When you read this, you will have just embarked on a journey into a new decade. One that will challenge you, change you, and fill you with a new understanding of yourself, the world, and the unknown.
Your ship has set sail and there is no going back. The waters you now travel lead to uncharted territory and they move in only one direction. Forward. At times the water will be calm. Other times it will be rough. Sometimes it will be stormy. All of this you have anticipated. But there are things you won’t be able to anticipate. Things that inexplicably lurk outside the realm of knowledge and experience. In moments of impossibility, the sun will shine through the wall of clouds and rain. When the fog makes you just as invisible as the waves in front of you, your compass will guide you. Your first tool. The one you have been molding since you were born. Many years battle tested, and still improving day by day. It knows how to navigate the ambiguity of right and wrong. Keep nurturing it. The rest of us have been watching in awe at its growth. The compass.
I stand here at the dock, as a proud friend, watching you navigate the ebbs and flows of an exciting future. One, that at this moment, I can’t feel or truly know, but can only guess at because I live in a past era. I can’t tell you what it’s going to be like and I can’t board your ship, but I am with you. Your parents lay ahead of you, out of reach, but they are with you. Your wife follows close behind, but she is with you. Your friends and family surround you on all sides. Their ships travel at different speeds. Some aren’t even built, while others have seen the world. Yet, you have built a tether between all these ships. Your second tool. The ships out at sea, those unbuilt, and those that have sunken. Like a spider web, it stretches out in all directions, connecting you to everyone you love. The love of all your friends and family flows through the tether at all times, rejuvenating and inspiring you. When you are able to steer, we will be loose, supporting you. When you are not able to steer, our web around you will tighten, and we will get you to safety. The tether.
Your third tool sits on a different plane from the other two. While the first one guides you, and the second one inspires and supports you, the third tool brings joy. It sits between the future of your bustling ship and the past of the dock I stand on. It lives only in the present. Along your journey, you will meet pain and anguish, fear and horror, and surprise and delight. How will you respond in these moments? What will be your disposition? You can meet those emotions where they are, or you can meet them with humor. Your third tool. Don’t forget to laugh. Laugh at your mistakes. Laugh at your circumstances. Laugh at all my mistakes… Laugh because it was all meant to be as it is. Laugh because you accept the past and embrace the future. Laugh because the present moment is beautiful and you are in the arena, part of it and it is part of you. Laugh with those you know and those you have just met. It will bring you joy. Humor.
Love,
Your friend
