Graduation Revisited
I long ago realized that I did not post the commencement address that my friend and classmate Blessing and I gave at our graduation ceremony. Graduation came and went and life just carried me away. It was such an exciting time! New friends, new degrees and new hope for our collective futures and the future of our world. Days all melted together as we worked furiously on our theses, applied for jobs and had all too many teary-eyed goodbyes. The blur continued for me as I was flown to Denver for an interview, finished my thesis, took a post thesis vacation, worked my summer job as a guide, came home to Ohio, interviewed in Chicago and visited my friends in Canada. Optimism fueled by fresh ideas and hustle and bustle coursed through my veins. Recently, it feels like it all stopped.
I have considered myself fortunate to see the bright side of things and be sickeningly optimistic in the face of poor odds. I have also had my share of difficult and trying times but somehow I knew things would get better. My friends helped me hold onto the belief that everything would be ok. Lately, I have been hard pressed to hold onto just a strand of that optimism. What has changed? I am in a position of having leaped but not landed. I have not crashed or fallen, I am just suspended in space and time and it seems the wind is determining my course as much as I am. Circumstances are not fully within my control.
Now I know what so many are feeling here in the U.S. and in the world. Work makes us feel useful, gives us purpose, provides structure for our day, and to a degree, defines who we are. At least once a day I go through the practice of counting my blessings. I remind myself of how lucky I am and that everything happens for a reason. My purpose is still in the making. I have't gotten there yet and if I thought the path was long, it's longer than I imagined when I first set out.
But I am lucky. I am once again amazed by my family. They have taken me in time and time again. They do so much more than take me in. What I have noticed is that when I lose hope, they find enough for all of us. They give and they care and they try to fill in the ambiguous hole of my purpose. I was not known for my patience growing up. I thought I had learned patience yet my family has proven that I have more to learn..... from them.
Yes friends, I know you are out there, too. You are my ever vigilant cheerleaders. I know that when I am invoking the laws of manifestation, your thoughts and positive energy fortify my own. Thank you. And now we get to the video. It is positive. It is optimistic. And it is hopeful. Let's all live those words together. It's not necessarily easy, it just has to be.
I have considered myself fortunate to see the bright side of things and be sickeningly optimistic in the face of poor odds. I have also had my share of difficult and trying times but somehow I knew things would get better. My friends helped me hold onto the belief that everything would be ok. Lately, I have been hard pressed to hold onto just a strand of that optimism. What has changed? I am in a position of having leaped but not landed. I have not crashed or fallen, I am just suspended in space and time and it seems the wind is determining my course as much as I am. Circumstances are not fully within my control.
Now I know what so many are feeling here in the U.S. and in the world. Work makes us feel useful, gives us purpose, provides structure for our day, and to a degree, defines who we are. At least once a day I go through the practice of counting my blessings. I remind myself of how lucky I am and that everything happens for a reason. My purpose is still in the making. I have't gotten there yet and if I thought the path was long, it's longer than I imagined when I first set out.
But I am lucky. I am once again amazed by my family. They have taken me in time and time again. They do so much more than take me in. What I have noticed is that when I lose hope, they find enough for all of us. They give and they care and they try to fill in the ambiguous hole of my purpose. I was not known for my patience growing up. I thought I had learned patience yet my family has proven that I have more to learn..... from them.
Yes friends, I know you are out there, too. You are my ever vigilant cheerleaders. I know that when I am invoking the laws of manifestation, your thoughts and positive energy fortify my own. Thank you. And now we get to the video. It is positive. It is optimistic. And it is hopeful. Let's all live those words together. It's not necessarily easy, it just has to be.
Comments
Post a Comment