Sunday, January 17, 2010

21 Going on 22?

The 21st century. Where to start more than a decade in? How about right here with a clear view of it? From Panera on scenic Route 4 in Hackensack, NJ, I see the sign, literally. Century 21. I honestly don’t have a clue what they sell besides the beginnings of a revelation… my own.

Unlike most notable experiences or plans in my life, this one simply rose like the morning sun above the increasing traffic outside. How do I make it to the 22nd century (figuratively speaking at least)? I have so much I want to do… so many places I want to go… so many people I want to touch…

The anxiety of these concerns kept me up all night thinking, now writing. Call it a quarter-life crisis, but I’m going with a quarter-life awakening. As my mind races across the horizon and through the clouds, I try to stabilize it around the one question most spend a lifetime attempting to answer… Who am I?

Why do I matter? What was I meant for? How will I be remembered? How do I want to be remembered? Does anyone else wake up every morning wondering how this day could again be better than the last, which existed merely one blink ago?

Side note: Maybe there’s some truth to the idea that life can flash before your eyes. Every time you blink, consider it an invitation, an opportunity to see a strikingly similar image in a completely different light. After all, perspective does not necessarily require a change of scenery but a change in how we choose to see the mundane and ordinary.

And, I guess that brings me here, the once typical. So, what made this flash of life different from the previous 200 million (nearly, seriously)? That I may never know, but I sure am thankful for it!

Exactly 3 years ago, I was volunteering within the confined walls of a magical orphanage outside of Pretoria, South Africa. It doesn’t have an address because it’s not accessible from any known road. In fact, you have to drive for several miles off the main highway past homes without attached roofs or front doors (but homes nonetheless) to get there. Anyway, I suppose my main purpose behind creating this blog is to provide you with directions to the fireplace burning in the living room of my heart. It too has no official address, but it too, can be found by hanging a right here…

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