What's the Story of Your Life and How Will You Tell It in 2021?

To be honest, this wasn’t my original New Year’s message. I’ll save that one for a later date as we wade further into the new, and rather murky, waters of 2021. While my original draft followed a theme of hope and collaboration, strange circumstances involving a cancelled trip to Spain due to a freak winter snowstorm, blowing out my knee while running, and an emergency surgery have me reflecting on what the Universe could possibly be trying to communicate. It has been a very surreal way to begin this year, an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol notwithstanding. 
 
But I remain optimistic, despite the rocky start to the month. It looks like I’ll be highly immobilized for 8 - 10 weeks recovering from my injury, and while I’m working on positive affirmations to stay personally motivated, this ordeal has me returning to the question: How do we continue to shift ourselves and our culture toward positive change if we feel stagnate and powerless?
 
My dear friend Ervin Laszlo, Hungarian philosopher of science and systems theorist, reminds me that he suffered a compound fracture of his ankle while skiing in 1966, and had to be in post-operative traction for over a week. During that time he outlined and wrote most of his second book of philosophy: Beyond Scepticism and Realism. Maybe it is time for us all to move beyond any cynical skepticism in our souls and get ever more real about the potential we have to change things.

After that inspiring message from Ervin, I was speaking the next day with Michael Sandler, multi-faceted athlete, inspirational speaker and host of the podcast Inspire Nation.  I was still lamenting my running injury while getting ready for surgery the following day and expressed some of my concerns to Michael. He quickly reassured me that it was all a piece of cake and with the right attitude and positive will, I would be fine and back to running again soon. He also mentioned that he had gone through 14 orthopedic surgeries himself and was doing just fine. On the day before our chat, he rode his bicycle over fifty miles with a 5,000 foot elevation change. Not bad for a guy who has two titanium femurs, two titanium hips, and a missing ACL. Somehow my problem seemed very insignificant in light of what Michael Sandler had overcome. 

Those conversations with Ervin and Michael got me thinking about the plight of so many in the world.  What of all the people living in poverty or in refugee camps, with little to no health services?  All of a sudden my “developed world problem” of trying to set up orthopedic surgery in times of Covid-19 seemed very insignificant in a world where so many suffer from so many ailments and have little hope of help.

So maybe the lesson to be learned in all of this is that while we can’t control the circumstances---whether a torn tendon or a fractured political system-- it is up to us to take responsibility of the story we want to tell in the subsequent plot line to follow. The narrative we create ultimately determines the future chapters of our life and culture. During President Biden’s inaugural address, he mentioned the word “story” nine times and referred to “a new story for the soul.” He said it with so much conviction and sincerity that lots of people believed what he said—perhaps even some suffering from an overdose of skepticism and issues with realism.

If we were able to embody a story of ongoing personal growth and positive cultural transformation, we could begin each day with a sense of possibility. Shifting our perspective is not to be in denial of the work that needs to be done, the social injustices that need to be corrected and the environmental restoration desperately needed for our species to survive. What a change of context can provide us, however, is a vision, founded in hope and purpose, motivating us to take action toward positive change in whatever ways we can.

I know that personally these next few weeks will be uncomfortable and challenging both physically and spiritually, and it will likely be the same for so many of us in our global family. I’m also realistic that some days will be downright difficult. Hopefully, when we do experience those moments that truly test the spirit, we can find that glimmer of possibility, the transformative thread line to carry us forward in ways we never even imagined.

Rather than a new year’s resolution, maybe instead we can all continue to ask ourselves “What is the story of my life and what is the collective narrative we can create toward a world that works for us all?”  Maybe then our current circumstances will change from a challenge to a blessing, motivating us to find deeper purpose and new possibilities to do our part in service to global transformation.

Here’s to a happy, hopeful and purposeful New Year to you all! 
Emanuel

P.S. On Tuesday, March 2 at 7pm EST Purpose Earth will host an online event A Celebration of Changemakers announcing the recipients of our 2021 grant awards. As I looked through the fifty-some proposals for grants this year, I was astounded by the creativity and imagination of people around the globe looking for funding for their innovative ideas to restore the environment, transform culture and encourage community activation. The process of setting up Purpose Earth to help fund projects of this nature has been the most inspiring episode of my life. Please consider making a donation if you are able, at www.purposeearth.org.