Perfectly Crazy – Simply Greatfull

Crazy

This week has been packed full of crazy.  Well, most weeks are, but this week particularly!  My family is renting a beach house down at Wrightsville Beach; a tradition we started in 2001 after my Grandpa Ham passed away.  For those of you that know my family, this is much more than just a family affair.  Family and friends fill the house and meet at the beach which makes it such a special time.  This, however, is the first year with 3 boys walking!  You see, last year, the twins weren’t “mobile” so we had the ability to contain them.  Now,  it’s a whole new experience!  Chasing 3 around a non-child-proofed house, loading 3 up to go to the beach, showering 3 off and cleaning sand out of their mouths is downright crazy.  Even with all of the helping hands, it can still get overwhelming.  In these crazy times, I seek perspective and I encourage you to as well.  Here’s what I mean.  Last night, we were walking down to the beach at dusk, just before the sunset.  MJ was riding on my shoulders, his favorite.  We were playing “I Spy” on our walk, looking for yellow cars, American flags and blue signs.  As we approached the dunes, I said, “I spy a blue ocean.”  MJ responded saying, “I see it!  Look Daddy, it’s perfect!”  It was.

MJ riding on my shoulders

MJ riding on my shoulders

MJ being MJ

MJ being MJ

Perfectly Crazy

The process of seeking greatness through gratitude, what I refer to as being greatfull, is learning to find joy in the simple things.  We often try to create grandeur moments with a desire to see perfection and miss the entire point.  Learning to enjoy the perfectly crazy moments in our lives is part of the process.  They happen all the time and all too often, we miss them because we’re not willing to see.  How can we change our view so that we start to see?

1.  Look with the eyes of your heart – Start by trying to see deeper than what is on the surface.  Try looking with your heart.  The joy in a child’s eyes when they’re taking their first boat ride or playing in the ocean is something that can be seen, but when you view it with the eyes of your heart, you witness innocence and beauty.  Learn to pick out the components in order to recreate them.

2.  Seek joy in the process – When I wrote about our twin story (click here) I talk about this at length.  The concept is not to wish away for some far off version of joy that is the product of an accomplishment, but to embrace the process in getting there.  This means that sometimes, you just need to choose to be grateful.

3.  Seek joy in simplicity – For many years, I tried to create perfect moments, but used all of the wrong ingredients.  Whether it was a cookout or birthday party or simply a few friends coming over to watch a ballgame, I was always trying to make everything perfect.  The perfect food, the perfect TV, the perfect…you get the point.  I spent so much time trying to create perfect moments, that I missed them!

4.  Record them – When you have moments like these, PLEASE write them down.  Talk about them.  By understanding why you perceived them as perfect will help you see them in the future.  Years from now you will be grateful as you revisit them and recreate them!

In his book “The Perfect Moment”, (which you can get FREE by clicking here), Andy Andrews talks about recognizing these moments in your life.  I read it about 6 months ago and it has been a great help in focusing my perspective to recognize these moments as they happen.  I would highly encourage you to check it out!

How can you start to see your perfect moments?

MH

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