One of first thing Darin Olien (author and podcast host) does after getting off the plane from a long trip is find a patch of earth where he takes off his shoes and socks to walk barefoot across the soft green blades of grass. This is his way of reconnecting himself to this planet and reset his circadian clock.

Any time we are able to directly connect with living things on this earth we’re better in the long run. Be it a walk in the mountains among the tall pine trees, a picnic on the grass, a cuddle session with your pet or a backyard bbq with our friends.

Isolating ourselves in dark air-conditioned rooms lit by artificial lighting, humming hard drives and fans blasting air around the room is less than healthy for us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

There’s no doubt we have to do what we have to do. Whether it’s our work environment, living conditions, etc. let’s remember the wonderful gifts of simple connections with everything living among us in this great wide world of ours.

Who knows, we might just get addicted to it.

To this day, I hear friends and family members bragging about how little sleep they need to get through the day and week. No doubt some people need less than others, but as a whole many of us go through the day sleep deprived. I’m not quite sure where this comes from, but I speculate it’s from the prior generation’s philosophy which goes something like this, “No rest for the wicked.”

I played three sports in high school, so I didn’t have a whole lot of down time. On weekends I did my best to catch up on much needed sleep as a teenager. My father didn’t see it that way. He saw it as “I was sleeping my day away.” I’ve recently discovered studies that say some teenagers require up to 10-12 hours of sleep a night as their body’s are growing and changing at an incredible pace during those years.

Today’s pace of life is faster than ever and the gaps for down time to lay under trees and look up at the sky or sit on a park bench to take in the fresh air seem fewer and far between. Stimulus of all kinds is barraging us at every waking moment and the expectancy of work production is higher than ever while many of us work remotely in our homes.

Getting ample sleep is just as important in taking care of yourself as exercise, diet and your mental well-being.

You’re not a hero because your going on 5 hours of sleep. You’re probably underperforming. Let’s see what we can all do about that.

Now, get to bed!

Being a middle-age man, I’ve evolved in many different areas of my life: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. One of my favorites has to be how soft I’ve become – and I don’t mean physically. Maybe it’s just my true shine showing through after the facade of my ego has rubbed off after all these years.

I certainly know what I want and what makes me happy now-a-days, but my Love far exceeds my desire for any type of violence or harm to others. Any living creatures. I rarely kill flies, as I find it more challenging to catch them in mid-air with my hands and release them to the great outdoors.

I used to hunt a bit when I was in college, but find no desire to do those kinds of things anymore. My appreciation for living things has increase ten-fold and I enjoy every minute of it. From my little dogs (one is a newly adopted rescue) to my 15 year old cat, I find joy in taking care of them, feeding them and going for walks as they smell their way around my neighborhood.

I guess it’s my appreciation for life that has blossomed and grown, giving me another element in my life to be grateful for. Yeah, I’m a softy and I Love every moment of it!

As I move through this life on earth and strive to be the best version of myself I can be, I realize that my inner compass is always guiding me in the direction of my destiny, if I could only pay attention to the signs. Subtle as they may be.

There were times when I hoped a lightening bolt would crackle downward from the skies above or a piece of ripe fruit would fall from a tree hitting me on my head in order to get my attention. These would be clear telltale signs to help me identify the course of my direction.

However, it’s much more subtle than that.

It’s a feeling deep within that grabs my full attention. It’s a yearning – a desire to explore an idea (as big or small as it may seem at the time) even though I may have little experience in that area. It’s a bold proclamation. It’s being on the precipice of a promise being made to myself. It often times comes as a brilliant endeavor full of adrenaline and excitement followed by crippling fear realizing what’s truly at risk. This is usually when I know I’m on the right track.

More times than not, the desires and dreams of my true self – the destiny of my life – speak to me not through raging weather anomalies or a thunderous voice from heaven above, but rather a small quiet voice within. A calm confident utterance, but nonetheless a faint whisper.

This is when I strive to listen attentively. As I’ve come to believe my destiny lies there. Within those brief, still, but yet crucial moments.

There are daily – no rather moment by moment decisions we have to make in order to become the person you intend to be. For me, it comes down to choices as simple as: am I going to eat chocolate after my dinner or fruit. Can I make time to practice on the drums for at least 5-10 minutes? Do you want to fit in the workout today or not? Is it important enough for me to schedule a date night with my wife this week in order to connect? What about my children? How can I find quality time to spend with them?

These may seem like small and insignificant decisions, but each and every one of them sends you in a direction. The question is: Are your actions sending you in a direction you want to go?

We are all where we are in the world because of the choices we have made over the years. No doubt, there are certainly aspects of our lives that are out of our control: Where we’re born, who our parents are, the color of our eyes and even getting a disease such as cancer. We don’t choose these things, but we can certainly choose how we react to what has happened to us.

Only when we can take 100% responsibility for our lives and the choices we make in them, can stand up from the back of the bus and grab ahold of the steering wheel and direct our lives where we want to go and not feel like we’re a helpless passenger who must figure out how to navigate their next stop.