Graduation

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Graduation Emotions

Graduation time came today for someone very close to me. Very heady experience full of emotion and potential. Those graduates posed on a field awaiting a small piece of paper that says, “Job well done.” Several people made nice speeches full of good advice, some called the names, and the flowing of tears began.

The experience left me somewhat exhausted. It was little in the way of physical exhaustion other than the brief walk to a seat and some heat from the sun. The emotional output was pretty intense. These folks were happy and you could see it.

Graduation Experience

It was the first time I had really been to a graduation experience where I actually paid attention and listened. These people really worked hard. They persevered and eventually most of them will prosper for their efforts. Some will move on to careers of fulfillment and other will continue the education path even further. So many things to do and so many possibilities.

The end of one journey and the start of another. That’s what graduation really is all about. We learn all we can in a short time and then try to put it into practice (in most cases I would think anyway). Can we really experience it without being touched somewhere deep down? I was not able to get away from the event without some watery eyes and a lot of smiling. So many smiles flashing just triggered that smile you get when you see someone else smiling big. Spreads like a rumor but with better results.

Destination Anywhere

Why do we pursue these educational experiences so steadfastly? Time and again, researchers show that salary does not equal happiness and will rarely keep people at a job for long without the job satisfaction to match. Yet we relentlessly pursue this course to further our careers and earning potential. Yet for many, many people it does not end with a dramatic increase in salary.

I like to think the journey itself holds a lot of the satisfaction and wonder for us. We get finished and move on to the next major chapter in our lives. Some of us do increase our earning potential as a result, but I think many just do it for the pure satisfaction of saying, “I did that. I ran the race and crossed the finish line.”

In the end, happiness is probably the main destination for most. Whether the increased earning potential exists or not, the happiness obtained by learning and applying knowledge gives us that creative flow and potential that puts us on the road to any destination we choose.

Raison d’être

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The Reason To Be

The title of this post is a French term usually meaning “reason for existence” and literally translated as “reason to be”. It’s a question or statement most people will contemplate at some point in their lives.

So we spend most of our lives running around doing the things we think need doing most. Of course, we spend a lot of time doing things we probably shouldn’t do or would be best done by someone more qualified. I believe we all, for the most part, are doing the best we can with our knowledge, wisdom, and resources, at any given time.

Once in while, some of us actually sit down and think. And once in a while when that happens, the question some of us ask is “Why are here?”

Why are we here?

Really good question. Lots of vague answers out there. I have one I think is pretty good and just as vague as any: I believe we are here to create. That’s it. You spend your life creating opportunity, emotions, life, wealth, goodwill, art, etc. The list is endless and most people will probably be involved in several creative endeavors at some point their lives.

How did we get here?

An act of creation brings us into the world. Doesn’t matter if your creationist, atheist, or agnostic, there is no denying birth is creation. Creationists think God creates us. Atheists believe biology between humans creates us. Who knows what agnostics believe? I say that tongue-in-cheek and without any negative connotation intended. We get created somehow though.

So we show up as an act of creation and then spend decades pondering why we are here. I think it is very simple in my thinking and pondering. We show up as an act of creation. Maybe that’s lesson one. Create or do not create. There is no try. :)

Don’t Run With Scissors

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The paraphrased title to this post has part of a lesson from of a very famous and very good book: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. In the book, he waxes nostalgically on life’s little lessons and the other stuff of life he has learned over the years. It is a very good read and full of down-to-earth wisdom from a man who has learned the hard way in a lot of these cases.

I recently read in a newspaper of a nearby town that a young man passed away just days before graduating high school. I am always just stunned when someone on the cusp of adulthood and independence dies. I read the entire article expecting to read of some catastrophic illness or car accident. My sadness grew even greater after reading he had passed due to a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

According to his peers, teachers, and other who knew him, he contributed to those around him and was a participant in the local NJROTC program at his high school. I do not know all the details and most of what I know is from newspapers and second/third hand information, but the gist of it all is that he went hunting the day he passed. After the hunt he slipped walking/running up his front steps and lost control of the weapon which landed on the ground discharging into his abdomen.

There are a lot of things we do not know about this particular situation but one thing we do know for an absolute surety: he has left his mortal coil and his family will miss him a great deal I am sure.

Now, one of life’s lessons we almost all have heard at one point or another is “don’t run with scissors” because we know we can fall and injure ourselves. Now the young man who passed may or may not have run and I do not know that he was or was not carrying his weapon properly, but he was carrying a very dangerous instrument. Just like scissors, any gun should always get carried and treated with a great deal of respect.

The “don’t run with scissors” lesson applies more than just to scissors and guns. “Scissors” can mean scissors, weapons, information, ideas, and any other thing you might be own. “Don’t run” in these cases would and could equally mean “be careful” or “tread softly” or any number of things. The wisest among us cannot see all ends so the rest of us should take extra precautions.

My heart, prayers, and well-wishes go out to that family that lost a son, brother, and friend. May they find peace and solace in their Source.