Then and Now: What I Learned by Reading My Journal from 7 Years Ago
A seven-year-old journal entry becomes a time machine—revealing how ambition softened into presence, and what it really means to live intentionally.
Protect the Flame: Why Your Spirit Needs Intentional Care
One morning I was reading The Daily Stoic when I came across a line that stopped me.
"The goodness inside you is like a small flame, and you are its keeper."
I sat with that thought for a while.
Then another realization followed.
Life will put your flame out if you don't intentionally tend to it.
No one ever taught me that.
School taught me math, writing, and history. The Air Force taught me discipline. Business taught me profit and loss. Parenting taught me sacrifice.
But no one ever taught me that my spirit needed regular maintenance.
To me, that flame is my capacity for joy, wonder, peace, gratitude, and curiosity. It's the part of me that still notices a beautiful song, enjoys watching birds in the backyard, or laughs with my kids over something completely ordinary.
Without realizing it, life slowly burns through that fuel.
Not because something terrible happens.
Just because life is busy.
Bills.
Deadlines.
Construction projects.
News.
Emails.
Responsibilities.
None of those things are bad. But together they have a way of consuming your attention until you wake up one day wondering where your enthusiasm went.
I've learned that protecting my spirit isn't something that happens by accident.
It's something I have to practice.
How I Tend the Flame
These aren't productivity hacks.
They're simply the small rituals that remind me who I am.
- Start the morning with a cup of coffee while watching the previous day's baseball highlights.
- Read one page from The Daily Stoic and carry one thought into the day.
- Exercise several times a week because a strong body supports a strong mind. I wrote more about that in Stronger at 50 Than 40: One Year of Lifting.
- Take a ten-minute midday meditation when work starts running me instead of the other way around.
- Practice classical guitar, even if it's only for fifteen minutes. Learning something difficult at midlife has become one of my greatest sources of satisfaction, which I wrote about in Learning Classical Guitar at 48.
- Listen to a full album without distractions. Music deserves attention, and that's one reason I started Teaching Music Appreciation Through Vinyl.
- Cook dinner from scratch.
- Coach my kids' baseball and softball teams. Few things restore me more than watching young players grow in confidence. I wrote about that in Why I Coach Youth Sports.
- Take a walk in the woods and notice what's around me. Even watching birds has changed the way I experience my days, something I explored in Birds Before and After.
- Once a week, soak in a hot bath with a good book and let my mind finally slow down.
- End the evening with vinyl, incense, and soft blue lighting instead of another hour of scrolling.
None of these make me richer.
None of them help me answer more emails.
None of them move another project across the finish line.
But every one of them adds another log to the fire.
They Aren't Hobbies Anymore
For years, I thought these were just hobbies.
Now I think they're maintenance.
We understand that our bodies need exercise.
We understand that our teeth need brushing.
We understand that our cars need oil changes.
Why would we assume our spirit needs nothing?
Looking back, I realize I've been writing about this idea on Embracing Enough all along.
Learning guitar.
Listening to vinyl.
Coaching baseball.
Cooking.
Walking in nature.
Spending time with my family.
I thought they were separate stories.
Now I realize they've all been telling the same one.
I've also written about Enjoy the Life You Have, and I think this is one way we actually do it. We don't wait for a different job, a bigger house, or the perfect vacation to feel alive.
We protect the part of ourselves that's capable of appreciating the life we already have.
Tend the Flame
Life will always ask something from you.
Your work.
Your family.
Your finances.
Your health.
Every day, something is taking wood from the fire.
Which means every day, you have to choose to put something back.
No one else can protect your flame for you.
And if you don't intentionally tend to it, life will gladly consume every last piece of fuel you've got.
Because your spirit isn't a luxury.
It's the light by which you experience everything else.
“Know what’s enough. Build what matters.”
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