Those Moments
You take an extended trip like the one we are on and you wait for those moments as a parent. Those moments where life happens and you get to help your child understand how to handle themselves in a way that supports their growth as a person. Those moments when they ask you a hard question and you don’t have any distractions so you can address them head on. Those moments when they are struggling with how they are perceived by the world (even though it doesn’t matter) and their emotions are tied to how others see them. Those moments when you catch them doing something amazing or watching them grow up right in front of your eyes.
When you are in the day to day flow of life where you are working, your kids are in school and everything is just busy, those moments just pass by without much of an opportunity to make them lasting memories. Sometimes you have a good answer and sometimes you help them on their journey, but for many of us it is not our #1 focus. On this trip we have had lots of these moments, times when either Drew or Noah have had a challenge or asked a difficult question or had challenges with each other. There have also been moments when you just say, WOW! This part of our trip has been amazing. I believe Noah came into this trip believing that “siblings fight” and I hope we go home with a different story in his head.
As we approach re-entry to our world in San Diego I must remind myself to take advantage of those opportunities even when we are in the flow. Even when life is busy, even when there are so many distractions and I know that being present as a parent and as a person is critical for so many reasons. I know it’s the same in my business life. The more present I can be, the more engaged I can be, the more deeply connected I will become with people. And from this trip I am learning and reinforcing one of the most important lessons of my life; in the end, deep human connection is all that matters. To add to that paradigm, the more deeply we can connect with ourselves the more deeply we can connect with others.
So, as we approach the last few weeks of our journey I begin to think about how I want to live my life differently upon our return. How can I be more present, how can I be more available to everyone around me, especially those that I consider part of my tribe. This lesson of connectedness is directly tied to developing my tribe. Being present is easier when you are being present for those you feel are deserving of your full attention. Not that everyone does not deserve your full attention, but there is something about spending time with others that are of like-mind and like-heart. I look forward to the next part of our journey and seeing what evolves.
To a life well lived!
Larry Kesslin 