Neil Pasricha's Blog, page 148
December 3, 2019
#359 The wind
I’m listening to the wind, to the wind at my soul.
Where it comes from, where it goes, well … who really knows.
All I know is that the wind is a great part of life for a few big reasons:
1. Helps plants make love. Roots twist and tie bushes and trees into forest floors preventing them from spreading their seeds too far. Thankfully the wind blows by to carry maple keys and pollen into new spaces and new places. Next time you glance at fields of pretty flowers besides the highway or see a spread of tall trees over the horizon… well, just remember who helped make it all happen.
2. Breezy comfort. When I lived in Boston our creaky apartment turned into a steamy sauna in the summer. It felt like an oven with lots of summer sun and no A/C. Well, my roommate Joey and I had no choice but to lie on sweaty couches eating popsicles in our underwear while praying for cool breezes to float through to give us a few moments of bliss. Yes, when you score a cool breeze on a hot day, when you land a warm gust on a chilly one, always remember to give thanks.
3. Come sail away. Sailors and windsurfers love the breezy push of wind over the glittery ocean water, kids love flying kites in the park, and everyone loves windmills spinning to grind out energy jolts and keep our Dutch fields picturesque.
Yes, when the wind whips through your body, when it whips through your soul, sometimes you feel that supernatural sense of being at one with nature, at one with the world, and at one on the planet. Wind is a constant that gives comfort because it’s invisible but always there. Wind has blown sand across deserts and ripples across oceans for millions of years… so when those free and easy breezes whisper across your face just remember to close your eyes… and just remember to enjoy a tiny little moment of
AWESOME!
Photos from: here, here, and here
— Join my monthly book club —
The post #359 The wind appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
December 2, 2019
#360 Finally cleaning off your disgustingly filthy windshield
After momentarily blinding yourself under a thick layer of muddy smears you suddenly gaze out with sparkly eyes and a dropped jaw through a crystal-clear half-circle of sunshine.
It’s like getting a new set of eyes.
AWESOME!
Photo from: here
— Check out my new podcast 3 Books —
The post #360 Finally cleaning off your disgustingly filthy windshield appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
December 1, 2019
#361 The first snowfall of the winter
Crystal flakes form in space before floating down from cloudy skies.
Soon blankets of white coat sidewalks like icing and frosty corners freeze in shady yards by the shed. Scarves twist tightly around necks, noses sniffle and turn red, and everyone walks the streets with wide eyes and snowy lashes. Boots slip and slide on the sidewalk, mittens swipe seats in the park, and branches glow under a silent new moonlit world.
Sometimes the first snowfall gets your bones excited about everything the season brings — family moments, quiet times, holiday shopping, and grandma’s cooking. It’s a symbol of venturing out into a new world and bunkering into an old one.
When the snow flies down for the first time everything slows down around you and nostalgia bombs burst in your brain … of slip-sliding to school on sidewalks, slushy snowball fights in the park, and sticky mittens rolling snowmen on the front lawn…
AWESOME!
— Follow me on Twitter —
The post #361 The first snowfall of the winter appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
November 28, 2019
#362 Not making plans
Life’s too short to make plans all the time. Just do what you want and enjoy it.
AWESOME!
Photo from: here
— Follow me on Twitter —
The post #362 Not making plans appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
November 27, 2019
#363 When you correctly guess the secret ingredient
Sniffing bean dips, chewing brownies, inspecting casseroles for clues, you’re swishing and swallowing while channeling all your body’s powers towards your mouth. Make sure to close your eyes, sniff bunny sniffs, and slowly move that chewed-up paste around your tongue so it touches different tastebuds.
No, it doesn’t matter if it’s something sweet in the cheese dip or something spicy in the squares. All that matters is that when you get it you put your hand up, bow your head, and smile softly before yelling it out.
“Cinnamon!”
AWESOME!
Photo from: here
— Follow me on Instagram —
The post #363 When you correctly guess the secret ingredient appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
November 26, 2019
#364 When you get caught in a big rainstorm but just don’t care at all
Water, water, everywhere.
Most of our brains and our blood and our bodies are water. Most of our babies and our beagles and our baths are water. Water rinses apples and washes cars. Water steams carrots and cures SARS. (Study pending.)
