A Life On Display

This past weekend I visited the home of my friends Mark and David who live in Washington DC. I was told that they have a beautiful home filled with art. Being an HGTV junkie and old home fanatic, I was thrilled to see their place. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

Mark took me on a tour of their home and told me the history of the neighborhood, the renovations that occurred, and why their home was different than others on the block. I learned the stories behind the art in their house. But what I was really witnessing was Mark recount the life he had created with his husband. On their walls was not just art, but living proof of their journeys, adventures and passion for travel.

It got me thinking- what will be on the walls of my future home? How do I want to live my life? What kind of sanctuary do I want to create? How can I build a life that I would be proud to display?

This could be anything! Our walls could be filled with degrees from various universities, awards from our careers, the Nobel Peace prize, photography and original artwork, children’s accomplishments or mementos from travel. Whatever we value and hold close to our heart can be on our walls. Our passions, and the passions of our partner and family, can fill the blank spaces of our house and turn it into a home. Our lives can be amazing tapestries of journeys, discoveries and triumphs.

Here’s the catch- we have to MAKE it happen. Mark and David didn’t strike gold, which allowed them to leave their professions and travel nonstop. That’s not most people’s reality. We have to craft our life in a way that allows us to make it possible, whether we create the fulfilling career, or the ability to stay at home with our children, or the freedom to travel the globe. This life, this amazing and rich life, requires our constant love and attention to help it blossom into the dreams we crave.

My word of 2016 is momentum. I hope that this year I build momentum as I act with purpose and intention to create my next phase of life.

WTF are you doing to create a life that makes you proud?

Time Is The Scarcest Resource

Before Thanksgiving, I had the chance to visit my brother Jake down in his new place in Washington D.C. My brother, albeit insanely intelligent and clever, is not my most lovey dovey family member (that’s my Dad!) However, people can surprise you and Jake provided some wonderful insight and thoughts into my ever-changing world. He made a particularly moving statement while we strolled the streets of DC:

            Time is the scarcest resource.

Which upon further research, I found the entire quote:

“Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.”

–Peter Drucker

An interesting thought! Jake lives by this. He spends his time doing *exactly* what he wants, what he values, and what interests him. His goals drive his actions during the workday and in his free time. Of course, he told me, there is no need to be frantic with time; yes it is scarce, but it doesn’t need to cause alarm. Instead, Jake advocates for spending time being purposeful and efficient.  

As I said, Jake is not overly sentimental. He is very pragmatic and his outlook towards time reflects that. I do appreciate his view and agree. For me, I see the bigger picture of our time here on Earth; we never know how much time we have and therefore we should (within reason) spend it doing the things we love, with the people we cherish. Yes of course we will do things we don’t like, we will take classes we hate, and sit through movies we don’t like, or chat with people we find obnoxious, but the majority of our life’s momentum “should” be spent carrying out our greatest hopes and dreams.

My favorite Mary Oliver quote asks if we are breathing a little and calling it a life. This idea is so important to me- are we spending our days creating a beautiful and meaningful existence on this Earth? Are we using our time to leave this world a better place than the way we found it? Are we pushing ourselves to be our absolute best, and are we helping our friends/family/partner do the same?

WTF are you doing with your time?