Wealth of Wisdom

Dear friend,

Holy Smokes, where do I begin this weeks letter? I was in Chicago and got to see both my kids. When there, I went to a Revivalist concert at the Salt Shed. This was my fourth time seeing them. The day after I got back I flew to Tallahassee to speak at an association event. I saw some friends I haven't seen in person in years, saw some friends I have seen and made a bunch of new ones.

Oh, also, Chatters created a proposal for some government work that is an excel spreadsheet with eight different tabs filled with information about our past government work. It is something I couldn't have put together no matter how long or hard I tried. Then yesterday, he literally built a webpage for me. It required a bunch of massaging from me, but still, he did the majority of the groundwork.

My daughter was staying with her brother until she found a place of her own. I had moved some of her things from her college apartment to my storage unit so I needed to take those back to her. She met two other girls on facebook who were moving into a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 800 square foot unit on the third floor. It's cute, quaint and seven blocks from her brother. I met both roommates and one parent set. It's going to be an incredible adventure.

She was looking all over Chicago, so to find a place that is less than a 10 minute walk to Lincoln's home is Divine Provision, from a dad's perspective. It concludes an over two decade season of her dependence on her family. She is completely "on her own" (though of course I still cover the phone bill).

TIME

It's a pretty consistent theme in my writings. TIME has continued to do what time does best: Create the space for opportunities. TIME in itself, did nothing, but Lainey has used the time she's been given to become an amazing human. How are you utilizing time for your benefit and the betterment of the world?

Isn't that the primary promise of Ai? It will "give" us all more time. I witnessed it first hand. I have the end results of two projects that would have required a lot more time. Hmmmm. I'm not sure I'm a better person for it. But I was more productive. Is that the measurement of success? Is that what matters most? In my earlier days, I would've said absolutely. But as TIME has continued on for me, I'm not so sure.

MINDSHIFT

What if this week you considered your use of the 24-hours-per-day you've been gifted and define what success looks like for using them?

WISDOM

Isn't that the curiosity of remaining alive? Discovering how priorities and meaning shifts as we age and then adapt our decision-making accordingly. To see in the younger generations their aspirations for what was previously important to us, but no longer bears the same weight, causes me to ponder. Is wisdom only gained by unearthing in each season a new priority that trumps the previous? Or is it the process of discovery itself that sharpens judgment?

Ahhh to be wise. It has been a singular prayer of mine. Ol' Solomon was declared the wisest, but still seemed to make some rather poor choices. Is it the diversity of life's experiences that gives wisdom? Or is it wisdom that compels us to attempt vast and varied aspects of life because it all will be over before we can believe it? Both, I'm sure.

Solomon's conclusion was that a majority of life's pursuits are meaningless. To know and understand what is truly meaningful is the privilege of reaching the apex of wisdom, huh.

MINDSHIFT

What if this week you considered how much time is spent on the "meaningless" elements and shifted more attention and effort to the meaningful?

REPLENISH

What satisfies your soul? Do you have a consistent replenishing practice? My friend Wolf goes to what seems like dozens of concerts annually. He's a few years older than me, and is a genuine groupie. 🙂 He and his wife have made it a priority. Like him, I find great satisfaction in the deepest parts of my being, seeing live music with artists I love. It can literally be transformative in the way it energizes my life.

It's wise to know what lifts our spirit, deposits joy deeply, and rejuvenates our soul. We must be intentional about routinely positioning ourselves there.

Using time to be of service, generate new adventures and laugh frequently seems like the wealth of wisdom at it's finest. We carry the burden of the meaningless far too long. Let's consciously choose to keep letting go of the things, situations and scenarios that manufacture unnecessary weight while incorporating the high-value practices that bring fulfillment. Who knows, maybe Ai will actually help us do that.

SHIFTING

I hope this week you are tenacious in your pursuit of priorities and wisdom. And your judgment keeps getting sharper about what truly is most important. #ShiftAway