I was reading this morning realizing that I was dreading writing this blog because I struggled with finding a topic to discuss. Some weeks I get struck by a gesture or an action that wiggles into my mind unresolved that I need to work through. Ejecting that idea from my mind makes the trip to the next blog easier. But this morning I was finishing a book when I realized that I have always fought two incredibly forceful tendencies: predictability and pivoting. The path any of us set out on is an attempt to achieve predictability. We take jobs or get an education in the hopes of settling ourselves into a controlled predictability. Most of us are not built to constantly navigate ever changing circumstances. We want to be able to predict our life events regarding money, relationships and work. The reality is that predictability is an illusion or delusion if you will. Our one true measure of success is how well we pivot when unpredictable things occur. Success of longevity I think can be attributed to how well we change course, change attitude and change perspective. I think we desire permanence in an ever-changing world. A cruel irony is that while we are preparing for our lives to get “set” the circumstances that make us pivot are careening out of our control. We work really hard to “control” our world sometimes hurting ourselves to avoid pivoting. Lying to ourselves that we have things figured out. A futile strategy against entropy which leaves us grasping our incredibly deteriorating plans. But we get up, set a course in the future, hope that our navigation is sound, and we keep our eyes on the ever-changing horizon.
Albert R. Hartley
Currently Reading:
The Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson
By: Alfred Tennyson
Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins–and WWII Heroes
By: Tim Brady
The Quiet Game
By: Greg Iles
What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative
By: Jim Collins
The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
By: Ulysses S. Grant
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