Dinah's Garden Hotel

I have had an interesting couple of years. Lots of ups. Lots of downs. An immense amount of challenges. I got caught up in a lot of time traveling, working, and found myself losing appreciation for things. On my recent trip to California, I flew into SFO and stayed in a beautiful hotel called Dinah's Garden Hotel. Amazing hospitality, incredible restaurant, and a little Japanese garden on your way to the room.

I had a very important event that following morning and a lot of deep frustration and nerves that followed with it.

The evening prior, I spent a little bit of time reflecting in my notebook. I began to write the things about myself that I had been critical of for quite some time. It felt so trivial. Without trying, I filled up an entire page. I decided to flip backwards, and let the prelude to that page be what in life I found beautiful. For 30 minutes, I wrote.

Although it was challenging, I found that beginning with those positive writings made it less likely I would ever turn the page to the negative ones. In a way, this felt like a metaphor for life itself. It has been a while since I've posted, but I'd like to share some of them in my blog:

What I Find Beautiful

Life is rare. To have the privilege to exist, to wake up every morning... it can be easy to forget how rare that is.
To have a family that loves me, that cares for me. Who am I to complain when there are so many people in the world that lack what seems like a bare minimum to many.
I have a stable job, money in my bank account and never have to worry about a meal or clothing. Again, who am I to complain when there are so many people in the world that lack what seems like a bare minimum to many.
It is quite possible that who you are and who you become is a product of your mindset. There were so many times I believed I was somewhere before I ever reached the destination. When you begin to reflect on how much your mindset has yielded, can you remember the last time you 100% believed in yourself? Do you remember how beautiful it was when you did?
The earth itself. There is so much to see. So much to do. What a beautiful planet we sit on.
The balance of the universe. Where there is good, there must be bad. Where there is happiness, there must be sadness. The human ability to feel these emotions in a sense is a blessing on its own.
We live in an era of knowledge. You can learn anything. There are things that our generation and generations beyond us will continue to accomplish with the abundance of information that was not possible 2-3 decades ago. As Steve Jobs said, "I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am totally dependent on them for my life and well being". What a privilege to be able to reap the benefits of the generations before us, and to have the ability to mold it for the next.
Many have tough relationships with food. What I've found, is that it is not the food itself that I appreciate. I believe that the most beautiful thing about food is being able to leverage it as a mechanism to grow closer to those around you.

Final Thoughts

There are many things that I likely missed. And I encourage anyone reading this to try to come up with some of your own. But one thing that I have found for certain, is that no matter what you are going through in your life, prelude the negative with what you find most beautiful. And maybe, just maybe... it'll shock you.