I collect words. My phone is filled with screen shots of words that speak to me. In an effort to tackle two resolutions: 1) get back to this space more frequently and 2) get my phone into some sort of organized order.
"The only people for me are the mad ones: the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirious of everything at the same time, the ones who.... burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles." Jack Kerouac
We are kept from our goal, not from the obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal. - Robert Brault heard in a discussion with Ben Hardy on The One You Feed podcast.
"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself" - Soren Kierkegaard
Not choosing, status quo, staying small, staying home are also choices. Driving life forward in purposeful direction, even with set backs, even in uncertainty, keeps the trend line moving up.
I used to write here for a few reasons. 1) I went to an office every day so sitting down on this page with my coffee was a ritual and not too difficult to maintain. 2) I had knots to work out. By that I mean, life didn't feel quite aligned with where I wanted to be - and while there was so much goodness - and so many reasons to celebrate (which I'm glad I documented many), there was also a place I needed to get to - writing my way through it genuinely helped.
Today, life is different. My beautiful J is 11 and prepared to attend SJP in the fall! I am so thrilled for him, for us, and for what that will hopefully mean for his own development. He is the most beautiful and special soul, always has been, and my hope is that SJP can help keep him on his wonderful trajectory through adolescence with meaningful friends, inspiring mentors, safety and a place to help him understand himself. The plan, today, is that he will stay there from 6th - 12th grade, so my hope is that we hand over a beautiful, healthy 11 year old and at the end of the journey we have an 18 year old young man, capable, strong, faith-filled and sure of himself. I'm hoping this space can help me document some of that growth.
I have a job that I love. I pinch myself to say it but I have a job that allows me to utilize my strengths in a productive way, is not overtaxing, affords me plenty of free time for meaningful volunteer work and compensates me in a way that allows me to truly live a comfortable life. I have only gratitude for where I am and hope I can pass that forward by contributing positively to a few people's journeys.
In June, I will begin a 3 year term as the President of Villanova's Boston Alumni Chapter. This is a chapter I didn't see coming as my own involvement with the school was never particularly active or involved. However, I am hoping to fill a gap that I experienced when I returned to Boston 20 years ago. Maybe I can make the Villanova network a bit stronger and more helpful to more people than it was for me. Maybe I can get some people reconnected to their faith, or connect them to a like-minded friend or a new job. I'm keeping the possibilities of where this role may lead and why I am doing it purposefully open-ended but I thought returning to this space could be a place to work out what I'm trying to achieve and why.
So, as life is a series of small chapters, here we are ready to embark on a new one. I return to these blank pages to perhaps write my way towards deeper discovery.
My first bit of marketing - always fun to learn something new!
