As I am going through some of the things I needed to learn to teach a course, I found an old writing that I left for the class at one point. It was for those that wanted to quit believing that they did not have what it takes or were overcome with the complexity of it all. It may not mean much to many, but it encouraged a few of them to stick it out and they were pleased with the outcome when they graduated from the class.
I consider myself a traveler and explorer, yet not one who counts the miles or locations, but the steps and vistas of the human universes that lay within each one of us. I revel with amazement at the expanse of them all, the stories that they tell, the lessons that are learned, and the wisdom that they impart. The capturing of joy and excitement, the effort and sorrow, the struggle and overcoming of those basic components that reach deeply into our collective psyche. We can travel a million miles in the blink of an eye, feel the depths of humanity in the beat of the heart, or in the note on a piano that strikes something inside that seemingly speaks to our personal stories alone.
Navigating a world that inexplicably changes is difficult for many, and impossible for some. Where the corners come at a terrifying speed and the on ramps of life are cluttered with a scrambling mass of people ahead of you and the crush of those behind. This world is not always what our stack of expectations instructed us in. When the maps aren’t working, and our best guesses just lead us in circles. It is this place where I am reminded of our amazing resilience, our inner strengths, and our humbling acceptance. Because we have come from a long line of others before us who have faced similar experiences, the same emotions, and the same decisions to trudge valiantly forward. In our efforts we find a direction that leads us away from those circles and allows us to move once more into the vast open lanes of life.
Whether you are beginning your journey, or changing directions, or you have reached a confounding point in the many circles in life, rest assured. For it is here the reflections show the strength of our character, the resilience of our being, and the determination that is just a small part of our universes. It is often a fearful exercise to challenge ourselves to reach beyond the known comforts of what we have grown to understand, to break free of old thinking and embrace a different reality with an unknown direction. When we feel our best is not enough, or our worst lie somewhere in that unknown, we still reach, we still grow, and we still try on the shoes that at first hurt our feet until the knowledge and wisdom become the comforting support of acceptance and gratitude.
I commend you all for your strength of purpose, and your desire to continue. Because it is there that I find the very best destinations of my journey, and the purpose to continue on my own travels into that humanity, into those universes, and those ever growing collection of shoes.