“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” – Meister Eckhart
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King
“So many fail because they don’t get started — they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia. They don’t begin.” – W. Clement Stone
So here it is – a place to begin.
Years ago, I wrote a blog every day while I was undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It developed quite a following and, while I enjoyed the daily act of writing , I soon tired of writing about cancer (which, actually was only a launching point – really, I wrote about everything); the day I did my last round of radiation, I also wrote my last post. That was six years ago.
Recently, I have been doing significant ruminating (and I write it this way, because the thought process has been intense and grinding and as awkward as the previous sentence).
I have been thinking about what I contribute to the world – as in 'how have I earned the right to use up the oxygen today?" … Those who know me might find it odd that I am thinking this … after all, I spiritually mentor a sizeable group of university students and I am a marriage and family therapsit, who engages with more than a dozen other folks on a regular basis, always in an effort to help, uplift, build, etc. Why would I question my value or ask what I contribute?
But still, I have been nagged by this growing sense that something within my efforts needs to be shifted, tweaked, modified.
Like when I play my cello (something I took up a couple of years ago) – I can play the right note, but without the correct pressure on the string (either from my finger or my bow), or if I use an upright finger angle – the pitch is off. However, if I increase my pressure or tilt my left hand back toward the pins, all of a sudden the note crisps into not only the perfect pitch, but a beautiful tone as well.
Similarly, when I point my iphone camera at something and it grabs the image, then focuses, fuzzes, and re-focuses.
I feel like this is what is happening to my life. It fuzzes in and out of focus. In and out of pitch.
A month ago, I asked God to expose me to people of high caliber who know more than I do about all the things I am wishing to grow in. One of those (whom I knew of previously, but just recently got reaquainted with) is Seth Godin. Anyone who has spent any time on Seth's Blog or read any of his books knows that he promotes creating a Tribe, Generously bringing your Art to this tribe, and earning people's Trust. There is this excited space in me that yells: Me too!! Me too!! This is what I wish to do.
My hope for this blog is to create space for the practice of creating a Tribe of people who value Seeking and Giving. A place to invite you to join me, while I figure out what it is that I bring, all the while, challenging each of us to be more thought-provoking, mindful of those around us, and active in the creative process.