leaning into your life
Writer, Speaker, Explorer. Sharing the insights of my spiritual journey.
I want to live a life that is deliberate and purposeful. I want to lean into my life. Follow my journey as I explore learning, changing, and challenges.
About the Author: Gary Merel
Writer, Speaker, Explorer
I turned 66 this year. I am looking at the last third of my life. I want to engage in this part of my life with as much clarity and purpose as possible. I want to feel totally engaged. I want to feel that I am leaning fully into my life. It seems all too easy to get caught in the inertia of aging. It can seem that life has a certain amount of inertia built into it. Change is hard; hard to change the direction of our lives. Our relationships. Our careers. To find the fulfillment we all crave. I don’t want to fall back on “I’ve worked hard, I’m tired and just want to take it easy”. At this point I want to give as much space to allowing my life to unfold as much as I want to move towards achieving the vision I have for myself. I want to explore the intersection of allowing and achieving. It’s at that intersection where the greatest possibilities for life exist. We often hear that “life is short”. I’m feeling that. I’m feeling the uncertainty of life. Life often interjects itself without any warning. This blog is an exploration of all the I’ve done. All that I am currently exploring and all the I would like to do. I welcome your contributions. I am interested your visions. Your challenges. The insights you have had about your personal growth.
Recent Posts
- The Day I Argued with a BMW and Met Myself
I was out on a bike ride on my way back to my car. It was a typical busy day on Main Street in Ann Arbor, just the kind of chaos that makes you feel alive… Read more: The Day I Argued with a BMW and Met Myself - These Directions Make No Sense!
Last Saturday, I volunteered at a men’s wellness event hosted by the Michigan Men’s Health Foundation at Ford Field in Detroit. The gathering was remarkable in its simplicity: everything was freely given, blood work, screenings for… Read more: These Directions Make No Sense! - The Mind’s First Reaction Is Not the Soul’s Wisdom
I was kayaking with a friend on the Huron River, just below Barton Dam. From a distance, the water tumbling over the dam looked fierce, fast, like a current you’d be foolish to challenge. My friend… Read more: The Mind’s First Reaction Is Not the Soul’s Wisdom - Finding Myself In Two Places At Once
The other day, I was on my way to an appointment, running a little late and caught in traffic. Frustrated and restless, my mind drifted to the deeper questions I’ve been wrestling with, the big, existential… Read more: Finding Myself In Two Places At Once - Is This What I Really Wanted?
I have a long-time friend, a good friend who has deeply influenced my life. Though we live nearby, we rarely see each other. He’s busy. I’m retired. Still, he’s often on my mind. Last Sunday, I… Read more: Is This What I Really Wanted? - Too Hard For Me To Figure Out
I wake up every day and, to the best of my ability, resist looking at the news. That resistance is often overcome by a voracious need to know what is going on with the dismantling of… Read more: Too Hard For Me To Figure Out - An Unavoidable Collision
In past blogs, I’ve shared that my partner and I spend our winters in Tucson mainly because of the exceptional cycling opportunities. On average, we ride around 150 miles a week, taking advantage of the diverse… Read more: An Unavoidable Collision - Staring Death In The Face
I love hosting dinner parties. My partner and I had several friends over for a Christmas Day meal. I was in heaven, planning, shopping, cooking, preparing, and completing all the tasks needed to feed eight people.… Read more: Staring Death In The Face - That’s Not What I Chose
I was gathered around a fire pit in a friend’s yard. I sat with six of my closest friends, men I deeply trust, men who know my heart and the truth of my being. I love… Read more: That’s Not What I Chose
Lean into your life 