Yes, water cures thirst, shaves legs, and grows plants. Water flushes toilets, washes hair, and ships pants. We cannonball into pools, we float off the docks, we ice down our drinks, and we rinse all our socks.
We love water but somehow there’s one major moment where we dread Nature’s Best Liquid. Yes, I’m talking about rain, people — because you know as well as I do that when the skies split and the clouds crack everyone scowls and scampers for cover.
And that’s exactly what makes it great when once in a while you just, you know, don’t. That’s what makes it so great when it starts pouring on you and you just stop caring altogether.
Jumping in puddles, laughing with friends, chilled to the bone, soaked till the end — yes, when you’re getting wet and loving it suddenly soaked shoes, squishy worms, and rain hair mean nothing. You’re a gorilla in the rainforest, you’re a lion in the monsoon, you’re just another animal on Earth soaking and swirling and spinning and twirling in your beautifully wet blissful moment of
AWESOME!
Photos from: here, here, and here
— Follow me on Facebook —
The post #364 When you get caught in a big rainstorm but just don’t care at all appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
November 25, 2019
#365 Getting dressed straight out of the dryer or laundry basket
Hands up if you’ve ever been a bachelor.
People, if you’ve been there you know the lazy-boned joy of sleeping in a bed half-covered in clothes, eating breakfast over the sink to avoid using one of your three plates, and getting dressed straight outta the dryer or laundry basket.
Yeah, you know how it goes: Alarm clock buzzes and you’re suddenly grog-sliding around your cramped apartment as a Bedhead Nude. Next it’s time to pop open the dryer door or eyeball the assorted clump of clean clothes in a basket and start fishing through your wrinkly clothes for a wrinkly wardrobe.
Balled-up underwear, twisted T-shirts, and crumpled jeans that are still a bit wet fit you jusssssst fine and before you know it you’re looking hot to trot.
Now just make sure when you pull off this classic move you take a second to nod in the mirror and smile slowly while congratulating yourself on saving some valuable time. Ironing shirts, rolling up socks, folding underwear?
No thanks.
We’d rather fill our days with an extra five minutes of
AWESOME!
— Check out my new book You Are Awesome —
The post #365 Getting dressed straight out of the dryer or laundry basket appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
November 24, 2019
#366 When little kids show your their muscles
Flex those spaghetti arms, grit those teeth, and look absolutely adorable.
AWESOME!
Photo from: here
— Sign up for my newsletter on intentional living —
The post #366 When little kids show your their muscles appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
November 21, 2019
#367 The joy of recess
Ring the bell.
We’re supposed to run around.
We’re not supposed to be still. We’re not supposed to be quiet.
Pull out to our spinning planet swirling on its axis in the middle of our solar system. Pull out to us spinning around the sun flying through the ever-expanding blackness at breakneck speed. Everything outside is flying faster than we can move and faster than we can imagine…
And here we are, sitting at our desks, staring out our windows.
Pull into our chubby bodies full of pumping blood rushing through beating hearts. Pull into eyeball electrons swirling around eyeball atoms in front of flickering brain cells, swallowing stomachs, and flashing nerves. Everything inside is flying faster than we can move and faster than we can imagine…
Everything outside us is spinning and swirling, everything inside us is spinning and twirling, everything around us is flying and soaring…
We’re not supposed to be still. We’re not supposed to be quiet.
We’re supposed to run around.
Ring the bell.
AWESOME!
Photos from: here, here, here, and here
— Join my monthly book club —
The post #367 The joy of recess appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
November 20, 2019
#368 Seeing your hometown skyline suddenly appear over the horizon
Big buildings full of flickering lights, faded paint on rusty water towers, and mirrory windows of familiar stores welcome you all the way back home…
Smile and hit the gas as familiar feelings soak back into your brain. Smooth streets and bumpy sideroads, flashing orange lights and dented stop signs, and tipsy toddlers on teetering bikes riding past your front door…
Going away is overrated.
Coming home is
AWESOME!
Photo from: here
— Check out my podcast 3 Books —
The post #368 Seeing your hometown skyline suddenly appear over the horizon appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things.
