Fortitude implies a firmness and strength of mind, that enables us to do and suffer as we ought. It rises upon an opposition, and, like a river, swells the higher for having its course stopped.
~ Jeremy Collier
~ Jeremy Collier
I have a nearly paralyzing fear of flooded water. High, fast-moving rivers and streams make my stomach twist into a knot and I can't breathe if I get too close. Somehow, completely opposite to that, I have no trepidation at all about the ocean, which seems vastly greater and more powerful. I don't know why and I don't care to analyze it too much, but a few hours of listening to waves crash, of staring out into endless blue, of feeling the sun on my shoulders and tasting the salt in the air, provides me with a calm that I don't find in too many other places. I've been pretty lucky to have some quality time with the ocean this week.
Lately I've done a lot of thinking about the things that have gone on in my life. A year ago in June, I decided I wanted something different from my life than what I was doing. A full year has gone by... 13 months in fact! And I have done little to make the changes that I decided would be important in my life in that time. Maybe things fall into place the way they should - the options I thought I wanted a year ago changed just a few months later, when I started thinking that maybe there were other possibilities I hadn't considered that were just as valid. It's still months later, though, and nothing has changed. I haven't done anything to change it.
So I guess this is my "don't be surprised" warning. I've reevaluated the things that are important to me. My life will be changing to realign my daily life with the things that enrich me and the things that wear me down will have to go by the wayside. This chapter of my life, the post-college chapter, was all about establishing myself professionally and reaching a specific dollars-in-income amount, and I can say pretty confidently that I nailed both goals. The next chapter puts the people I love front and center... it was nice being selfish for a while, but the good job is just a thing that prevents my heart from being happy and the most incredible beaches are just sand and water if I can't share them.
Lately I've done a lot of thinking about the things that have gone on in my life. A year ago in June, I decided I wanted something different from my life than what I was doing. A full year has gone by... 13 months in fact! And I have done little to make the changes that I decided would be important in my life in that time. Maybe things fall into place the way they should - the options I thought I wanted a year ago changed just a few months later, when I started thinking that maybe there were other possibilities I hadn't considered that were just as valid. It's still months later, though, and nothing has changed. I haven't done anything to change it.
So I guess this is my "don't be surprised" warning. I've reevaluated the things that are important to me. My life will be changing to realign my daily life with the things that enrich me and the things that wear me down will have to go by the wayside. This chapter of my life, the post-college chapter, was all about establishing myself professionally and reaching a specific dollars-in-income amount, and I can say pretty confidently that I nailed both goals. The next chapter puts the people I love front and center... it was nice being selfish for a while, but the good job is just a thing that prevents my heart from being happy and the most incredible beaches are just sand and water if I can't share them.
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