“A beautiful thing is never perfect.” -Vern Tejas . . . and yet, it was . . . a Perfect Day.
I want to take you through a morning in my life that took place recently.
Usually, I wake well-rested at 5 am most mornings. This has gone on for some time. It’s what I robotically write at the beginning of my perfect day. And it has been going on for 20 years, but on this day: I didn’t sleep well in anticipation of a 4 am alarm. Now, looking back, I wonder if there was more to my restlessness.
I have a standing annual date with my brother in the deep southern woods outside of Charleston. It’s a tradition for us to meet on April 3 every year. We go hunting for wild turkeys.
I know a lot of people have different views about this, but here in South Carolina and in the spirit of Garden and Gun Magazine, we walk out together, sharing a bond, and a friendship that goes deep to the core of our lives. So, as I drive, I’m excited to see him, excited about the day, and excited about life.
The morning feels good all around me. The day is about to begin, and early morning sounds filter in all around me. I sip coffee as I navigate the windy, rural backroads to our meeting spot. And I give thanks for what it feels like to be up before the “rest of the world.”
There’s certain peace in being here. I’m grateful. The drive provides time for me to reflect on memories and life challenges and things I had hoped would take place but have been put on hold.
I’m early. Not late. Not rushing. It feels good. But I didn’t see this coming!
Suddenly and without any forewarning, my peace is shattered. A propane truck on the way to making a delivery swerves wildly into my lane. It’s amazing what goes through your mind in times like these.
Automatically, I respond, but I don’t over react. A sense of peace covers me. And with clarity, because you can focus in times of an emergency, I dodge the truck and move safely back into my lane.
It is then that a rush of thoughts fill my mind as I’m reminded of the brevity of life.
This is the day that I would have been on the mountainside in Nepal preparing to climb Mt. Everest. But I am here, and I am glad for perfect timing and the realization that God has something more for me to do.
My life did not end on the side of a South Carolina road. A life well-lived and a life-well spent—that’s one goal still hanging out before me. It’s a Perfect Day goal. What is yours?
Many of you have faced moments like I have just outlined. Right now, some of you are worried about tomorrow. Our nation and really our world is battling something we’ve never faced before—a run-away truck you did not see coming.
I want to be very sincere about something. Perfect Days are not built on perfect moments. Perfect Days are the result of what you do when you are faced with an imperfect event or a life-altering moment.
So, going forward, how do you want to spend your days, your weeks, and the rest of your life. I choose to summit mountains. That’s my resting place, and I pray: please Lord bring peace to my family should this be your will—not a hospital bed, a victim of chemo, or a run-away truck carrying propane.
I know that we don’t always get to choose, but we can decide how to handle life’s serious challenges. We can do what is important in life and live fully for it.
All I want to do today is to give thanks and inventory all that I’m grateful for—this, I know, is the cure for fear, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness.
I’m most grateful that as the “wheels” seem to be falling off of the things that you and I strive to achieve, I have this mindset. I am thankful for all that I have and all that makes up my core.
How do you get to this point? It begins with a simple exercise. I have written about it before, but it works and it will refocus your life on the very things that are important: your health, family, relationships, spiritual connection, peace, and wealth.
Spend at least 10 minutes each day in prayer and/or meditation. Then grab a jar and a small pad of paper and write out three things that you are grateful for today.
Put those in your “gratitude jar” and ask your family or friends to add to it. Tomorrow when you get up, pull one piece of paper out and read it. I do this with my family every day and every day, my mind is “trained” on what has true value and what can be laid aside.
I know you want a way out of this time. There’s not one right now. That’s it. But you can use this time to refocus and hit the reset button on your priorities. I can show how this is done. Schedule a free 15 minute consultation with me, and we’ll work through a plan together.
In 30 days, if your mindset hasn’t shifted, let me know, but I believe it will be. What does it cost to try this for 10 minutes a day? Absolutely nothing!
I teach people how to get to a place where every day is a Perfect Day, and I would love to show you how this is done. Let’s get started! And actually, with free time on your hands, why not sign up for my free webinar and gain some simple insights into what you can do to have more Perfect Days beginning with today.
About The Author: Cokie Berenyi
Cokie Berenyi has been in financial services and serving the needs of individual and institutional clients and entrepreneurs since 1996. Mother, author, business owner, financial “samurai” and Perfect Day engineer, Cokie loves food, wine, travel, stray dogs, goat cheese, tennis, and alpine mountaineering.
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