🧭 Meditations & Meetups
Have I said all I have to say?
Have I done what I have to do?
Have I left footprints behind for others to follow?
I get this way around 9/11 - profoundly aware of how different my life could have been—and how different it is—because of the events of that day. It recalibrates my sense of urgency. I am re-publishing an article this week: “If death were to meet me tomorrow.”1I will be in New York City between Wednesday and Saturday next week.
I plan on hanging out at the Winter Garden in the World Trade Center for parts of Thursday Sep 18 and Friday Sep 19. It would be a treat to meet you! DM me if you are interested.
“If death were to meet me tomorrow”
Have I said all I have to say?
Do those I love know the depth and history of that love, and that it persists beyond dimensions? Why am I waiting to tell them?
Am I waiting for perfection before sharing my thoughts in writing or via speeches? What opportunity will I lose if the moment passes?
Have I done what I have to do?
What do I give myself permission not to do? (h/t Bucket List Laila Faisal and
)And therefore, what is most essential?
Have I left footprints behind for others to follow?
What is the essence of me? The scent in the air that reminds them that I was here?
Have I left tendrils of hope and imagination that will blossom into someone else’s big idea?
What are you waiting for?
Death can be sudden and unannounced.
“I was not born with an expiry date tattooed [… on my person]” Mike Funk said to his father, Danny van Leeuwen (
) before passing away some years ago, at the age of 26. It is a memorable metaphor that sticks with me. None of us knows how long we are allowed to walk this earth.So don’t wait for the perfect compilation of your work. Share your treasured sentiments with your loved ones. If you feel passionate about an injustice or something beautiful, make your thoughts known.
I sometimes wonder what other thought-provoking treasures we would have if Irish poet, John O’Donohue, had not died in his sleep in 2008 at the age of 52. I am grateful for the simple poetry and prose that he published while still alive.
I’d like to leave you with some of my favourite passages from his book “Benedictus - A Book of Blessings”
A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal and strengthen. A blessing is different from a greeting, a hug, a salute or an affirmation; it opens a different door in human encounter. A blessing awakens future wholeness.
To invoke a blessing is to call some of that wholeness upon a person now. A blessing is from soul to soul. When you bless someone, you literally call the force of their infinite self into action.
Sending you, dear member of our tribe, a blessing.
Your turn "}…{`
What one thing can you — will you — do today, to tilt the future in your favour?
Welcome!
We, in Tribe Tilt, believe we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us, bringing fun, hope and agency into our lives.
We believe the best ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time.
You have self-selected into this powerful, wonderful group.
Stay healthy. From there, all else becomes possible. And I’ll see you next week …
Karena
PS. Smile! It’s contagious.
Would you like to join our Tribe Tilt?
Photo credit for the 9/11 tribute: Jackie on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/sis/albums/72157604426247306
I was asking a similar question today while writing this week's draft - is this what I most want to say right now?
And I have this funny feeling there is another piece I want to write about but maybe that's next week
(PS: Thanks for your DM, it was very sweet!! I read it while I was half awake before my connecting flight so want to respond properly)
Your questions connected up to a question that a friend of mine posed in his blog this week. "What happens when we refuse to stay in the place assigned to us?" It seems to me that taking advantage of your line of inquiry demands we start to see the ways and places we are accepting what was assigned to us rather than consciously choosing what we're here to do, and the places we're meant to inhabit.