Once Upon A Time, I…
A new Micro-Essay Series Begins…
On Monday, July 11, I will begin releasing 25 media-enhanced essays periodically. The genesis for this next series came from a 10-min icebreaking exercise; a facilitator with “Be The Change Consulting” of a meeting hosted by a foundation I attended several years ago in Oakland, CA, asked attendees to pick one and share with a paired fellow attendee in the room.
Once Upon a Time, I….
Fell In Love
Bounced Back from Tragedy
Totally Embarrassed Myself
Felt Excluded
Made a Huge Mistake
Hurt Someone I Love
Recognized my Privilege
Hit Rock Bottom
Discovered I Wasn’t Who I Thought I Was
Stood Up for Myself
Stood Up for A Friend
Fought Hard and Won
Fought Hard and Loss
Got My Heartbroken
Created Something I was Proud Of
Doubted If It Was All Worth It
Did It Even Though They Told Me I Couldn’t
Pushed myself to the Limit
Said Something I Shouldn’t Have
Opened My Eyes to a Brand New World
Missed a Big Opportunity
Made a Friend
Chose Courage Over Fear
Laughed So Hard I Couldn’t Stop
Took the Adventure of a Lifetime
I always thought these were fantabulous personal story lead-ins and committed to answering all of them one day. Unfortunately, one of the things that the facilitator at that meeting didn’t ask us to do was provide a moral to the story. To be fair, however, there wasn’t much time to go deep. So each of my essays will be replete with lessons learned and a moral for readers (listeners/watchers) to take away what they will.
If we are lucky, we have an ever-changing, evolving set of realities, so mine stands unique to my life of experiences; however, since “there is nothing new under the sun,” common threads will be evident for those who’ve lived long enough. And perhaps some cautionary tales for those who still have more time in front of them than behind them. These micro-essays will cover personal and professional experiences spanning the better part of half a century of this ongoing journey I’m walking.
Stay tuned…
