The right time...

I love it when it feels like I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing at the right time.

Do you look back at your life and how it has evolved?
Do you marvel at the journey, where you have landed, and where you have yet to go?

I have been working for the same employer now for a little over four years. My experience there has been incredible.

I started right after I had my son, when he was six months old, fresh off maternity leave. Looking back on the progression of my job, from a part-time office management position that enabled me to spend four out of seven days a week with my son, eventually becoming employed full-time (when he turned two and started pre-school), to now... two plus years into my job as a (Print) Production Manager. I have learned SO much and made so many INCREDIBLE connections with people in this industry. I never imagined how well this job would prepare me for my future.

Prior to giving birth to my son, I attended a local college to study graphic design because even back then, I had the desire to own my own business. As life progresses, the desire continues to grow stronger.

When I look back to the time when the ideas for my business first generated, it seems like forever ago. Though the core of the business is still intact, I am energized even more so now, because of all the amazing philosophies that have emerged, changes in technology, and the life experiences I currently have under my belt. The business idea has morphed from a basic recycled greeting card company to a full-blown business model where I will CONNECT with others and HELP those who are helping the world at large.

Being a mother has motivated me to CREATE the life that I want. And every time I move in that direction, the universe reminds me that I am doing the right thing. Whether it's a tid bit I catch on TV regarding small businesses, something I hear on the radio, a person I meet, or something I read.

Recently, I gratefully accepted the opportunity to housesit for a girlfriend of mine. I encouraged my son to break from the wide screen TV and Wii to spend a little quiet time reading some books that he and I pulled from the shelves in her daughter's room. He and I read a couple books together and then parted to read separately. I gravitated towards this book called, "Is There Really a Human Race?" written by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell.

I had been struggling at work with changes in management, skewed perceptions, miscommunication, and the political beauracracy which comes in any work environment. I have always been one to stand up for the underdog and those who don't feel safe expressing their concerns. I did this with the best of intentions within the constraints of the established system but as it sometimes does, this time, it backfired. I felt defeated. Ultimately, I decided that I would use moments such as those as motivation.

The story starts off with a child who is questioning the "Human Race." Who am I racing? Why am I racing? Eventually, the story presents a beautiful summation about what life is all about. I pulled these words directly from the end of the book:

Sometimes, it's better not to go fast
There are beautiful sights to be seen when you're last.
Shouldn't it be that you just try your best?
And that's more important than beating the rest?
Shouldn't it be, looking back at the end,
that you judge your own race by the help that you lend?
So, take what's inside you and make BIG BOLD choices.
And for those who can't speak for themselves, use BOLD voices.
And make friends and love well, bring ART to this place
and make the world better for the WHOLE HUMAN RACE.

Amen to that.

Is There Really a Human Race? by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell (Hardcover - Sep 5, 2006)