Brighter and Brighter

The Strangest of Futures


So, this week, we're writing three short stories - projections about the future we see and the future we don't see.  Both may be coming.  Both may be amazing.


My Plan A

I've had a few jobs in my day.  Dishwasher (2x), Warehouseman,  Pool Boy (1 week), Mailman, Camp Counselor (3 summers), Commercial Cleaner, Librarian, Stay-up All Night Staff at a House for Troubled Teens, Pub Crawl Promoter (1 night), Public School Teacher, Hotel Front Deskman, Research Analyst, US Census Taker, Telemarketer (sort of), Educational Advisor, Bunker Hill Professor, Kids Yoga Teacher, Mentor, Program Director...

Therefore, with this type of history, and all of this wonderful service and experience, I'd like to retire soon.  Maybe ten years from now, when I'm 44 years old.

And in my sweet retirement, I plan to work.  But my jobs will be completely mine.  Completely fun.  Completely end of the line - dream jobs.  I'll know I've made it.

I will still be teaching a few college courses.

And I will own a double business.

One building.

On the first floor will be my coffee shop/cafe.

Above it, on the second floor, will be my little yoga studio.

I imagine it to be set in wooded area.  A little country, but maybe in the city.  Maybe up in Northern California.  That part will have to come to me.  Or I will stumble upon it at some point.

And in this future, the future of my design, I will be comfortable, financially.  Not particularly rich, but having no worries about money.  A graceful flow that's always just enough.

I will have a darling little family.  I once had a vision, where I was running with three daughters. That'd be nice.  And my wife... well, she'll be there, too.  Timelessly beautiful.  My very best friend.  My wife will sit in the coffee shop some days, where I can watch and admire her as she reads and writes.  So beautiful...

I will teach a few yoga classes during the week, but mostly spend my time in the coffee shop.  Roasting beans (for the bean club).  Serving customers.  Making the scene.  I'd like to make it a community space, where bands can play, people can perform.  Poets can come and read.

I might do special dinners on Thursday nights.  With wine.  I'm not sure.

This is my Plan A.  The future I'm moving towards (in my heart).

But then a twist...

The Plan A of my future may never happen.  I may never get to that little urban, country coffee shop yoga studio.  That may never come to be.

And that's ok.

Because maybe I don't get to retire so early.  Maybe things will happen, out of my control.  Maybe I'll be blindsided by a different path.

A few years down the road, there's a big shift.

My wife and I decide to take a trip to the Seychelles, off the eastern coast of Africa.  This is a trip we've been saving up for for years.  When we get there, it's a tropical island paradise.  We have a a trip of a lifetime, but during one of the last days, a major storm rips through the region.  A rough typhoon comes in the night, and it destroys the little village that we're staying in.  Luckily, we are alright, but he village is destroyed.  Devastated by the destruction, we decide to stay and help the villagers clear the debris.  We end up helping to a save a little girl trapped under her collapsed house.  At that moment, everything changes.

Plan B

The little girl that we rescued recovers in the local hospital, but her parents do not survive the storm.  My wife and I decide that we should adopt her.  It's a powerful moment of heart.

Back in the states, we have a hard time readjusting.  There is a new, burning desire in me to start doing something else.  Something new.  Something more helpful.

We decide to start fundraising for the storm victims.  The response is overwhelming.  We decide to start a little non-profit, with the mission to help educate refugees in Eastern Africa.  That little non-profit grows when we start to get national attention.  Eventually, it becomes a major NGO (non-governmental organization), and our mission expands.

Our organization begins to set up charter schools in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.  We end up moving our offices to Paris, where we can hop on a plane to the areas we serve.

All of sudden, I realize that this is not the life that I had in mind.  But I couldn't have planned things to go this way.  Circumstance took control for a moment.  What was really important to me had changed overnight, with one wild storm of events.

Life in Paris.  An organization with a major mission.  A daughter that we take in and love.

Sometimes, you just have to go where the universe needs you.

This week's poem: a free verse about the concept of grace - that good things are coming your way



of grace


I can feel it coming      
this gentle wind

and the things it carries

the gifts that are not yet seen
the joys that are not yet heard

but I don't know where it comes
from

where did this wind begin?

This soft force
between gravity
and rotation

that seems to love me
for no particular reason

simply because I am

simply because I have a heart

a heart with beat

a beat that moves

like a rattle that shakes
sending a vibration

like tiny waves
pushing outward, forward

gaining momentum as
they spread upon laughter
and light

as they curve around the trees
and curl through the valleys

as they join with others

to cast off, into the night
on some playful mission

going somewhere

oh...

oh wait, I get it now

now I see

now I see where this wind
came to be

I see now
how how it
all comes back

it all comes back to me

Visions of the Future

Here's what I see in my future...

