A Breeze of Possibility

Notebooks laid open in front of me sprouting lessons and thoughts like luscious grass with post-its sprinkled throughout like yellow dandelions. The textbooks scattered around me began sowing oak seeds in my head. Then all of a sudden, like grasshoppers, questions and doubts revealed themselves. It was at that moment, I thought to myself, the only growth possible was intellectual.

In an effort to overcome these obstacles, I reached out to my mentor and received an appointment for 2 weeks away. What surprised me is that my immediate response to the text was excitement. It felt like a gentle, cool summer breeze running through the grass, dancing with the flowers and celebrating the seedling. My exact thoughts were, “something is supposed to happen between now and then, I am supposed to grow, reflect and learn in some way that would not be possible if I talk to my mentor sooner.” It was a breeze of possibilities. This was the growth.

Motivated by my excitement of what could be, I began digging into my notes and ruminating until I was completely smeared with insight, a fresh perception and glowing cognizance. That’s when I unearthed a perspective inspired by my own life experiences and lessons learned. Due to my unique revelation into the topic, I have an appreciation for what didn’t happen.

When I pause and look back at various moments in my life, this new found gratefulness expands to cover it all. I understand, now, that what doesn’t happen is just as much of a guiding light as what does happen. Three months ago, I got the last tickets for a full house movie. Last year, I didn’t get accepted into Graduate School for a Masters in Fine Arts. A year and a half ago I received the promotion I wanted. Two years ago, I was dumped unexpectedly. Whether I was despondent or ecstatic in the moment, it all lined up perfectly to get me to where I am right now.

If my mentor had talked to me ‘that’ day, I would have never written this blog. If I hadn’t gone to watch ‘that’ movie, I would not have been inspired to make a certain life decision. If I got into Graduate School for Art, this website would not exist for you. If I didn’t get ‘that’ job, I would have never learned what I don’t want to dedicate my life to. If I didn’t get heartbroken by ‘that’ guy, I would not have found myself. For these reasons, I am thankful for all that has and hasn’t been. Nothing other than how things are now, is guaranteed.

There is another aspect of this that I want to elucidate. I am a limited being. I am limited by the length of my limbs (I cannot grab something that is 10 ft away from me without moving), the strength of my muscles (I cannot bend my knees and jump to the top of a building) and by the knowledge I assimilate. I am limited.

Therefore, I am grateful that sometimes (honestly, most of the time) what I want to happen, doesn’t happen. My knowledge in terms of ‘what is possible’ is also limited. I cannot tell the future. If my life was always determined by what I wanted to happen, trust me, I would not be here, right now. In order for me to get here, the good and the difficult situations, too, needed to happen (though I would never willingly ask for challenging situations). So, when I recall the detailed and precise plans I had made during my high school graduation, 20th birthday or college graduation, I am glad that those plans didn’t come to fruition verbatim.

However, despite this new perspective on life, I do believe it’s important for us to have plans of where we want to be in 1 month, 6 months, 1 year and even 5 years. It gives us motivation, encouragement and a path in life. At the same time, we need to be open to all the magic, adventure and enthusiasm that exists beyond our perception and understanding.

So I offer a statement to be include with, acknowledged and signed under all future plans we make:

Proofreader: Kellyn Jeremy