A health crisis
One thing that’ll quickly make you realize how good your ordinary life is are those times where you have it taken away from you.
I’ve had to endure a couple of health crises with my family, and while things resolved in a way I’m grateful for, those moments were full of so much uncertainty. Having to take care of kids on top of that makes it both physically and emotionally draining. You start to long for a simple day of being able to drop people off at school, go to work, and make dinner without worrying about test results.
That scene at the end of the movie Soul
Okay, skip ahead if you don’t want spoilers here, but Soul’s been out for years! Anyways.
By the end of the movie, Joe navigates a near-death experience to play his dream gig of accompanying a legendary jazz singer. However, in the quiet come-down after the experience, he realizes he was living along, through simple acts as he went about his day. He realizes that his “spark” of life wasn’t for this one special purpose of playing music, but the joy of living.
I loved that ending. Your passion, your pursuit, doesn’t have to be your purpose.
The sense that it’s those common things that bind us together
Just after college, I would alternate between stints of backpacking around the world and working odd jobs to afford those adventures. One of those odd jobs was being a substitute teacher, and I remember having to guide a class through an exercise in telling personal stories of things they experienced.
I realized that most stories I had from the previous summer spent in Europe might not relate to them too well. They might also come across as showy and unnecessary, so instead I told a story of trying to make a better grilled cheese. Pursuits often lead us to connect deeply with those we meet along the way, but it’s also good to note when they might actually create separation.
There’s the eccentric life, then there’s the examined life.
In the end, I think there’s still something wise in living outside the script of expectations. It’s a good thing to question what often gets taken for granted as the next logical step.
Whenever you face questions like:
What will I do after graduating?
What should we do with the kids when I go back to work?
How can I afford the trip of my dreams?
It helps to consider that the most ideal approach often isn’t the obvious one. Starting from a standpoint of openness to look at these crossroads from a whole bunch of different angles often leads you to doing things you end up really grateful for down the road. It’s been that way for me.
I think in the long run, I’ll still always have a natural inclination towards unconventional living, ambitious pursuits, and an eclectic mix of things I pursue. Much of this is just baked into the way I’m wired, and I appreciate that when you live this way, you wind up with good stories to tell.
