after another:

    A church cathedral, with towering old growth forest where the real world seems a million miles away. Honestly, it reminded us in a way of one of the most awesome I’ve ever seen: a natural version of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. How old were some of these trees that welcomed us into their midst???

    A trail along a bubbling river that crisscrossed one footbridge after another.

    A spot where suddenly the river stopped, collected itself into a tranquil sun speckled pool that cast shimmering light into the rocks again.

    A magical lake embraced by luscious green grass. In Seattle, all our lakes are populated with boats and people and geese. Here? Just nature at its best. And the only sound to be heard are birds. Was this heaven? No. But probably it was close.

    A waterfall where the river just chutes over sheets of rock like some kind of oversized Japanese garden creek.

    The hike was 2 hours and 45 minutes and 12,000 steps. But honestly it felt like 10 minutes, just a quick in and out, because it was so peaceful and breathtaking. It was a pretty amazing day.

    I’m so very grateful for the many many great July 4ths I’ve had over the years. Fun times with friends and family at mom and dad’s Whidbey Island place. Fun times traveling. Fun times with friends on their boat last year watching the fireworks. And, this year, a almost-religious time hiking along Greenwater Lake Trail.

    Here is wishing that everyone else had some joy too, if not yesterday than today and tomorrow.

  • I’m Grateful That Online Chess Is A Mirror For me

    I love playing online blitz chess.

    Sometimes in life we need a mirror.

    To tell us how we’re doing, how we’re coping, because sometimes even the best of us need a little outside perspective to keep us grounded. For me, that’s occasionally my spouse, who thankfully isn’t afraid to point out my bullshit in real-time when it happens. But a spouse shouldn’t also have to always be our mirror.

    Which is why I’m so grateful I have chess.

    When I have a few minutes and only a few minutes to kill, I play online blitz chess. I like that it’s quick (a maximum of 20 minutes but often less than 5 or 10 minutes), forces me to think, and also provides some competition against strangers (I don’t like competing against friends and loved ones since I feel guilty when I win).

    Despite my chronic fatigue I am restless and impatient by nature, so I want a quick unpredictable game and so play aggressively since it creates a faster game with fewer moments of predictable sloggery. Sometimes playing aggressively means I win quickly, and just as often it means I end up looking pretty silly.

    This is where the mirror is.

    When my head is clear and I’m feeling okay with my current daily life, I win a lot more often than I lose. I beat some pretty good players, often by checkmate, and my score climbs to the 1000s (which isn’t great for a serious player but is okay for a hack like me). When I’m tired or stressed or pre-occupied with something in life? My score plummets. Today it was in the 800s and sinking fast, and I am making some pretty foolish errors.

    This means I have some things going on in my life. Or in my mind. Which in fact I do since I’ve had a busy week of commitments while also trying to send our youngest off to camp for three weeks which created some chaos in our house as we got her ready. I’ve also been working a lot for not a lot of money (a risk of my career).

    When life gets stressful, and my chess score plummets, this means I need to be extra mindful. It probably means my cortisol levels are up, and heart rate is a little higher than average. Which means I need to fight coping techniques. Maybe take some perspective that this too will pass. Or take a night to order some pizza and chill. Or take a nice walk next to the creek near our house. Or to just take some deep breaths.

    I think a part of being a healthy human being for working persons like me (I have no clue at all what life is like to be luxuriously rich and/or entitled), is being self aware. Of knowing when we’re under stress during a particular day or week or even month. Then doing what we can to take extra steps to bring the stress levels down.

    Sometimes (like this week) I’m not aware that I’m feeling more than average stress. In those weeks I’m grateful for a mirror. Sometimes that’s my awesome spouse. But thankfully — like today — it also is online blitz chess.