The Question

As a college student, I get asked every day "What do you want to do when you finish school?" and the answer is a carefully considered, but practical. I would like to work in finance at a surf company. The troubling thing is how I, and many other people came to this very sensible decision. After weighing out salaries, possibilities for promotion and the chances of realistically succeeding in our fields we all come to a realistic and practical conclusion. But what about if the exterior money woes and fear of failing were stripped from of the equation. Then, I'm assuming, our answers would be very different. The question is no longer, "What are you going to do when you grow up/get done with school?" but instead it is, "What would you LIKE to do with your life?," "What would make you HAPPY to do for the rest of your life?"

What would you do if money wasn't a part of the equation and there was no chance that you could fail?

Would you become a professional baseball player, help children in Africa, or own a major corporation? Would you be a dad, a teacher, or surf every break in the world? What is it that fills you with joy, gets you out of bed every morning excited, and sets your soul on fire?

I'm asking my friends, coworkers, family members, and anyone who's interested, to consider this question and take inventory of dreams and desires that may have been left in the dust years ago.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Day One

(in no particular order)

1. I'm grateful for my house, that I don't have to worry about having a warm place to live, and a loving family to come home to.

2. I'm grateful for my Bible, that it offers me endless amounts of wisdom on a plethora of issues, and that it's my tangible knowledge source from God.

3. I'm grateful for Kiki, that as one of my best friends, she pushes me to let go and enjoy life, and also to be comfortable alone as well.

4. I'm grateful for my ocean view, that from my home, I can see one of God's insane creations and find peace in the sunsets of each day.

5. I'm grateful for music, that I can absolutely drift away in it, praise the Lord with it, and dance like a mental patient to it. It gives me freedom.

6. I'm grateful for my morning cup of coffee, that it helps energize me for the day and the ritual repetition of it helps keep me balanced in a sort of twisted way.

7. I'm grateful for my journal, that I can mark down my emotions and thoughts, without burdening others with them. I'm also grateful that through writing, I'm able to look back and see my failures and regrets, but my growth and change as well.

8. I'm grateful for my cats Layla and Sarge, that they calm me down and force me to slow down, stop and laugh hysterically. If only I could find their level of peace in doing absolutely nothing.

9. I'm grateful for my parents, that they allow me to live, and push me to thrive. The list of reasons for my gratitude to toward them would be endless and probably fill this blog, so to shorten things, I'm grateful for the kind of parents they are, that they take care of me and my brothers, they take care of each other and their marriage, and that they promote a bond between the five of us that I'd be lost without. I'm grateful that they're my examples, as adults, as a man and a woman, as a married couple, as a father and a mother, as successful business people, and as wonderful people who simply care more about their family and others, than themselves. I'm grateful that they're not perfect and don't try to be.

10. I'm grateful for this forum, that I can have a place and a way to force myself to stop, be present, and express gratitude for the things in my life that are amazing and that I all too often overlook.
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