The Direction of Intention

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Join me in inspiring truly powerful people. Each day I will add a new thought, story or idea to support your quest and mine.

There are two quotes that populate my old website. I love them both and together they are the bookends of what I value. Tonight I recognize that they are the acorns for this meditation on power.

The first is from Reynolds Price: “The need to tell stories is essential to us, second in necessity to nourishment and before love and shelter.” Reynolds Price was precise in his choice of language and it was not an accident that he chose the word “essential” in reference to our need for story. Story is how we make meaning of our lives; we story ourselves every minute of the day. Without the story we would wither and die just as surely as if we were deprived of water. The story that you tell yourself can be generative or toxic; it can support your growth or stunt your potential. Either way it is a story that you tell.

The second quote is from Glade Byron Addams: “Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.” Today, I spent the day in a high school and many of the kids (and teachers) have let the bus leave without them. They’ve forgotten that there was a bus to catch. I thought about this quote a lot today and wished I had the Promethean spark to rekindle their heart fire. I wanted to shout, “The bus is here and it is leaving, run now! You can catch it if you run now, bang on the door and force it to stop for you!” I wondered if they know that their passions are worth chasing.

I wondered if they know that there are passionate people in the world like Lisa, Jill and Megan that believe in them and are willingly throwing themselves in front of the bus because they think passions are worth chasing. They are amazing and carry with them that sacred spark, reigniting hearts and reminding students and teachers alike that someone cares about their passions more than their performance scores.

They know and live boldly the essential power of story. Those voices you hear as you chase that last bus of the night are these three incredible people cheering for you to run like the wind and catch your hearts desire.

Filed under: Heroes, Truly Powerful People |