Be Water

 

“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee 

I was honored to be asked to speak to a group based in Tampa, Florida called Career Rebound. Okay, honored (as I am) my brother is an active leader and member of this group. As speaker, my brother wanted to know how I was able to rebound so effectively in my career journey. Notably, how I managed to work for 12 top flight advertising agencies. He gives me a lot of credit and that is a wonderful thing about people around you. It is easy to take for granted the remarkable support you have among family, friends and associates. There are no words to fully express what it means (sometimes even when it is too late).

So I started building a PowerPoint presentation that will satisfy this virtual speaking engagement. Suddenly I realize that indeed my career has taken quite a few turns.  In retrospect, I focus on the high points and the achievements. However, I am fully aware of sadness and disappointment too. I consider myself very lucky. I consider myself blessed even. They say that God has a plan. But (he/she/they)  demonstrates no obligation to share that plan with me.

I grew up attending a Catholic School (Grades 1-8). The nuns reinforced the notion that there is a sort of reckoning after this life on Earth. I hope so. I am really counting on being with so many wonderful folks who were so important and influential in my life.

 “Mathew, Mark, Luke and John; bless this bed I lie upon. If I should die before I wake, I pray dear Lord my soul to take.”  This bedtime prayer was sort of routine growing up. Now, I’m hoping those saints have the clout I’m gonna need in the afterlife.

But I digress. I consider myself a certifiable rebounder. My life and career has included great heights (full of joy and celebration) and great lows (full of sadness, regret and setbacks). Still, I am inspired by a sense of Mindfulness, I try to live in the moment. I am water.

Images: The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai (above) and iPhone image of my shadow inside a James Turell installation in Saint Louis Spring 2021 

Credits: Special Thanks to Greg Morgan and Wendy Leigh of Career Rebound. 

And, Oh yeah it's my birthday and I'm feeling a bit reflective.