A little thought experiment last night sitting alone by the fire.
But first, because we have time, the fire: Built with 100% scavenged wood and yet probably the most consistent, and also persistent when it came time to go to bed, campfire we’ve yet had. Found a dry solid piece of cherry, which I haven’t seen around the park so I assume someone brought in and abandoned when they didn’t use. Was too long for the firepit and I don’t carry an axe, so I bridged it across the rim until it burned through and I could rearrange it as two long pieces. Was really cooking, then. The hardwood burned hot and long and the smell of the smoke pleasant. I didn’t do much to knock it down before going in, so I worried on it a bit until I heard a soft rain around 3am.
Now, the thinking stuff. I asked myself: What makes you overflow with emotion? What are the things, situations, places, people, acts, etc., that fill me with joy, sadness, wonder, fullness? Maybe, if I made a list of them, I’d see a useful pattern. So I tried.
- Music, both recorded and live
- Walking down Main Street, Disneyland with my wife and children
- National Parks, or more generally a shared reverence for and desire to conserve natural wonders
- The human condition, things like war and civil rights and poverty and struggle and success
- Seeing our kids learn something new or successfully apply something we’ve taught them
- When someone expresses that they value our relationship, especially if they say they’re better or happier for it
- Unhurried time with great friends
I look at it… and find myself without much revelation. Oh, I like it, though. It’s good and nice and true, but is there a theme pulling me to a new calling?
Dunno.
Love & hugs.