Learnings: Life.

Life is a journey through reality and time in search of meaning and joy.

Life.

Life is defined by change, chance, and choice.

Every day we change and the world around us changes.

Much of what happens is life is due to chance. The people we meet. The timing of things. Whom we are born to and where we are born.

Amidst the change and chance, it is the choices we make that determines the quality and substance of a life.

Journey.

The journey we take is in part the journey we make.

Roads diverge and much is determined by which we travel by.

Often, we trip and fall, or we end up at dead ends.

To go on we repair.

We re-imagine.

We practice resurrection.

Reality.

While life without imagination is impoverished and small, we cannot escape reality.

Science matters. Gravity does not care if we believe in it or tweet otherwise.

Facts are stubborn things. Data has a way of breaking in. Karma strikes back.

Darwin was right.

The drums of reality beat in the marrow of our blood.

Let us bring imagination to it but aligning with reality is key to a fulfilling life.

Time.

Time is the only asset.

The meaning of life is that it ends.

Life is often about making memories and focusing on what matters most.

Because what is here today will be gone tomorrow.

Extracting the extra-ordinary from the ordinary and finding poetry in every crevice gives grace to a day.

Meaning.

Meaning is often a combination of identity, connection, and mission / purpose.

Identity is about who we are, what we do and how we fit in our skin.

To be okay with solitude if necessary.

To march to a beat of our own rhythm. To listen and learn from others but not to live in other people’s minds or always be needing their validation.

To both be seen but not be defined by how one is seen.

Connection is key for while we may each be unique and sometimes crave solitude, humans have thrived through belonging and connectedness. Being part of groups, causes, families, cultures, and tribes.

Much of the gusto of life and the go of it comes from mission and purpose. Causes bigger than us and outside us. People to nurture and care for. Goals to be achieved. Things to be built. Work to be created. Spirituality.

Joy.

Success is having the freedom to spend time in the ways that give one joy.

Joy is deeper and broader than and often can exist in the absence of happiness.

Joyous people often combine gratitude, generosity, humility, and learning with a deep sense of connectedness and awareness.