017 - Priorities

Imagine yourself as a clay jar that was made by your parents. Through the years your teachers add handles to it, your friends paint images and write messages on it, your enemies scratch and crack it, while you repair and maintain  it. All the while never finding out what’s inside.

Until that crucible moment. For most it was the boat. Your first drill set or first watch where you are on your own. Your jar smashes to a million pieces. For most of us there is nothing in there,  just air, we realize we have spent all this time empty. For others there is a putrid smell of arrogance. For the final few we find a beautiful tempered piece of steel.

So what does that mean?

Well for those filled with arrogance, the answer is simple: those are the ones who fail to perform and crumble under the weight of the stress. They go about their lives and hopefully they have an opportunity to rebuild themselves in a better way.

For those who find the steel it is also quite straight forward, they become the hot runners. They qualify quickly, they take on extra responsibility and as long as they practice a healthy sense of humility, the sky's the limit.

That leaves the last of us. Those who found the great hollowness inside. We see it a lot with our co-workers and friends, the temptation of falling into despair. “Just 6 and out, keep your head above water.” This works for a time, like a rag over a bleeding wound. What we really need to do is face the issue. The fear of finding nothing and the realization that we don't know what to do when we find it. Remember this, emptiness is liable to be mistaken as nothingness with no value, instead of what it is; a reservoir of infinite possibilities.

None of this means save yourself the trouble and just walk away. It also doesn't mean your worth is proportional to what you find inside your jar. It does however mean it's up to you to smash it and discover what you're made of. Then go out and use it to the best of your abilities to better yourself and those around you.

-F15