Hello again!
As a year and a decade ended, I felt compelled to spend some time in retrospection. It’s what folks do, right? I believe the exercise is essential to this writing life I’m starting. Asking questions like these are important:
• Did I learn anything this last decade?
• What will those lessons impart to 2020 and beyond?
A simpler question I need to ask daily is, Did I glean any nugget today and can I use it propel me forward? This is the essence of reflection, something I tend to do anyway. I just need to be more intentional and thoughtful about it every day. Are you paying adequate, daily attention too?
One reason I am writing this today is that indeed I have recently learned some things about myself. I’m still learning. The last two years have been particularly revelatory and my struggles to find some resolution could be stuff worth writing about and, I hope, worth reading. We shall see, and you can let me know what you think any time you wish!
We all have a story to tell. We are each uniquely situated to share life truths. Experience matters, but only if it propels a greater good in one’s life. Churchill said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”
Looking back, I can bear witness to occasions where I made the grave error of ignoring a truth. A rhetorical question might be…Should I dig around and find those other times I may have stumbled over some truth and hurried off without seeing its value? Of course, I should!
I hope to unearth such occasions as my writing progresses and bring to light shards of truths and important life lessons I missed over the years. Feel free to pull up a lawn chair and observe my backyard dig! Will we have to move to the front yard eventually? I don’t know yet how many unnecessary detours I could have avoided and which paths I might have taken had I paid appropriate attention to a truth. This excavation could be fun! I suppose I could be at this dig for a while, but it’s important. I plan to work through this stuff and I hope you will learn from it too because it’s very likely we have shared life experiences and worldviews that benefit from any excavation… even if it’s someone else’s.
So, clearly, I have a plan for 2020. Do you? According to a Yiddish proverb, Man plans and God laughs. Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”
It’s a new year and it’s time to find God’s purpose nestled in the crazy last two years of my life.
That’s the plan.
Here is a truth for you. It is good you are my friend. I enjoy our conversations. You are kind and thoughtful. Til next time. Oh and your writing is well said.