Walking Inspires

My blog is a work an progress, and is a collection of thoughts, ideas, musings, lessons I have taught and learned over nearly six decades of living, three decades which were dedicated to teaching and studying in academia. It also involves going down a lot of rabbit holes. 

Adam Grant, author of Think Again, writes “You can understand people’s passions by asking how they spend their free time. If you want to know their values, find out who they love. The virtues we cherish in others are the ones we hold dear. The people we adore are a reflection of who we want to become.”

The post was originally written on Valentine’s Day, 2022. Working daily on my blog is one of my passions. What would I be though without the woman I love, the woman I have been married to for 20 years, I would not be the person I am or the person I am becoming. She is my biggest cheerleader. She supports my efforts to be the best I can be. I promised her for better, and better. Worst is a matter of perspective, and worst is not a part of our vocabulary. So what does it mean to be better? Better today than yesterday. There is a saying that goes, if you are not laughing at who you were last year, your not growing enough.

It is one of my hopes that my writing, my thinking out loud, will encourage others to seek out to be better on their way to be the best they can be. The journeys we all take are unique to every individual.  Moving forward, while not formula magic, contains some shared and some different items. The greatness of passions is they are unique for everyone. 

Walking with my wife – passion #1 and alone, passion #2 give me inspiration. Some of my best ideas come from mine, and our walks. V-Day was a case in point.

While walking along one of my favorite paths, I watched a duck diving into the water with his hind legs arching upward while he dove into the water. Ripples in the water appeared as the duck dove and then came up for life-sustaining air. We can all have that effect on people. As we deep dive and then come up for air, we can make an impact on other’s lives. Deep diving into subject matters is passion #3. Upon completing the first dive, not the first, nor the last, the duck swam a little and then repeated his deep dive. The former ripples overlapped the new ripples. It was reminiscent of a water venn-diagram. Connecting the dots, passion #4 became readily apparent. How best to learn, passion #5. And, last but not least, sharing, passion #6.  Over thirty years in academia has provided me with a framework, and listening to students and others much wiser and more learned than me continue to refine those lessons. Give and take, working our passions, as Adam Grant wisely writes have provided me with a reflection of what I am becoming.  I hope you will join me on this journey and make some ripples with me.