Ascend

 

 January 3, 2022

 Greetings from the new leaf,

 Most of us are considering the new year with various versions of expectation or apprehension.  Many of us will attempt, again, to shape the outcome of the whirling calendar, by adopting a purpose, or a philosophical theme. 

 My own approach in this effort often centers around a word, something of significance I can hold as a talisman, to form my feelings in each day.  It’s helpful, I’ve found.   This year, I chose the word ‘Ascend’; To rise up, to climb, to move toward a peak.    It’s an ambitious word to carry around, which is what I want.

 It won’t surprise anyone who knows me, but as soon as I chose the word, it attracted other words.  I didn’t have the heart to disinvite any of them, and by the magic of Monday, an acronym formed.  So, ‘Ascend’ gave me a nest to keep these words together

 Awe.  Whatever is exciting in this next day and those after will be framed by our response.  Some days it means waking up and saying “Prepare to be amazed.”  Being astonished at what the day holds means we have set aside cynicism, we have laid down grudges, we have pushed aside our numbness to the beauty of our world.  Wonder and amazement are within us, and when we cross paths with the incredible things that exist, we only need to let our awe take over.

 Seek.  Very little on this list of words will happen unless we search for the intersection of our lives and the great possibilities of each day.  We need to make it our duty, to ourselves and the people who care about us, to seek out what is waiting to make our lives richer.

Celebrate.  Another companion from years past, but a word that I need close by to remind me to look for the reasons to honor.  And to do it with the unbounded energy of an eight-year-old on his birthday.  The happiest people I know look for reasons to laugh, to sing, to dance.  It isn’t driven by Hallmark or anniversaries, but rather the passion that resides in all humans.

 Enthusiasm.  It’s a lightweight, overused word, easy to disregard. And yet, I’ll keep it.  A great eagerness to be involved in something you enjoy, that you think is important.   It is at the heart of passion.  Years ago, I met Bert Jacobs, one of the founders of the ‘Life is Good’ brand.  I said then: “I want what that guy has.”, which was passion.  It was expressed in pure, unmonetized enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm is not artificial.   It is born when we connect with our best selves, and when we allow ourselves to give in to the emotion that whirls inside us.  The Greek root of this word is ‘entheos’; with God or of God.  It may be we were born to live in this state, and simply forget, or allow other things to exist instead.

Nature.  One of the most important lessons of my life is that Nature, a real living entity, holds the restorative powers that many of us seek in our chaotic lives.  Nature is a host of life, it makes possible all manner of existence, and in that process creates boundless beauty.  It is a partner with us here on earth.  Nature has its own agenda, but it will share with us the lessons we need and the solace we desperately seek.

Discover.  A word I’ve carried forward from other years.  Discover what awaits, about me, about others, about God, about history, about art.  The challenge in this word is that it’s harder to do it by accident, and it’s easy to resist.  It means asking questions, looking around corners.  We have to be open to the possibility that still exists in this fully explored world.

Ascend is not the perfect word, it is meant to inspire other words too.  Ascend: aspire to your best self, to the person you sometimes set aside so you can pay the bills or make someone happy.  Ascend: challenge to do what you are capable of.  

‘Ascend’ because there will be challenges and surprises and disappointments, and it’s best for me, for us, to rise above them.  We will meet people who will be discouraging, and the choice will be to join them or to aim higher.  ‘Ascend’, not simply to be better but because it’s necessary.  We are not meant to coast, or to settle, or to find our level.  We are meant to explore our boundaries, and test them, and struggle and try again.

One of my mentors is the philosopher/runner George Sheehan.  He captured the essence of my message years before we crossed paths, when he wrote the essay ‘Why I Run.’  At the end he said this:

 “Excellence is not something attained and put in a trophy case. It is not sought after, achieved and, thereafter, a steady state. It is a momentary phenomenon, a rare conjunction of body, mind, and spirit at one's peak. Should I come to that peak I cannot stay there. I must start each day at the bottom and climb to the top. And then beyond that peak to another and yet another.”

 Sheehan’s commitment to living was to Ascend, every day.  It was to press to find his ‘arete’, his best self, and express it in his writing and running and thinking and learning.  And each day, and with each victory or stumble, begin again. 

 This year holds great promise.  All we need to do is pursue it, to rise up to it.

 Hope this finds you ascending.

 

David

 

 

 

Copyright © 2022 David Smith