We Interrupt This Broadcast…
Many thanks once again to all who have taken the time to read and especially to comment on my posts. This whole big ball of yarn has been percolating for quite a long time (to mix metaphors). The manifestation has been more rewarding than I imagined. If you had told me a couple years ago that I would be putting all my “secrets” out on a public blog, I’d have given you my therapist’s contact info, because you would have been crazy. And yet, here we are.
Despite being regularly told I was a good writer by many people over the years, I had been clinging to the story that I wasn’t. This was likely a result of two formative incidents, both (unwittingly) perpetrated by my parents. The first was attending a semi-experimental open-plan elementary school in Madison, Wisconsin during the mid 70’s. In 6th grade, we moved to New Jersey and the English curriculum was quite a bit more challenging (maybe the walls and doors helped?). I remember my parents blaming the Madison school for my shortfall. The second was senior year of high school when I asked my dad to proofread an AP English paper I had written on Hesse’s Siddartha. I was very proud of it. It was, ironically, about “nirvana” (the concept, not the band; I’m older than I look). My dad thought it was a bunch of shit and freely and forceful offered this opinion. So, while I’ve known I was a pretty solid “business” writer for many years, I really did not hold a particularly high opinion of myself as a writer otherwise. Thank you for helping to know myself differently. Oh, also, I re-read Siddartha over the holidays and wow, what difference 35 years makes!
Alchemy | Augusta, Arkansas | October 2014
My good friend and business partner Johnny asked me the other day if I worried about a prospective photography prospect reading my blog. At one time, this actually would have been quite concerning, yet it is no longer. If somebody would read it and choose to not contact or hire me based on what I’ve written, then it is not likely we would have been a good match in the first place. So maybe it is a good filter…
He also suggested it might be useful to bring people up to date on my current mental state, given the darkness of some of the material (heck, we haven’t even gotten to the REALLY dark stuff yet!). So, here’s a bit of a spoiler — I’m fine — much better than fine most of the time, in fact. My purpose in all this writing is to take you through where I’ve been and how I’ve gotten to where I am now. It’s an age old story and yet I feel compelled to tell it – both to help me solidify the “reknowing” of myself and to show others what is possible.
I truly believe that we must shine the light on the darkness in our lives if we are going to evolve at the pace that will be required in our rapidly changing world. The shadow work I’ve done has had some of the most profound affect on me of anything I’ve done. As a collective we are currently witness to shadows being exposed across the entire spectrum of our civilization as a seen in the political unrest across the globe, the unequal effects of the pandemic and the challenges to the Patriarchy, among other events. It is painful in the short term, and so liberating.
Several have commented on my bravery in putting these things out there for public consumption. I am grateful for the acknowledgment. The interesting thing is that my fear of hitting “Publish” rapidly diminished after the first post, to the point where it is pretty much non-existent. And in that big empty space that opened up where fear once took up all the oxygen is a shit ton of freedom.
While I had originally planned to get to present time in my blog posts before making this announcement, I changed my mind. Drum roll, please… I’m thrilled to announce that I am hanging up my shingle as a Coach, a Guide, a “Spiritual Sherpa” (to use the term of a young man I have been mentoring for the past several months). To be clear, I remain firmly committed to my photography business. In fact, I’ve got a couple ideas about how to combine the two. I’ve always been a multi-tasking jack-of-all-trades Renaissance Man of sorts (software developer, sales rep, development engineer, product manager, digital photo lab owner, photographer, etc.). As a result of two weeks spent in Sedona on a personal retreat last month, it became very clear that I need an outlet where I can help people more directly and deepen my own spiritual pursuits. While meditating near Thunder Mountain, I was trying to think of what to call the new business and, in a flash of divine inspiration, I realized what better than to use “Reknowing”. In homage to my mother, who passed away last summer, I’ve incorporated the business changed the brand to “Re:knowing”. She loved beautiful things and started a business ten years ago repurposing vintage jewelry. She called it “Re:”.
So, if you or somebody you know could use some assistance navigating this crazy existence and “leveling up”, please reach out. I will be starting out with a very limited number of engagements, two of which will be “pay-what-you-can”.
