The Wild Dog Blog

Tag: inspiration

  • Become a Gardener

    When we’re creating something, there’s so much out of our control. We can really only control what we choose to create and how we choose to create it – we can’t control whether or not it becomes something that’s meaningful to others or makes an impact.

    I think of creating as planting a seed in the ground. I picture myself cradling the seed in my hands before parting the cool, damp dirt aside to bury it in the soil. After I cover it up and pat the dirt down on top, all I can do is come back to the same spot each day to water and keep the weeds away. All I can do is use the tools that I have to cultivate what I’ve planted. When it starts to grow and at what rate it grows isn’t up to me. 

    To create is to accept and find freedom in becoming the gardener of your ideas.

  • Doors of Opportunity

    Everyone wants the doors of opportunity to open. But how many people are actually prepared for what it will take to walk through them once they do?

    The most exciting opportunities put you on the hook to elevate your game. The work is only just beginning when a new door opens and an opportunity presents itself.

  • Begin Again

    How many times do we begin again in this life? Probably more than we realize. I think it’s possible that we all make small choices everyday that allow for renewal, without even noticing. 

    Making an effort to be kind to someone you’ve been dismissive of, engaging with a stranger when you normally would avoid conversation, picking up a book instead of your phone, starting a new journal – are all split second decisions made in fleeting moments. But that doesn’t make them trivial. 

    Beginning again doesn’t always have to happen in the form of a life altering decision or big leap of faith. It can happen in the barely noticeable changes in how we show up and the choices we make and the “hops” of faith that take us farther than we ever could have predicted.

  • Renewal

    Over a decade ago in Bastrop, Texas, high winds, downed power lines, and drought conditions caused the most destructive fire in state history. It burned 34,000 acres of land in 55 days. The pine forests in and around Bastrop State Park are still recovering. 

    This past January, I ran my first 100K ultramarathon in Bastrop State Park and got to see first hand the charred landscape that was reminiscent of the elephant graveyard in “The Lion King.” But I also got to see the start of new growth – young pine trees scattered throughout the park, their evergreen pine needles standing out in sharp contrast to blackened stumps and the golden brown trail. It was a beautiful and inspiring place to explore for 62 miles.

    Forest or human, nothing and no one is immune to the cycle of degeneration and regeneration. I’m thankful to the forests that show us how it’s done and remind us of our own capacity for renewal.

  • The Centipede

    I watched a centipede make its way along the bannister at the end of the boardwalk. It would inch along for a few seconds, stick its head up to look around, and then continue on. It almost seemed as if it were looking for something, but for what I wasn’t sure. 

    Are we any different from that centipede? Try as we might, we’re unable to see what’s ahead of us or maybe not even sure what we’re looking for. We can only move forward in faith that our path will continue to unfold. 

    I watched the centipede fall from the banister and thought about picking it up to return it to its place, but I stopped myself. Isn’t that how we all get to where we need to be? By pursuing a path, getting redirected by failure or the unexpected, and discovering a new and often better path as a result. 

    I sat there, staring at the centipede curled up on the ground, wondering if it could have died from its fall. A few seconds later, it uncurled, stretched its head up to look around, and dutifully continued on its way. It was a humbling reminder of what’s available to all of us – the choice to keep inching along undeterred, no matter how many times the path changes up ahead.