This is my vision board.  As you can see, I'd like to take a few trips.  A return to Portugal is on the top of my list.  I also love San Francisco, and am thinking of opening a cafe up there in the near future.  I'm currently improving my surf skills and will continue to improve upon this dance/art.  One of my short term goals is to play music and sing at an open mic.  I also have strong desires to find a partner to marry and have children with.  My time is coming.  And then, my ultimate goal is to someday own a coffee shop and yoga studio - preferably in the same building.  It's my dream jobs.  I always thought that it'd be fun to run my own business, and running a community space.  Lastly, I put love and abundance on my vision board, as I hope to always have these two elements in my life - to keep me rich.  

This week's poem: A look into the future

When I look into the future 

what is it I want for me?

Now I see

Now I see...

I see the lifting of the fog

and the sun litten streets

Now I see

Now I see

I see a child is born

and he looks just like me

Now I see 

Now I see

I see the bride now of my life

under willow trees

Now I see

Now I see

I smell the breads that are baking

and the roasting of the beans

Now I see

Now I see

I hear the songs of my heart

put to melodies

Now I see

Now I see

I know that love is what now 

leads me

Now I see 

Now I see

I see myself back in the classroom

a performance of this teaching

Now I see

Now I see

I see that it keeps getting better

and it takes work to be happy

Now I see

Now I see

I see that grace will meet me there

and that it has been leading me 

towards thee

Now I see

Now I see...

What else could I want

besides being able to be me?

For all in need in life

are some of the most simplest of things

She Moves Me

A dedication
          to the one(s) I love...


It seems like, if I kept a continual list of all my passions, that list would get longer and longer each year.  I have several, simple passions in my life.  People, things, objects, sounds, moments, and experiences that turn me on and tune me in.  Simple movement is one of them.  As many of you know, yoga is a big passion of mine.  I think about it... a lot.  I enjoy practicing as well as teaching.

For several years, I volunteer-taught a class for several older guys and gals with developmental disabilities.  They are scraggly bunch alright (they still attend the class, now taught by another teacher in training).  Some of them are non-verbal.  One man is deaf and nearly blind.   Another guy, Jason, is grumpy, sarcastic, and defiant.  Gruff.  Many of them have experienced extreme trauma and abuse in their lives.  Now they live in a group home and live a very structured lifestyle.  For most of them, it's a rough go.

But they find happiness in yoga.

I started teaching the class as part of my teacher training at the Soul of Yoga in Encinitas.  I had to do "seva" or service (volunteerism) as part of the course.  So, I chose to teach this class.  I was required to teach it for 2 weeks.  I ended up teaching it for nearly 2 years.  Why?

Because it filled my soul.

Every time this tall man, David, came in, he'd give me million dollar smile.  I was once able to get Jason to dance, after months of him refusing to move or participate.  I caught him swaying to a song I put on.  He turned to me, in all seriousness, and said, "this song is infectious".  That made my whole week.  And every time Ron would say "Mother's Day" instead of "namaste", at the end of class, I felt like I was getting paid in gold.

These passions for teaching and working with the special needs population have led to some of the greatest opportunities of my life.  And some of the most joyous moments.

During this time period, I worked up the ranks to become the Program Director of a service agency that provides mentoring and social coaching for young adults that have some form of autism or cognitive delay.  Many of them also suffer from anxiety, depression, and a debilitating lack of self-confidence.  And they are some of the most wonderful people I've ever met in my life.

That job also allowed me to work with some of the most intelligent, funny, and creative people on the planet.  Especially my staff and fellow colleagues.  There was never a dull day.  People can be so fascinating, and to help them realize that and feel that... well, there's that gold again.

My passion for teaching, my love of people and for service work, and my dedication to developing amazing, life-changing programs and experiences have kept me on my toes.

It's not always easy.  (But it's a love thing.)

Many of the clients I've worked with, who are highly capable individuals in their twenties and early thirties, came to our program because they needed socialization, guidance, and employment.  The company motto is: Support, Enrich, and Empower.

One of my personal goals was to develop, locate, and facilitate jobs for my clients, in which they give back to the community and the planet.  I wanted them to have purposeful and fulfilling work.  I wanted them, with all of their quirks and challenges (and often a total lack of experience), to be able to work at a job that gives them power, joy, and great purpose.  Imagine that.  People with "limited capabilities" giving back and doing service work.  How beautiful is that?

They can work with rescued animals.  They can promote recycling projects in elementary schools.  They can produce top dollar fine art.  They can deliver meals to the elderly.  They can grow and sell their own food.  And they can brighten anyone's day.

My passion is to help people realize their passion.

And I just can't stop.




This week's poem: a love poem for passion, with movement.

She Moves Me


There is something profoundly simple

             and sweet
      when our worlds suddenly meet

         somewhere on the surface
     passing in the streets
             
    There's a lure to the luminosity
       a sway in her soft gravity
            something constantly
          drawing us near
       
                   particles burst
       and swirl into songs
             longing to be heard

      Harmonious collisions
          break open constellations
             that supposedly hold us together
               and keep us apart

       There is so much creation
               yet to be made
            by two hands
                    just holding
           

         What will we whip up
       in the latest looms of our
                                       love?

          What will we stitch together
               that will last longer than the sun?

    I will wear anything that
         we can dance in

        For the particles keep falling
 
     and the songs keep getting better
 and better
          When we both lie and listen
               so closely