Life takes meaning only as the causes to which you attach yourself ...

That title comes from GEN Donn Starry that was part of the memorial service for this Warrior.  The implication of that statement is compelling but let me quote it fully:

"But I suggest that your life takes on meaning only as the causes to which you attach yourself have meaning; that the greatest value of a life is to spend it for something that lives after it; that in the end you become what you are through some cause you have made your own.  And if you follow that line of reasoning deciding about the part God plays in your world is important ..."  Starry

That insight from Starry has really bored into my inner being for it has caused me to really think about and question in my own life that which I value in looking at the causes that are important to me since it is those causes that will live on after me.  Starry is absolutely correct.  So today has been emotional but cathartic.  Catharsis is a good thing!!

Through this day I have realized more succinctly than ever before that educating the leaders of tomorrow is my calling and God has gifted me for that calling. I can say that with no ego at all for I truly believe that. But the greater reality is that God gifts each of His children and it is for us to find that gift, develop that gift and USE that gift through the good times and the bad times.

There have been times since my retirement eight years ago when I felt like what I wanted to do was to go back into full time employment in a leadership role. But each time I would start down that path, the path would curve back to that which I glean the most pleasure from and that is teaching university students.

The rewards for being in God's Will, doing the work He has assigned me are innumerable.  I draw passion, strength, deeper learning, seek to understand more deeply all that is around me and the list goes on.  I can say that I have come to that point in my life where I can say I truly do love what I realize has been my calling my whole life.  I have had friends, close friends, that have told me that but was usually was met with deaf my ear from me or a sense of frustration or almost anger to hear those words in my own defense.

Today has been the hitching post  through all the ceremony of the Starry memorial, the emotion of it all, investing that time with my daugher that I found myself staring at at times thinking about how pretty she is, what a great wife and mother she is and not to mention such a great daughter.  Today has been like I was standing a a room of mirrors in which every flaw, every crevice, every wart was exposed to the sunlight of life's reality.  So to GEN Starry's thesis, what are the causes in my life I invest myself in that will live after me?

My list is short but powerful so I wish to share it with you:

1. My relationship with my God
2. My family
3. My teaching
4. My music

All four of those will outlive me I believe and thus I recommit myself to those four and not the other ten or twenty I at times get sideswiped by.  So GEN Starry, thank you for opening up the pathway to my inner heart through your touch on my life even in death for it has renewed me. I feel revived, eager and wanting to be the best I can be against the backboard of my four.

What are your four?  Seriously, I think you should really, really, really do that exercise.