Susan Hyatt

Living and Dying

Posted on 16. Aug, 2009 by Susan in Inspiration

I am not
afraid to die.  This realization
hit me reading a great book by Gene O’Kelly called Chasing Daylight, How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life.  The author was diagnosed with a
terminal brain tumor and writes this little gem during the last 90 days of his
life.  It is a memoir about a
successful man who at the moment of discovering he is dying, decides to live.

 

O’Kelly
writes about living in the present moment for his final 90 days.  He noticed the simplest things that he
had been too busy to observe climbing the corporate ladder: a bird flying in
the sky, the sound of water in a stream, real conversations with people that he
loved.  He called these times
“perfect moments.”

 

The concept
of a Perfect Moment and O’Kelly’s story struck a chord with me.  Being in the present moment can be
tricky for me.  I’m someone who
doesn’t care much about the past, but I’ll invest buckets of time in the
future. Ideas and plans excite me. 
And, sometimes, I’ll plan to the extent that I miss the fun right in
front of me.  I work on this.  Daily.

 

I decided
after reading Chasing Daylight, that I would take a new approach to staying in
the present moment and created a simple coaching tool by the same name in honor
of the author.

 

Create A
Perfect Moment

1.     Stop-Once an hour, be intentional and stop what you are doing.

2.     Breathe-Take three or more deep breathes.

3.     Observe-Look around at what is happening in your surroundings and
find something to appreciate for 60 seconds.

4.     Gratitude-Marinate in what you are appreciating.  Really see it, smell it, hear it, taste
it.

 

Isn’t that
fun?  Here’s what I’ve
noticed.  Perfect Moments are
happening all of the time.  You
just have to take off your busy glasses and open your perfect moment eyes to
see them.  Brushing my daughter’s
hair.  Watching my crazy beagles
wrestle.  Really tasting a
delicious slice of strawberry pie. 
Laughing at the crazy fat squirrel that barks at me all the time.  These are perfect moments. 

 

Living
this way,  drinking in all that this life has to offer, keeps me centered
in a way that does not allow a fear of living or dying to have a place in me.

 

 

You are Brilliant — and the Earth is Hiring

Posted on 20. May, 2009 by Susan Hyatt in Inspiration

A great post at the blog site of CharityFocus.org —

Paul Hawken (friend of CharityFocus, entrepreneur, environmental activist, and author) delivered the 2009 Commencement Address to the Class of 2009 at the University of Portland.

“There is invisible writing on the back of the diploma you will receive, and in case you didn’t bring lemon juice to decode it, I can tell you what it says: YOU ARE BRILLIANT, AND THE EARTH IS HIRING. The earth couldn’t afford to send any recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint. And here’s the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.”

Read his entire speech. You just might be as inspired by it as I!

Stop Hiding

Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Susan in Inspiration

You have real work to do in the world. What are you currently doing to hide from it?  I’m talking about your run of the mill gossiping, spur of the moment shopping sprees, over indulging in Godiva, and pity parties in your mind kind of happenings.  I, myself, have a PhD in these sorts of sporting events.

It’s a terrific distraction to entertain limiting thoughts, worry, whine, soap box, bully, and show off. It keeps us occupied. But it stinks.

Often when we start to notice what we want, and learn that only we are responsible for our result in life, it can become super scary. Terrifying.  We get a pink spoon taste of what our real lives are meant to be and the avalanche of distraction ensues. 

“You can’t pull that off.”
“Who do you think you are?”
“What will everybody think?”

A few years ago I was sitting in my tiny little real estate office worried about starting my coaching practice.  My coaching pal Karen told me to stop hiding.  I’m so glad I did. Because now I get to do what I am passionate about and read emails like this one:

Hi There and Happy Tuesday:

As well as sharing my moments of challenge, ‘tis only fit for me to also share the moments of triumph!!  I can’t put my finger on exactly what happened during our Friday call, but the incredible results on Saturday morning (1/10/09) were nothing short of spectacular.  Just ask Barb for confirmation as she was as blown away by all this as I was.  We had a few errands to run, including a trip to Target and a visit to a local used book/video store.  When we got to Target around 10:00, I noticed a number of amazing things about the way I was feeling including: 

1.       A total absence of fear or anxiety,

2.       A feeling of floating above the ground about six inches

3.       The sensation of walking around in a “joy bubble”

4.       Total contentment

I floated around the store for quite a long time (especially for a male in a dreaded shopping situation), and didn’t mind a bit how long my wife needed to take.  This is all most unusual…  Bliss at the Target of all places… whodathunkit???

I have to tell you, it has been a LONG TIME since I felt anything close to this, and it was the most peaceful experience I’ve had in many years!!  I‚m not going to try to understand what happened…it is enough that it just did.  This near ecstasy persisted for several hours, well into the afternoon.  If this is a taste of the fruit of proper thought work, I‚m sold on the entire process!!

Thank you, my dear friend, for helping to facilitate this wonderful gift.

Go find your passion. If you are reading this, this is the sign you’ve been waiting for…

Get Ready to Laugh

Posted on 30. Dec, 2008 by Susan in Inspiration