Building a Life

I am looking for a transformation.

Girls on the Run -- Kalamazoo

Anyone who’s been to Clemson Road before knows I am a change junky. I crave it. I used to travel frequently which satisfied it but now I can feel myself, daily, taking stock of my surroundings, evaluating my circumstances, and seeking transformation.

I could start a new fitness challenge.

I could paint Hollie’s bedroom.

I could go get a real job.

I’ve agreed to participate in the 2013 WordCount Blogathon. It means blogging every day for 30 days. Get ready, subscribers, a blitz is coming! I agreed to it because I think even this blog needs a transformation.

For over a year now I’ve been writing about Life on Clemson Road, an incredible journey from our old cushy life in the Upstate to our new home, new jobs, new friends, in Columbia. I’ve written about visiting my Nana every week and I wrote about her passing. I’ve written about what I’ve found on the internet and how it made me feel. I’ve written about what I know how to do and whether anyone will or should hire me to do it.

I’ve alluded to but haven’t exactly written about my older sister and I’ve mentioned but haven’t dwelled on some challenges I’ve had with fitness and body image.

I have tried to be honest about myself while motivational about what I’m doing here.

“There are three ways to build a life,” 

I told Charlie yesterday. “What you are, what you do, and what you have.”

What you are: 

your values, your compassion for others, your convictions and opinions, your willingness to fight or settle, your courage to commit, your relationships with your family and the people you choose to spend time with and on.

What you do: 

your education, your job, your intellectual property, your good works like charity and mentoring, your willingness to be changed by others, what you achieve and what you attempt.

What you have: 

your home, your furnishings and décor, your books and technology, your car, your clothes, all those other image things that people use to judge you. Are you shabby or flawless? Are you natural or polished? These are the things you take pride in because you’ve earned them, chosen them, afforded them, and now care for them.

When I get the urge for transformation I look at those three building materials: what I am, what I do, and what I have and ask myself, “Where do I need to improve?”

Come with me. In June we’ll explore this and other associated questions. We’ll allow ourselves to be changed. It’s just 30 days. You can do anything for 30 days.

How are you building your life? Where are you falling short?