Providence in Motion

As Day 0 nears, I glance back at the factors converging to make this possible for me. There are many, the most significant of which from an economic standpoint was my severance package from a Fortune 40 company that did not have to sever me, but as I hoped and prayed, the severance was granted. True freedom . . . at least for awhile.

A very close mentor and friend recently read me the following poem titled "Until One Is Committed":

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream "of events issues from the decisions, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do,
or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it."

Goethe

To me, the above poem highlights the point that the road upon which I have traveled thus far is intricately intertwined with my upcoming globe trot. There is no clear demarcation line, except for maybe an airport run from here to Delhi. While it was not always apparent, there were many occurrences, incidents, call it what you will, that conspired to prepare me for this very moment. From my first steps learning to walk, to my first time at summer camp away from home, to a political science education, to my third world travel experiences to date, to my company merging with another, all of this was in preparation for today, the now. These are the tools which do not travel in overhead bins or backpacks, they travel within.

Finally, a quote first shared with me by a friend's mom this past May at his wedding in Ireland. She is a mother to eight children, all of whom are adventurous in their own way. One of them is a good buddy of mine with whom I have traveled to many far off lands. At the wedding, I asked her how she raised all of her kids to have this open outlook to the world. She said she had a quote hanging in her living room that reads as follows: "Ships in a harbor are safe, but that's not what ships are built for." My sentiments exactly.