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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2009-05-16

By Any Other Name . . . 

"If I may be so bold, it was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny. Anything else is a waste of material." --Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

What a brilliant sentiment, from a movie series not really famous for its flights of wisdom! The very idea that limiting yourself or altering the logical trajectory of your life for the purpose of fulfilling your natural gifting would be smart and useful is just not part of the normal discourse in America. But it is a very insightful thought. And it has a deep personal meaning for me. Let me explain . . .

I have, for the last eighteen years, been a teacher in the public schools. And I've loved it--teaching is a great job (wrapped up in a really stupid profession--but that's a story for another day). But for the last several years I've felt like it wasn't quite enough, or maybe it just wasn't quite right. That's why I started to blog. On some level, I thought writing might actually be my "best destiny" that I just missed because I became very single-minded about something back when I was young and stupid. In fact, I still entertain aspirations of writing professionally, to either influence public policy or to change the world in some way. And, sure, maybe that's just the fanciful flight of an "old and stupid" person, but that's okay.

What would have been nice for me would have been to have a little more guidance back when I made that decision so that maybe I could have discoved and made use of writing a long time ago. The logical trajectory of the life I chose back when I was 18 might have needed a little better consideration. A little roadmap, as it were. So, I created just that.

Actually, not so much "I" as "we"--my partner Jay and I have spent the last 19 months writing a book whose sole purpose is to help young people be smarter about the decisions that they make which dictate the course of their lives. "Get It!" will guide youths (ages 16-24) through a process of discovery and self-evaluation which, hopefully,will lead them to make choices for their lives which are based on their innate, God-given passions and gifts, rather than just stumbling forward because the next step seems to be the next logical step. It has been a difficult, but very rewarding process--the natural "A.D.D.-ness" of blogging has been challenged every step of the way, and it has required quite a bit more disclipline than your standard "pajama-clad media" outpost.

But the best part has been actually relying on that set of skills which this blog has honed in me to create something which I hope and believe will change the world.

[warning: shameless self-promotion section coming up]

"Get It!" is the perfect graduation gift, for those of you who have young people in your lives. Even students who seem to have it all figured out could stand to take a few minutes to consider their steps before rushing out into the world! To find out more, and to order a book for yourself, visit the website at http://www.getit-productions.com

[shameless self-promotion section now concluded]

There IS, by the way, a political application for this process. Something about authenticity and connecting with the body politic. I will get into that more in future posts, but for a case study in INauthenticity, can I recommend a little viewing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6PU0Oq0ysA
Posted by: Michael / 5/16/2009 01:33:00 AM

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