60
How do we measure time? Specifically, our days on this planet. Hours, days, months, years? This week I have been thinking about decades. I have officially made it through 6 of them. I have been thinking about themes and events of each of these 10-year periods of my life.
· The first was just discovering the boy from Dayton, Ohio. Bright-eyed and clueless for the most part. Never met a creek I didn’t like.
· The second decade seemed to center around finishing school and starting college, trying to figure out who I wanted to be when I grew up. It marked the beginning of my years in Kentucky.
· From 21-30, I became a teacher, a husband, and a father, establishing the foundation for my life as a young adult. I felt invincible in those days, like a bull in a china shop.
· Working my way through my thirties, I wrestled with whether to teach, to be a counselor, or to become a school leader. I found that I was all of the above.
· In my 40s, I took on the mantle of principal and director and began to learn that leadership is about influence, not control.
· This past decade included many major changes, which included a move to South Carolina. In the midst of trying to be so many things to the world around me, I discovered that I needed to start back at ground zero and really get to know my authentic self. I can say with all honesty, the last part of this decade has been the best so far.
So, I am fortunate enough to get to start the next ten this week. New beginnings in a new state, Tennessee. My book will be rolling out in the next couple of months, and I will be working with a new group of students as a math teacher again in the fall. I am excited about the road ahead.
These increments of time remind me of the words of T.S. Eliot:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Life is not linear; it’s actually a spiral. We keep coming back around to various places in our lives but from a different vantage point. This process gives us a chance to reflect and learn from our journey so far and integrate those lessons into the next cycle. As long as we are still breathing, we have the opportunity to grow and become more of who we are meant to be.