I was pretty stressed this week. With that said, I was very pleased with how I handled stress in general. The last couple of years, I’ve needed to very much focus on handling high stress situations, mostly on my own, but that’s not because I didn’t have support I could reach out to.
It’s because even just a few years ago, it was very easy for me to cope instead of addressing how my body was reacting to the stress or burden in front of me.
Amidst everything going on were two things that stuck out to me and really made my week.
First of all, it was a random get together with my dear friend Steve Manning on Thursday afternoon. It was at this point of the week that my decision fatigue was about as high as it gets, and I was also very sad as I was preparing for my mother’s celebration of life next week.
I’ve been looking through countless photos of her, with a few of them striking a deep cord of sadness. As I’ve learned with my mentor Rex, it is very important to be with my emotions and understand them. I realize that I’m having an experience of sadness/ stress/frustration.
Manning and I very much love golf, and he has improved tremendously since I first met him. We also share the same golf coach, which we absolutely love. Steve had a match on Thursday afternoon for one of the tournaments at our club, and things quickly materialized for me to caddie for him while playing alongside.
Put simply, this was one of the most fun rounds of golf I’ve had in quite some time.
Whether Steve knew it or not, he lifted so much weight off my shoulders as we traversed the golf course that day. He held space for me when I needed it, and otherwise it was just us playing golf, which is perfect. Amidst what I will call “resonance,” we stood on the number 17 tee with Steve one down, with two to play. There’s no way an ideal scenario would come up where he would win the last two holes to finish one up, right?
Wrong!
It was like pure resonance. Steve put the necessary shots together to ultimately come out on top and of course, handled everything with class.
Fun fact: It was the 12th most humid day in Texas History. It had a heat index of like 108. So hot.
Thank you, Steve, for letting me be a part of a wonderful afternoon and a beautifully played match. You have turned into a fantastic golfer and should be very proud of your hard work.
Stepping back one day, I was inspired on Wednesday to ask my business partner and close friend, Chris (and his girlfriend) to get drinks on Friday evening. Something inside me just knew that we both would benefit from spending some time together, even though my social tank was pretty much empty.
That proved to be absolutely true.
At one point, Chris and I took a few minutes in the garage to sip our wine and discuss where we’re at with life. With some really tough events happening at Fountain Forward the past week, I could see it in his eyes, and I’m sure mine, that to a certain degree we were just a bit beat up.
Being able to spend those 30 minutes with him was the perfect closeout to my work week. I cannot express how big an impact that Chris has made on my life, as he has helped me pursue truth and peace. I was sitting in front of him, and I felt myself wanting to just tell him how much I love and appreciate him. He doesn’t really ask for much, and he works hard and does it the right way.
He is stoic, reasonable, and optimistic.
This week, I’m focused on sharing my appreciation with friends, family, and coworkers. This week we celebrate my mom on Friday and my birthday on Saturday.
I’m feeling a lot right now with everything going on. I’m doing my absolute best to keep my shit together, but I’m disappointed to say I haven’t handled everything the best, and I’ve judged myself pretty hard for it.
I quickly forget the 95 things I did right and focus on the 5 things I did wrong.
Sunday, Father’s Day, I started my appreciation week with a visit to my close friend who no longer has a relationship with his son. It kills him inside, and I hate seeing him so upset.
I was inspired to ask his wife if I could surprise him, and she was very excited for me to do so.
Those 2.5 hours with him were my start of extra appreciation week in honor of my mom. It was amazing to sit there with him and share my love and appreciation as a father figure to me.
I’m really feeling it right now. I don’t want to avoid it. I’m heavy in just about every area of my life, and I’m doing my absolute best to make clear minded decisions.
One thing I know for sure is that I’ll be sharing my love and appreciation with a lot of people this week.
I’m trying, I can tell you that.
Celebrating Patricia Jurgella.
– SJ