We’ve had some really good rainfall in Central Texas over the past month or two, something that this area has been in need of for quite some time. Although we know better than to complain about it when it comes, there’s a slight bittersweet approach to how we feel about rain here on the homestead. Don’t get me wrong, we are always grateful for it, but it leaves behind quite the mess.
As I’ve stated before, we are building out this homestead a little bit at a time, as we can afford to invest in land and home improvements. We try our best to steer clear of any substantial debt, so that means we often go without until we have the means to move forward. There’s a mile-long list of “wants”, but the “needs” come first.
One of those “wants” are improved walkways around our house as we currently still have the natural landscape in between our buildings, gardens, and chicken coops. Simply put, when it rains, it’s mud city and we’re the mayor. Mud gets tracked everywhere, and it can be a bit annoying at times, but it’s simply the reality around here until we can afford to build some stone and wooden walkways. It’ll be great to have them one day, but it’s not a “need” so it stays further down the list.
We have a wet weather creek that starts at the front of our property and it runs just outside of our main yard area before continuing on into the wooded area further down the property. During substantial rainstorms, the water puddles considerably in multiple places, and it gives way to the sneak peek of what we hope will one day become ponds on the property. However, we have a six year old little dreamer that decided to make those ponds a reality yesterday, and she jumped right in.
As you can see in the picture above, I walked outside to quite the surprise… our baby girl had taken the liberty to become one with the mud and water. She was soaked through, even to the point that when she took off her mud boots, they were full of water.
I’ll admit that my very first reaction was one of disappointment, but it only lasted for a second as a prevailing thought came through and set me straight.
Here I was, just about to get upset at a six year old girl for being… herself. Before I could even complete the thought of scolding her, I was flooded (no pun intended ;)) with happiness as I looked at that sweet little face.
Stella, like most kids do, lives her life for her. She lives in the present and will act on real, raw impulses that come from the purest sense of wonder and an unapologetic expression of who she is. She is embarrassed by none of her actions and does not sugar coat her thoughts and intentions for anyone. She saw those massive puddles and followed her instinct to jump in and have a ball. She gave no thought to any outside perception or consequence, she just did as she felt.
Same goes for us adults, huh? Ha, if you nodded your head in agreement, I’ll call you on your… well, let’s just say it’s the stuff that comes out of the wrong end of a bull.
This has stuck with me ever since, this thought of doing things for us and no one else. Somewhere along the way, as we start to venture out of that innocence that only a childhood can bring, we start to add filters to our true self. We love to roam and explore our world, but that doesn’t work in a classroom environment, so we sit still and keep focused straight ahead. We love to dress in our own unique style, but that doesn't fit in in the real world, so we trade the faded jeans and loud t-shirts for khakis and a button-up. We dream of a life of creativity and color, but that’s just not the way it works out there, so we shift to dreaming in black and white.
“You can be anything you want to be.”
How many times have you heard or said this? Is it true? Can a child truly grow up to be whatever he or she wants to be? Sure they can; But what does that even mean? We talk of these crowning achievements, like being a doctor, lawyer, astronaut or president, but who’s out there encouraging kids to grow up to be themselves? Artists, writers, philosophers… where are the paths to these achievements? Stuntmen, skateboarders, race car drivers… what happened to those dreams?
Yes, I know… there are modern day artists, writers, and philosophers, and there are indeed stuntmen, skateboarders, and race car drivers, but when you look into these people and learn of how they achieved their dreams, they are typically stories of continued adversity as they struggled to carve their path through a society that had far different expectations of them. They had to navigate outside of the norm, fighting tooth and nail for acceptance and understanding along the way.
Look at the number of college graduates that are jobless because there simply aren’t enough jobs to satisfy such a saturated talent pool of people that all fell in line and did “what they were supposed to do”. The world doesn’t need an endless supply of one college degree or another. The world needs diversity in all aspects of the word. We need the dreamers, the rebels, the innovators. And, don’t get me wrong, we need the lawyers, doctors, and astronauts too, and there are plenty of kids out there who truly desire these occupations, even from a very young age. It takes all kinds, and I think we need to do better to create paths for all walks of life to achieve what they want, not what a society expects of them.
All of these thoughts have been circling in my head, and it lands on this last point that I plan to talk more about in the coming weeks…
Who are you? I mean, who are YOU? I’m not asking what you do for a living, and I’m not asking what type of friends you run with. I’m asking you just what it is that makes you you. I recently read a book that talked of muses and how we so often shield our muse to satisfy those that look in on us. Our parents, our friends, our peers, and so on. The book boils it down to a simple ask…
If you were the last person on earth, what would you do? Not in the sense of survival, but what would you create? Would you write? Would you build? Would you hike? Where would you go in your own mind, to that place of serenity and identity?
Now keep in mind that I’m not insinuating that you quit your job tomorrow and start racing your car around town or selling drawings of flowers to people at the airport, I’m simply suggesting that you look inward and reconnect with your own identity. Many of you may do a quick check and be good with where you’re at in life and as an individual. Some of you may require a bit of realignment, and some may realize just how far you’ve strayed from your own path. In any case, there’s no need to make a cataclysmic change. It’s simply an opportunity to remember who you are and not who you think you should be for the world. You do you, and don’t ever falter from that stance.
As I continue to take my own advice, I am finding immense joy in reconnecting with my true self. It’s been quite the journey, but each stone unturned has reunited me with a little more of who I am, a little at a time. Whether I’m at work as a leader, at home as a husband and father, or anywhere else in the world, I won’t lose sight of myself ever again. I’ll do things as only I would do them, and I won’t compromise my thoughts, dreams, or otherwise for anyone else.
No matter what the world may think, it needs you, not what it prefers you to be. Don’t strive to be like that guy, and don’t wish you were that girl… we need you, just the way you are.