Of Purpose and Wisdom
In which I discuss finding my way in life and reading
Autumn is the best season. Leaves of myriad colors, clinging desperately to the trees while their brethren lay upon the earth. Morning air so brisk your breath hangs in suspended animation. The smoky scent of fire, the sweetness of pumpkin pie. Introspection, calm, and connection are the order of the day.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The food and fellowship and family moments are filled with memory. David is home from college and the four of us are together for a few days. We are whole.
Do you have a favorite season of the year? How do the seasons impact your outlook on life? Let me know in the comments.
The past few newsletters provided a glimpse inside my life. The foundational experiences of childhood, the building blocks of school years, weathering the storm of trauma, and learning to go deep in adulthood, all contributed to create a unique me.
Your experiences created a unique you. Every life has value and deserves to be examined in light of our individual experiences and our shared humanity.
We often get stuck in life. We reach adulthood, have a job, a family, a car, a house, and all the trappings. We give the appearance of maturity without the substance. We go through the motions for years. Finding our purpose is illusive.
“I think you don’t grow up until you stop worrying about other people’s purposes or lack of them and find the purposes you believe in for yourself.” – Ender Wiggin
Summer of 2017 we moved from California to Georgia. It was much like any other place. Kids in school, Jannett working from home, and me working on base. At 40, I thought I was hitting my stride.
Some key moments from these years:
2018 - David started high school.
2019 - Grandma Juanita passed away at the age of 94.
2020 - Family moved to Tennessee in the summer and I joined them in December.
2021 - We all got vaccinated and we all got sick.
2022 - David started college. Anamaria started high school.
2023 - Here we are.
COVID created isolation and loneliness across society and within the microcosm of families. Those were challenging years for our family. We faced adversity and learned a lot about each other. Today our bond is tighter than ever.
Wisdom comes when we have a clear understanding of who we are and what we stand for. We accept our good and bad. We acknowledge our need for others. We have a clear purpose for our life. We have emotional intelligence.
An individual’s value is not measured by money, status, or possessions. Value lies in their creativity, courage, independence, personality, and wisdom.
For years I read as many books as possible. The pandemic afforded the time for a critical examination of the heart of my literary explorations. Developing a reading plan to explore a variety of genres and topics, I made life-long learning the central theme. An emphasis on quality enhanced my experience.
Start With Why by Simon Sinek provides a good baseline understanding behind your motivations. Written from a leadership perspective, anyone can benefit from discovering their why, learning how it drives and empowers us.
Through reading and introspection I have a pretty good handle on my why. The goal is to go even deeper to discover those things at the core that make me unique. I recently hired a personal coach to help with this process. Growing in wisdom includes acknowledgement of those areas where we need assistance.
My natural tendency is introversion. Most of my life I felt obligated by work and society to put on a false front of extroversion to fit in. This didn’t align with my self-knowledge. Reading Quiet by Susan Cain was transformational in accepting myself as an introvert in an extroverted world. With maturity and wisdom comes contentment with what we have and who we are.
I am excited about where life is taking me. There are a lot of great things happening and I am surrounded by people I love. I appreciate you, my faithful readers, for hanging in there with me through these first five weeks. It was important to introduce myself to you before moving into the regular rhythm of this newsletter.
Next week we will talk about my vision for this space and how I hope we can build an ongoing conversation around the intersection of our lives with literature. I am keen on exploring how what we read influences how we live and how the way we live influences what we read. I hope you will continue with me on this journey of learning, self-discovery, and growth towards wisdom.
This past week I enjoyed reading:
Monique Mulligan’s article This is a good space to be in discussing creative communities like Substack.
Alexander Crow updated an article On Books which explored some of his literary influences.
Interested in supporting independent bookstores…
Check out my shop on Bookshop.org. All book links in this article are affiliate links and I receive a small commission. The majority of profits support independent booksellers.
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Love your description of autumn. We've been in California for many years, but fall remains one thing I will always miss about life on the East Coast.
"Next week we will talk about my vision for this space and how I hope we can build an ongoing conversation around the intersection of our lives with literature"
Yes, looking forward to it! I appreciate the bold honesty of this post.
Also, to answer your question, my favorite season is Fall cause it's not toooo hot and not tooooo cold (yet). Like most normal people, I'm not a fan of extreme temperatures.